photo by: Eric Jones

Wheeling Park's Nolan Yanchak is met by Martinsburg's Mason Walley after making a catch during the first quarter of their game on Saturday in the Class AAAA quarterfinals.

MARTINSBURG – Martinsburg has had a tendency of starting fast in its wins this season.

It was no different during Saturday’s Class AAAA quarterfinal playoff game against Wheeling Park, as the Bulldogs jumped out to a three-touchdown lead in the first quarter, then pulled away in the second half for a 55-35 victory over the Patriots.

“I thought we came out ready to play and did some really good things early on,” Martinsburg coach David Walker said.

“We just let it get too far out, and trading punches with them is so hard, because they’re going to execute offensively,” Wheeling Park coach Chris Daugherty said. “They’ve got a lot of different weapons and make you defend sideline to sideline. They do a good job; that’s no secret.”

Martinsburg (10-2) got on the board during its first offensive possession of the game after Brian Dick capped off a four-play scoring drive with a 32-yard run down the left sideline, helping the Bulldogs go ahead 7-0 less than two minutes into the game. After forcing Wheeling Park into a three-and-out, Martinsburg’s lead went to 14-0 on its next possession in just three plays, as Dick, who finished the game with 149 rushing yards and three touchdowns, found a seam and ran 15 yards for the score with 8:08 left in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs held on defense again, and on their third offensive possession, scored in just two plays, as Kingston McDonald-Gibson broke free down the left sideline for a 50-yard touchdown run, pushing the lead to 20-0 with 1:06 on the first quarter clock.

Wheeling Park (7-5) finally got on the board with less than minute to go in the first quarter after quarterback Jay Bordas, who threw for 187 yards in the first half, connected with a wide open Preston Heatherington on an 80-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field to cut the deficit to 20-7.

The score didn’t stay there long, as Martinsburg, which racked up over 500 yards on the ground, scored on Boston Todd’s 20-yard run to go ahead 27-7 early in the second quarter.

The Patriots put an impressive drive together at the end of the first half, as Brennan Wack’s touchdown pass to Nolan Yanchak on a trick play made the score 27-14, which held until halftime.

Wheeling Park pulled within 27-21 with 8:33 on the third quarter clock, as Wack, who had 201 yards and two touchdowns on the ground to go along with his touchdown throw, capped off a six-play scoring drive with a 2-yard run.

“I thought our kids battled and played hard throughout this game,” Daugherty said.

“We kind of settled in and made some mistakes and let them back into the game,” Walker said.

That was as close as the Patriots got, as the Bulldogs scored the next three touchdowns – on a 15-yard run by Todd, a 42-yard by McDonald-Gibson and an 8 yard by Dick – to push their lead to 47-21 with 1:06 left in the third quarter.

Wheeling Park made it 47-28 on a 9-yard pass from Bordas to Yanchak early in the fourth quarter and then the two teams traded touchdowns over the next five minutes – an 87-yard run by McDonald-Gibson and 2-yard run by Wack – to bring the final to 55-35.

Martinsburg will host University next week in the semifinals.