Atticus Goodson carried the ball 35 times for 257 yards and three touchdowns Friday afternoon, helping No. 2 seed Independence overcome a 20-7 halftime deficit and beat No. 14 Bluefield 34-20 in a Class AA semifinal Friday afternoon in Coal City.
Goodson scored twice in the third quarter to help tie the game, and on the first play of the fourth quarter, his younger brother Cyrus Goodson returned an interception 48 yards for a touchdown to give the Patriots their first lead of the game. The elder Goodson’s third touchdown came with 5:25 left and cemented the program’s first title-game appearance.
With Bluefield QB Ryker Brown injuring his calf in the second half, the Patriots played more aggressively, intercepting the senior signal-caller twice. The Indy defense took full advantage of the injury, holding the Beavers to just 56 total yards of offense in the second half and shutting them out.
Independence will play in the Class AA championship game next Friday night against No. 16 Fairmont Senior, which beat No. 5 Poca in Friday’s other semifinal game.
Williamstown 43, Doddridge County 0: Two Doddridge County turnovers and two punts totaling eight yards gave Williamstown a short field on ts first four possessions, and that was all the No. 6 Yellowjackets needed to jump to a 25-0 lead that turned into a rout of the No. 2 Bulldogs in a Class A semifinal on a frigid, windy afternoon at Cline Stansberry Stadium in West Union.
Max Molessa scored five touchdowns for Williamstown (11-2) on runs of 2, 13, 7 and 1 yards and on a 21-yard pass from Colt Hesson.
Molessa finished with 91 rushing yards on 23 carries and Rickie Allen added 95 yards on 15 carries, capped by a 2-yard TD run. Issac Joy closed the scoring with a 29-yard field goal with 53 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
For Doddridge (11-2), Dylan Knight was held to 44 yards on 11 carries and caught two passes for 16 yards.
Williamstown advances to next Saturday night’s Class A state championship game in Wheeling, where the Yellowjackets will face the winner of Saturday’s semifinal between No. 2 Ritchie County and No. 8 Wheeling Central.
