November 19, 2023
WILLIAMSTOWN – Up next, Tucker County No. 2.
Williamstown High School head coach Chris Beck’s football program continued its march toward the Class A name here Saturday afternoon in the state quarterfinals when the Yellowjackets No. 3 eliminated No. 11 East Hardy, 48-15, to win their 17th game outright.
Junior defensive end Will Sites stripped EHHS signalman Damien Dellinger the moment the scrum’ Jacket play was recovered to identify the first score of the matter: a 25-yard backhand through Louis Goodnow, which gave WHS the lead by 1:34 inches.
“I laughed a lot today,” admitted Sites, who also recovered a Jonah Bosgraf kick that allowed Goodnow to get a 31-yard touchdown from Max Molessa, putting the Cougars within 35-0 with 1:46 left. He left before halftime after Brylee Jones’ extra point.
“It’s good. I think as a team we were getting the ball rolling and now we have a lot of momentum. I’m just confident in our game. I think I kicked and went inside and just held the ball. And he dropped it. There was literally nothing in my head, but the ball came out and I was looking to get it back, and I just had to dive on it.
Goodnow, who had a loss of 47 yards on the next drive capped by a three-foot jump by Molessa, finished with a team-high 72 runs on his two totalizers. He also had 4 catches for a game-high 97 yards. A 34-yard landing via Molessa midway through the third.
“I guess I’d say I’d get touchdowns instead of picks,” admitted Goodnow, who intercepted Dellinger twice while Molessa also had one.
Getting back to the state semifinals, which is a long bus ride to Tucker County, is just the next step for the Jacketts.
“That’s what we’re hoping for,” added Goodnow. We had hoped to do this all year, but it’s great to get the job done and see it pay off.
“It’s a big challenge every game to set the tone from the beginning (defensively). No matter who we (play), we have to improve this week and go out and play.
Molessa, who travels to West Virginia University to play baseball, knows now is the time to be complacent.
“It feels good. Tonight we will laugh, but we have to move on and this week,” said the long-distance mountaineer. “We still have to play football and dominate. “
Molessa agreed that big early plays on defense are key to the Jackets coming out victorious time and time again.
“That helps,” Molessa added.
“I mean, obviously, it doesn’t matter where you play, but you also play at home and you start the series physically and the dominant line early on, the best school feeds off of that, which helped us.
“We’ve been given to stay objective, stay objective and get better. We want to keep a cool head and not settle for that.
Williamstown comeback queen Jones, who made one of the two extra point attempts, admitted to “kicking the shoelaces” on her second left attempt.
Suffice it to say, Jones is her moment as a WHS soccer player.
“I think it’s really fun,” he said. I’ve never really worried about something like this. There are definitely a lot of enthusiasts and other people that you and I really appreciate. I play football and I’ve played it all my life.
“I did this for fun a few years ago, and then the guys told me I was smart at it, so they asked me to give it a try. They supported me. At first I thought I wouldn’t like it. , but they made me feel like part of the team, so I’m enjoying it.
Fullback Rex Anderson tries to do what is expected of him, regardless of distance and distance.
Leading just 6-0 midway through the first quarter, coach Beck called on Anderson as the Jackets faced a quarter and one of their 31. Anderson replaced Molessa and ran a dozen yards for a first down.
“He just tells me to pass out and do a first check and I do what he says,” Anderson said, adding that getting back to the state semifinals “is one thing. “I love betting in Williamstown.
“It’s unbelievable. I think everyone was betting pretty well. The timing part was a bit flat, but we raised the stage a bit at the end. It means a lot to everyone here.
Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel. com
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