By TOM BONE
NEW MARTINSVILLE — Everything James Monroe could do, the Magnolia Blue Eagles could do just a little bit better. That led to the home team atoning for last year’s 13-7 playoff loss to the Mavericks of Monroe County with a 13-7 win in Saturday’s Class AA semifinal game, played in brilliant sunshine on a cool day alongside the Ohio River.
Stingray Bates, a junior running back for Magnolia, ran for 128 yards in 36 carries as the Blue Eagles (10-3) put together 330 total yards on their visitors from the other end of the state.
James Monroe (9-4) ended with 112 yards. Senior running back Taylor Robertson accounted for 51 rushing and 41 on two pass receptions. His most electrifying play was a 100-yard return of a fourth-quarter interception, weaving away from a series of potential tacklers, to account for the final touchdown of the game.
Blue Eagles coach Mark Batton said, “This week we ran a lot of the unbalanced set, and they didn’t adjust to it a lot. We just kept running at them.”
Once the Mavericks started to get pressure on the quarterback, Batton called for play-action draw plays to halfback Dillon Jackson. Three of them gained 44 yards in the first half.
Robertson said about Magnolia, “They’re very well coached. They don’t make many mistakes. They just come out and execute their game plan.”
Magnolia had only four possessions in that half, and their last produced the only score prior to intermission. Relying primarily on well-executed runs by Jackson and Bates, the Blue Eagles drove 94 yards in 12 plays. Bates got loose around left end for a 17-yard touchdown with two minutes left in the second quarter.
“That was crucial,” said Magnolia coach Mark Batton. “Stingray made a nice play; he bounced it to the outside and he got in.”
He said he wasn’t planning to hand Bates the ball 36 times. “We take what they give us,” he said. “Stingray’s really come along in the last seven games. He’s just run the ball so hard, he’s seeing the field so well and making nice cuts.”
The other score came late in the third period when Magnolia’s sophomore quarterback Justin Fox heaved a ball down the sideline to Brandon Sprouse, who capped the 29-yard play by dragging his feet against the pylon at the front corner of the end zone.
Fox, already known around the state for his passing ability, ended 6-for-19 for 71 yards. He was intercepted by Nick Kisiel and Tanner Beasley in the first half and twice by Robertson in the second half.
At the midpoint of the fourth quarter, Batton called time and sent his field-goal unit onto the field and Fox lined up for an apparent kick. Instead of snapping to the holder, the ball went to Fox, who sprinted to the right and threw to the goal line.
Robertson was not fooled, and began his winding journey the length of the field. Logan Ray’s extra-point kick produced the game’s final score with 7:11 left.
Robertson’s senior season ended with seven interceptions, run back for 176 yards — despite a high ankle sprain limiting him until late in the season.
“I got some great blocks on the return from my teammates, like I always do,” Robertson said. “That was a team play, right there.”
“It was huge,” said James Monroe linebacker Lee Triplett. “It gave us some energy, for one thing. ... I expected it, to be honest. It got everybody excited; it got our heads back focused to where we should have been in the first place.”
Batton said, “I wasn’t thinking very well. I should never have put them (the Magnolia players) in a position to lose the game. But we won. We’re going to the island (Wheeling Island Stadium, site of the state championship). That’s all that matters. Let’s forget about it.”
A couple of minutes later, he remarked about his defense’s effort, “That should have been a shutout, if I don’t do something stupid. That’s a shutout right there.”
James Monroe head coach Don Jackson said, “They’ve got a very balanced team and a lot of team speed. ... They were very quick, on both sides of the ball.”
We played pretty good pass defense this time. They got us pretty good in the running game. ... We shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times, but I thought overall, we played pretty good and the kids never quit.”
Jackson said, “Our defense has played pretty well since about the fourth game of the season. They played well (today). They contained a good quarterback (Fox) there, and a good receiver (Sprouse).”
Robertson said, “The defensive front, the linebackers and the linemen, adjusted at halftime and we didn’t allow any points that second half.”
James Monroe defensive leader Lee Triplett compared the last two years’ playoff games with Magnolia. “They’re always tough,” he said. “They’re always physical. We expected the same out of them. Teams don’t usually change their philosophies, and they came out the same way this year. This year, they just got the better of us.”
Behind only 7-0 at halftime, Triplett said, “You’ve just got to come out and play. You can’t give up on anything. So we just came out and played our game.”
“We were able to contain them to just 13 points,” he said. “But they’re a good team. Best of luck to them; I hope they’re able to win the states.”
“We played our hearts out,” Robertson said. “We can’t hang our heads after this one.”
The home crowd’s cheers had barely died away as Jackson addressed James Monroe’s future, standing in the mud at midfield. “Most of these boys are going to be back. We only lose five or six seniors,” Jackson said. “Things look good for them, down the road.”
Magnolia will meet Grafton in a rematch of their regular-season finale on Friday night for the Class AA championship trophy.
— Contact Tom Bone
at tbone@bdtonline.com
Magnolia 13, James Monroe 7
At Alumni Field, New Martinsville
James Monroe (9-4)...........0 0 0 7 — 7
Magnolia (10-3)...................0 7 6 0 — 13
Second Quarter
Magnolia—Stingray Bates 17 run (Justin Fox kick), 1:52
Third Quarter
Magnolia—Brandon Sprouse 29 pass from Fox (kick failed), 4:21
Fourth Quarter
JM—Taylor Robertson 100 interception return (Logan Ray kick), 7:11
———
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—JM: Taylor Robertson 14-51, Nick Kisiel 4-3, John Ballengee 5-(minus 44), Lee Triplett 1-2, Jake Williams 1-37, Tanner Beasley 1-(minus 2). Mag: Stingray Bates 36-128, Dillon Jackson 11-73, Derek Frunner 1-11, Justin Fox 4-47.
PASSING—JM: Ballengee 5-11-65-0-1, Robertson 0-1-0-0-0, Andrew Evans 0-1-0-0-0. Mag: Fox 6-19-71-1-4.
RECEIVING—JM: Kisiel 1-11, Braxton Thompson 2-13, Robertson 2-41, Ray 1-1. Mag: Cameron Benson 1-10, Bates 1-(minus 1), Jason Utt 3-33, Brandon Sprouse 1-29.
