South holds on to beat Washington

Parkersburg South’s Logan Middleton (63), Cole Middleton (45) and Eli Bartley (11) combine to bring down a Washington ball-carrier during Saturday’s playoff game at Erickson All-Sports Facility.
(Photo by Kerry Patrick)

PARKERSBURG — The No. 8 vs. No. 9 matchup for the first round of the Class AAAA playoffs lived up to its billing as a tight affair, and a game where Parkersburg South’s Devon Forshey seized the moment to have one of his best performances as a Patriot senior.

Forshey was responsible for all but one of the 12 receptions by a South receiver and scored the eventual game-winning touchdown midway in the fourth quarter in a 24-17 win over No. 9 Washington Saturday afternoon at Erickson All-Sports Facility.

Forshey also made his presence known in the defensive backfield. His acrobatic catch for an interception late in the first half involved numerous tips to himself to keep the ball in play as he was falling to the ground. It was the kind of play which had the officiating crew talking it up over their ear pieces during a break in the game.

“I actually got beat on the play and had to make up for myself — I was able to make a great play,” said Forshey, who finished with 11 catches for 138 yards. “I should have caught it the first time but it was all good. We got it.”

No. 8 Parkersburg South (6-5) advances to the quarterfinal round and will travel to No. 1 Martinsburg (10-1) on a day and time yet to be determined. Martinsburg is the third program South will face from the panhandle. South played at Spring Mills during the regular season.

Parkersburg South’s Eli Bartley (11) carries the ball during Saturday’s playoff game against Washington at Erickson All-Sports Facility.
(Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“Really proud of the toughness our guys showed,” South coach Nate Tanner said. “Lot of kids found a way to get it done.

“Devon Forshey played out of his mind. He had made some humongous plays.”

Even with a two-week layoff separating the regular season finale and the first round of the state playoffs, South found its rhythm on the game’s first play from scrimmage. Senior running back Eli Bartley, who finished with 148 yards rushing on 21 carries, burst past the Washington defense for a 65-yard touchdown run.

South appeared to have Washington (6-5) go three-and-out on the next series. In punt formation, the deep back Kyle Atheny completed a 35-yard pass to Mario Prince. Two plays later on second-and-5 from the South 14, Allen Casey took the handoff and found the end zone. The extra point tied the game at 7-7 with 9:01 still remaining in the first quarter.

Casey led Washington with 64 yards rushing on 12 carries, AJ Lopez finished with 62 yards and quarterback Michael Thompson tacked on another 56 yards.

Parkersburg South’s Collin Hayes (9) carries the ball during Saturday’s playoff game against Washington at Erickson All-Sports Facility.
(Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Washington never led, but stayed on South’s heels throughout. While the first touchdown happened in an instant, South’s second score required 19 plays to cover 88 yards. At the 8:04 mark of the second quarter, quarterback Collin Hayes called his own number and scored from 2 yards out.

One of three fumbles lost by South led to Washington’s equalizer just before halftime. Thompson carried the load, rushing five times for 25 yards and completing one pass for 9 yards. Thompson’s carry from 9 yards on third-and-goal tied the game at 14-14 with 1:47 left before intermission.

Washington had one last possession before the break, but the drive stalled when Thompson’s pass downfield was picked off by Forshey’s circus-like feat.

The respective defenses tightened in the second half. At the 5:12 mark of the third quarter, South placekicker Alex Hanna put his team in front 17-14 with a 25-yard field goal that cleared the cross bar by inches. Coach Tanner stuck with the decision to attempt the field goal despite a false start penalty which pushed the distance back another 5 yards.

Yet another fumble cost South three points in the fourth quarter. Washington recovered the loose ball at the South 6, was unable to find the end zone but received a 22-yard field goal from Isaiah Osafo-Mensah.

Parkersburg South’s Kameron Jackson (39) looks to bring down a Washington ball-carrier during Saturday’s playoff game at Erickson All-Sports Facility.
(Photo by Kerry Patrick)

On the ensuing kickoff, Washington’s decision for the onside variety was nearly executed when Osafo-Mensah overran the ball while trying to gather it in.

After escaping that scare, South came up with a quick strike. On the fourth play of the drive, Hayes threw deep to Forshey and despite the receiver getting double-covered, Foshey got his hands on the jump-ball for a 33-yard TD catch.

With 6:52 remaining in regulation, South led 24-17.

On the next series, Washington began approaching South’s 30, but several defensive stops – including a sack by Hayes – backed the team to the 40 for a fourth-and-17.

Following an exchange of timeouts, Thompson was flushed out of the pocket, but had breathing room to spare and looked toward his receivers near the goal line. He found Tavon Jones wide open.

Then in a split second, South defensive back Derek Sandy arrived and jarred the ball loose for an incomplete pass and turnover on downs.

“You don’t hear a lot about Derek – defensively, he is a great role player and one of our leaders in the secondary,” Tanner said. “He is one of our best tackles. One of our hardest working kids. He does everything he is supposed to do. Another kid who is undersized, but that play right there showed his character.

“We had busted coverage and he sprinted through the play. That guy had a catch and possible touchdown. We talk about finishing all the time – Derek finished in that guy’s face and knocked the ball out.”

South took over at 2:23 and Washington never regained possession.

“After the first play of the game where we scored off them right off the bat, I thought (Washington) might fold up a little bit,” Tanner said. “Kudos to their kids and their coaches. They fought to the end.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com