Midland Trail back in playoffs; will face unbeaten Tucker

Nov. 10—Second-year Midland Trail head coach Jeremy Moore couldn't have blamed his team for calling it a day as a tumultuous season progressed.

The team chose not to take that path, however, and now the Class A No. 15 Patriots (5-5) are on the precipice of a first-round playoff matchup at unbeaten No. 2 Tucker County (10-0) at 7:30 p.m. this Friday, Nov. 10.

Making the playoffs on the heels of an emotional season is a testament to his team's grittiness and resolve, Moore said Tuesday. He says he talks about "writing a book about everything that's went on this season."

"It's been such a roller-coaster for these kids, and for the staff and everybody," he stressed. "It's been hectic. We started out great (3-0 and No. 4 in Class A out of the gates), and then tragedy struck, injuries struck, just one thing after another."

On Sept. 12, 16-year-old Damon Grey Mooney, a sophomore player for the Midland Trail football squad, died in an automobile crash while on his way to school. It was understandably a tragedy that did — and still does — affect the family, players, coaches and community. The players and their coaches had to grieve the loss of their friend and teammate while marching on with the rest of the 2023 schedule at the same time. Mooney, who wore uniform No. 66 for the Patriots, is still listed at the top of the Midland Trail roster page on the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission's website.

Injuries came to the forefront as Midland Trail lost five of its next six outings following the 3-0 beginning and the loss of Mooney.

"We've had to move guys around," Moore explained. "On the stat sheet, I've had to start writing in guys' names because we've moved people around. (Jaden, who started the season at quarterback) Gladwell moved to receiver. (Leading rusher Jayden) Roop got hurt and we brought (Kaden) Lephew in to run the ball. We've switched the whole offensive line around. Just one thing after another.

"And we took some whippings. I'm not going to lie about it; the stat line shows it (four losses to Wheeling Central Catholic, Nicholas County, James Monroe and Greenbrier West were by a combined score of 197-20). But these kids have been so resilient. That's why I'm proud of them. They could have laid down and cashed it in when things were going bad, but they kept showing up day after day. They did whatever we asked them to do, and they did it to the best of their ability. And that's why we're in this position right now."

The Patriots got to the .500 mark with a 51-6 whipping of Pocahontas County last week.

Moore says this weekend's playoff opponent reminds him a lot of the Patriots. "In all honesty, they do a lot of the same things we do," he said of the Mountain Lions. "They do it obviously better than we do, because they're 10-0.

"A lot of I-formation out of the spread, out of the pistol, 2x2 stuff like what we do. They run the ball well. They throw the ball extremely well. They use the passing game to complement the running game; (they use) a lot of short passes, bubbles, screens, stuff like that. Extended handoffs.

"Then they'll hit you with the deep shot. They've got a couple of receivers that are pretty tall guys. They're jump ball guys that can go up and get it."

"Defensively, they keep everything in front of them," Moore added. "You're not going to beat 'em with one play. You're going to have to meticulously drive the ball down the field and keep everything in front of you.

"They're a very well-coached group, a talented group. So, we're going to have our hands full."

"We'll have to tackle in space," said Moore, whose first team at Hico in 2022 finished 6-4 and three spots out of the running for a playoff spot. "They (the Mountain Lions) spread you out really far, so our guys are going to have to tackle in space. There's no missed tackles with this group (Tucker). You put a lot of guys in bad situations when you miss tackles on an island like that."

"And, we're going to have to hold on to the ball," Moore said. "That's been our Achilles heel the last two years. I don't know why we can't hang on to the ball, but we're going to have to protect it. We protected it pretty well the last couple of games."

The long trip for the first-round game won't be a problem, Moore noted. "Driving around is nothing new to us. We've done it all season. We don't care. We knew coming into it; that's kind of why the whole Wheeling Central game was scheduled in the first place.

"If you're going to win single-A, you're going to have to drive to the James Monroes, you're going to have to drive to the Williamstowns, drive to Greenbrier West or Tucker County, the upper echelon teams, you name it.

"And if you want to go to Wheeling (Island Stadium for the Super Six), that's a really long trip. That's kind of why we did all that."

"It gives us an opportunity," MTHS senior center/linebacker/defensive lineman John Bowman says of the postseason appearance. "It's kind of like being 0-0. You get a new chance to start over and prove what you can do.

"Oh, yeah, I'm excited."

Bowman is a four-year player who was a member of Midland Trail playoff teams in 2020 and 2021. For teammates new to the playoff experience this season, he tells them they should expect an altered practice approach aimed at getting everybody "dialed in" and becoming more serious with more important games coming up.

He proffers some words of advice for his teammates. "Play for your seniors, because every week could be your last week. Just play your heart out."

Bowman said Tucker County is "really good at spreading the ball around, and the screen passes and the option." Paying extra attention to "No. 20 (Tucker's Blaike Adams) definitely" is a key, he said. "He's one of their playmakers. He's definitely one of their better players."

On his team's own mission, Bowman said, "We've just got to play mistake-free football. When it comes to penalties, we have a lot of penalties. We shoot ourselves in the foot a lot. We've just got to go out there and have fun and play mistake-free football."

Bowman said the team has drawn closer as the difficult season advanced. The tribulations and setbacks of the season have "made us a family. It's brought us together and created like a bond. We're fighters, man. Everybody works together pretty good, and I think we'll have a great shot at the playoffs."

"It's great, man," chimed in junior fullback/linebacker Will McGraw, a member of the 2021 Patriot playoff squad that fell to Doddridge County 40-21 in another 2-15 first-round matchup. "I'm real excited about it.

"It's great to have the chance to compete."

Advancing to the 16-team playoff field "was real important," said McGraw. "We just wanted to keep playing, just keep pushing."

"It really has" been a hard season, he admitted. "Every game, we just try to keep going."

About Friday's foe, McGraw said, "We expect them to pass a lot, but we can't let up on their run game, either. They've got a good running back; he's real shifty. And their quarterback has a great arm.

"It's just going to be a combination of both. We've just got to stay with our keys and stay focused the whole game."

"Defensively, like I said, we've got to stay on our keys," he continued. "We've had trouble the past couple of weeks staying on our keys.

"Offensively, we've just got to keep blocking and go (as hard as possible). Hopefully, we'll come out with a win. It's a long trip, but I think we've got it."

While the season had more than its share of blows, Moore says the team has emerged stronger as an end result. "I can't stress enough how proud I am of the kids, and the community, too," he said. "The community, it hasn't been the best of times some weeks, and they've been supportive throughout.

"So, hats off to the people here. Hats off to these kids. They've endured a lot more than (expected). I'd put 'em up against any team in the state that's had to endure what they've had to endure. And they've done it with class; they've done it with hard work.

"Like I told them, life is not going to slow down for you when bad things happen, and they've adopted that mentality, the 'wherever you need me, whatever you need me to do' mentality. It's been cool to see. I know the win-loss record doesn't show that, but it's way more important than that. This will transfer over to their everyday life. I hate that bad things happen, but I'm thankful for it because they're better prepared."

The Tucker County-Midland Trail survivor will tangle with either No. 7 Tug Valley or No. 10 Tyler Consolidated in the second round.

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