From Staff Reports
WAYNE, W.Va. — The fourth-seeded Frankfort Falcons visit the top-seeded Wayne Pioneers today, 1:30, in a West Virginia Class AA semifinal game with a berth in next week’s state championship game on the line.
Frankfort (11-1) advanced in the tournament last Saturday by beating PikeView, 35-14. Wayne (12-0) defeated Ravenswood, 27-0. Today’s winner advances to the state championship game in Wheeling to take on the winner of last night’s semifinal between the No. 6 Bluefield Beavers and the No. 2 Magnolia Blue Eagles.
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.
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.
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.
