Wheeling Park’s Brennan Wack runs for a touchdown Friday afternoon against Huntington in a W.Va. Class AAAA quarterfinal at Wheeling Isl;and Stadium. The Patriots fell, 51-39.

WHEELING — Chris Daugherty knew that Huntington’s explosiveness was going to pose a major challenge. Unfortunately for Wheeling Park’s veteran and successful head coach, he was spot on.

The 11-1, high-octane and fifth-seeded Highlanders unleashed a plethora of offensive weapons en route to a 51-39 defeat of the fourth-seeded Patriots at frigid Island Stadium on Black Friday afternoon in a WVSSAC Class AAAA playoff quarterfinal contest.

Huntington packs potency as reflected in last week’s 56-28 playoff blowout of University. The Highlanders, whose lone blemish came at the hands of powerful Martinsburg, will now have a chance to redeem that loss as they will face the Bulldogs in the semifinals. Martinsburg advanced by downing Parkersburg South, 56-14.

Daugherty, meanwhile, and his Park staff did a masterful job of rebuilding from a major talent drain from a year ago. Not only did graduation claim some quality gridders, the Patriots saw their returning and prolific quarterback along with their stellar running back transfer to out-of-state programs. Park ended 8-4 against a challenging schedule.

The loss spoiled a tremendous performance by Park’s Brennan Wack. The talented junior running back rushed 40 times for 342 yards and five TDs. His huge effort established two new school records along the way. He broke his own single-game rushing mark while also setting a new single-season record of 2,258 yards, topping the previous mark of Boogie Johnson. Wack ended the season with 31 touchdowns.

Wack’s heroic efforts, however, were not enough to offset Huntington’s explosive and well-balanced attack. The Highlanders threw for 214 yards while rushing for 258 stripes. The winners had five plays covering more than 30 yards.

“Our kids fought hard. I am proud of their effort,” Daugherty said. “But we lost to a very talented team tonight. They had a lot of weapons and they made a lot of big plays.

“But when it is a close game it comes down to a couple of plays. Such was the case tonight,” added the classy coach. “One turnover and one penalty really hurt us.”

The turnover Daugherty was referring to was a game-changer.

Park, which blasted Musselman, 43-0, a week ago, owned a 27-24 halftime advantage and wasted little time in extending the lead. On the first possession of the second half, rising sophomore quarterback Jay Bordas found Owen Dobrzynski-Hines with a 66-yard TD bomb, making it a 33-24 Park upper hand.

Huntington responded in just two plays. A 43-yard pass connection from Avonte Crawford to Clemson-commit Tayveon Wilson set up a one-yard scoring run by Keegan Sack.

Park’s ensuing possession proved problematic.

A Patriot fumble was scooped up by Antonyo Paschall and returned 33 yards for a momentum-changing TD. The two-point conversion failed but the Highlanders still owned a 37-33 lead.

Huntington would never trail again.

The Highlanders stretched their advantage to 44-33 with 4:12 left in the third quarter on the strength of a seven-play, 62-yard drive capped by a one-yard run by Zah Jackson.

Wack brought Park back to within striking distance via a 40-yard TD run out of the wildcat formation with 1:55 showing in the third frame. The conversion run came up short, leaving the Patriots down, 44-39.

Huntington added some breathing room on its ensuing possession.

The Highlanders put together a 12-play scoring drive. The march was kept alive when the Highlanders faced a fourth-and-five but gained a first down as Park was flagged for offsides. Crawford pushed it in from the one with 8:55 to play as the lead grew to 51-39.

Park did mount one final threat. The Patriots drove to Huntington 22 in the final minute, only to turn the ball over on downs.

“We are not used to being involved in shootouts. But Park is a really good team,” Huntington coach Bills Seals said. “Doc had a great offensive scheme in place and Wack is a special player. We couldn’t contain him.

“But we must learn to play better defense. We are not going to keep winning games like this,” he added. “We have a lot of respect for Wheeling Park. I am proud of our kids and it is nice to be advancing to the semifinals.”

The first half was a battle of offenses.

Huntington received the opening kick and needed just two plays to score.

Sack broke loose for a 57-yard burst and followed with a four-yard TD run.

Park came right back, using a 10-play, 63-yard drive (all Wack carries) to record its initial score.

Huntington also received first half TD runs from Jackson (8 yards) and Sack (1 yard) to go with a 25-yard field goal from Jordan Price.

Park countered on the strength of Wack’s punishing legs as he tallied scores covering 66, 30 and 2 yards, enabling the Patriots to take a 27-24 lead into intermission.

“Brennan Wack is a special football player. I have said that for a long time,” Daugherty said. “He is a smart runner. He knows when to run around you and knows when to run through you. Brennan had a great year and he is only a junior.”

Wack accounted for all but 31 of the Patriots’ rushing yards. Bordas, meanwhile, played with excellent poise while completing eight-of- 20 passes for 107 yards. He ends his breakout season with 17 TD passes and some 1,800 aerial yards.

Sack led Huntington with 184 rushing yards. Crawford completed 10-of-13 tosses for 214 yards.

“We were hampered somewhat tonight as Jameson Maynard was really hurting physically. He means a lot to us,” Daugherty said. “But going into the season no one expected to do what we did this year. We were under the radar.

“So it’s tough to say good-bye to this bunch. We got really, really good kids. We do,” he added. “I am proud of what they accomplished. The future also looks pretty bright as we have some good kids coming back.”

Park was also successful on two fake punts.