Mike Burke
SHORT GAP, W.Va. — The Frankfort Falcons are one step away from where no other Frankfort football team has stood — the West Virginia Class AA state championship game.
Fourth-seeded Frankfort (11-1) moved that step away last Friday by using a physical defense as well as an opportune and efficient offense in beating PikeView, 35-14, to earn the right to play the top-seeded Wayne Pioneers (12-0) Saturday, 1:30 p.m., at Wayne High School. The winner advances to next week’s state championship game in Wheeling to take on the winner of the semifinal between the No. 6 Bluefield Beavers (10-2) and the No. 2 Magnolia Blue Eagles (12-0), which takes place Friday, 7:30 p.m., at Magnolia.
In their rout of PikeView, head coach coach Kevin Whiteman’s Falcons tied a school record for most wins in a season as Jeremy Miltenberger scored three touchdowns and James Jones threw a touchdown pass in the final minute of the second quarter to give the Falcons the momentum, then threw another one to help Frankfort take control early in the third against PikeView.
Jones finished 7-for-12 for 128 yards to lead the Frankfort offense. Miltenberger ran 11 times for 60 yards and Joey Luciw had three catches for 37 yards and two touchdowns. With five extra points, placekicker Logan Wolford extended his area record to 62 consecutive conversions.
Luciw had seven tackles, Dylan Wagoner had six and Wes Riden had five and 1 1/2 sacks to lead the Frankfort defense. Wolford and Ryan Bobo had interceptions.
“Our defense did a tremendous job all night,’’ said Whiteman. “They played smash-mouth football. I’m very proud of the whole team.”
Jones continues to lead the Falcons offense, completing 81 out of 129 passes (63 percent) for 1,591 yards, 15 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Wolford is the top receiver in the area with 33 receptions for 607 yards, and has scored six touchdowns.
Fullback Dalton Brown is the Frankfort leading rusher with 636 yards and six touchdowns on 111 carries. Fullback Daniel McCormick has rushed for 605 yards and four touchdowns on 94 carries, and Miltenberger has gained 541 and 10 touchdowns on 104 carries.
For Wayne, this marks the state-high 11th straight playoff appearance and sixth consecutive semifinal appearance for coach Tom Harmon's Pioneers, who won the 2006 state title. From the outset, Wayne, which defeated Keyser, 22-0, in the season-opener, has been one of the state-wide favorites to reach its third championship game since 2003.
Last week the Pioneers forced turnovers to stop a pair of first-half scoring threats by Ravenswood and then limited the No. 8 Red Devils to just one first down and 24 total yards in the second half for a 27-0 win Saturday in the quarterfinals.
Wayne took a 7-0 lead on its first possession when Austin Mills capped a 10-play, 69-yard march with a 17-yard touchdown run at the 4:56 mark of the opening quarter. Wayne then recovered a fumble at the 27-yard line to end one threat, and Mills intercepted a pass at the Wayne five on the Red Devils' next possession to end another one.
Wayne would put together a six-play, 96-yard scoring march as senior quarterback Adam Frazier finished off the drive with a two-yard TD run with 2:59 remaining in the second quarter to give the Pioneers a 14-0 halftime lead.
The second half was all Wayne as the Red Devils failed to advance beyond their own 43-yard line on any of their six possessions.
For the Pioneers, senior Corey Damron has rushed for 1,403 yards and 17 touchdowns on 203 carries, his longest gain being 68 yards against Sissonville. Junior Clyde Ferrell has gained 887 yards and scored eight touchdowns on 121 carries. The Pioneers have two other running backs over or near 500 yards rushing, including Frazier, who has completed 33 out of 91 passes (36 percent) for 607 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions. Mills is the top receiver with nine catches for 245 yards and two touchdowns.
In the other semifinal, Magnolia shut out Keyser, 9-0, last week to advance as Stingray Bates scored the only touchdown, and quarterback Justin Fox kicked a 28-yard field goal. Magnolia held Keyser to 160 yards of offense and six first downs. Fox threw two touchdown passes to Jared Blatt and ran for another one. Running backs Dillon Jackson and Bates each rushed for over 100 yards.
Mike Burke is sports editor of the Cumberland Times-News. Contact Mike Burke at mburke@times-news.com.
