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WHEELING - Gus Morrison made himself heard on the game's opening drive in what turned out to be a night he'll be talking about for the rest of his life.
The senior tailback scored a total of five touchdowns and led Ritchie County to its first Class A state championship victory in school history by a score of 42-21 over Williamstown on Saturday night at Wheeling Island Stadium.
"I don't know if I'm going to say a lot (in the locker room) but I'm going to hug them all," Ritchie County coach Rick Haught said. "To our kids' credit they made it happen in the second half."
Morrison took home the MVP with 178 yards rushing and four scores, along with 44 yards receiving and another TD.
"This has been a goal since last year when it got ripped away because of COVID," Morrison said. "When that happened it just motivated us even more. To see it pan out and happen the way we wanted it to is definitely a dream come true."
Morrison showcased his skills from the start as he converted a fourth-and-seven with a reception, a fourth-and-three with a run and a third-and-seven with a reception. Finally he found paydirt on a 6-yard TD scamper for an 8-0 upper hand.
The two teams traded blows early as Williamstown answered with a 65-yard scoring drive that culminated with a Maxwell Molessa 5-yard TD plunge to cut the deficit to 8-7.
Following a Ritchie County fumble, the Yellowjackets secured their first lead of the night with a 31-yard drive that saw Rickie Allen go in for a 2-yard TD to collect a 14-8 cushion.
However, Ritchie had an answer. The Rebels reeled off a 4 minute and 51 second drive and quarterback Ethan Haught found Marlon Moore for a 3-yard touchdown to even the score at 14-14.
The momentum began to shift on the ensuing drive as Williamstown fumbled and Ritchie's Morgan Knight scooped up the loose ball.
The turnover led to another Morrison touchdown, this one a 2-yard reception from Ethan Haught with 38 seconds to go in the half as the Rebels led 22-14 at the break.
Ritchie then stunned the crowd, and most importantly the Yellowjackets, as it opened the second half with an onside kick and recovered it. The second half surprise sparked a 35-yard touchdown run by Morrison that boosted the Rebels' lead to 28-14.
A fourth-and-goal touchdown run from the 2 by Molessa made it a one-score game again but it was Morrison's night to remember.
The Ritchie runner raced for two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to remove all doubt and give the Ritchie County community a reason to celebrate.
"I don't think these kids realize that for the rest of their lives they are going to talk about this night," Coach Haught said. "It's such a dominating win and they have no idea yet what a state championship does for a community. This is a great crowd and I'm really happy for the community and I'm really happy that we can bring this home."
Molessa paced Williamstown with 120 yards rushing and two scores but he only completed 2 of his 6 passes for 33 yards and one interception.
"Hats off to their guys," Williamstown coach Chris Beck said. "They executed converting and we couldn't seem to get off the field. Offensively, I thought we did a good job but weren't able to move the ball effectively but hats off to Ritchie. Great job by them."