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HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
HHS thrashes Parkersburg
Huntington High's Jaylin Johnson takes control of the ball in the Class AAA football playoff game with Parkersburg on Friday, Nov. 11, 2011, at Huntington High School.
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HUNTINGTON — There's something to be said for having a playoff tradition.
Then, there's something to be said for trying to build one.
In the school's first playoff appearance since 2006, Huntington High rushed for more than 400 yards in a 56-20 shellacking of tradition-rich Parkersburg in the first round of the Class AAA playoffs Friday night at Bob Sang Field.
"We wouldn't have cared if we'd have won 2-0 because a win is a win, but we dominated this football game," Huntington High coach Billy Seals said. "Hats off to our kids. We are going to enjoy this for a little bit, but it's back to work Sunday to get ready for the next round."
The Highlanders established the tone from the game's onset, moving the ball at will and never being daunted by the Parkersburg defense.
In fact, the only thing that stopped the Highlanders early on were a pair of turnovers that led to a 14-7 Parkersburg lead early in the second quarter.
However, Huntington High (8-3) went on to score the game's next 42 points in a variation of ways to move on to the next round where they will travel to No. 1 Martinsburg.
Elijah King finished the contest with 206 all-purpose yards -- 142 on nine carries and 64 on two catches - with two touchdowns to help lead the charge.
Quarterback Mark Shaver also finished with one of his best games in a Huntington High uniform, accounting for three touchdown passes and a 24-yard jaunt that capped the scoring in the game's final minute.
"Mark is getting better every week," Seals said. "You can see him growing in our offense every week. We felt like we could exploit them a little with our speed and the kids did a great job tonight."
Toquan Hayes had two catches on the evening with both going for touchdowns offensively while also grabbing an interception that turned the momentum on the first drive of the third quarter.
After Hayes' 18-yard scoring reception knotted the game at 14, King caught a pass over the middle and spun away from a tackle before racing for a 55-yard touchdown to give the Highlanders a 20-14 halftime lead.
Hayes set the tone for the defense in the second half, intercepting Parkersburg quarterback Alex Ash to give the Highlanders possession of the ball.
Nick Tubbs' 22-yard scoring run at the 9:08 mark of the third quarter gave Huntington High a two-score cushion at 28-14. Tubbs finished with 89 yards on 14 carries.
The two-score lead forced Parkersburg away from its gameplan, which was a steady dose of running back Adam Lindamood, who finished with 110 yards on 22 carries, but had 79 of that and two scores in the opening half.
Ash, who finished the contest 13-of-25 for 131 yards and two interceptions in the game, threw an incompletion on fourth down on the next series and Huntington High's Paden Christian scored on a 3-yard run that capped a 9-play, 60-yard drive to put an end to any doubt.
Christian, the Highlanders' workhorse at fullback, also finished with 82 yards and two scores to complement a Huntington High offense that ended with 542 yards of total offense.
"Offensively, wow," Seals said. "You can look at us offensively all year long and we've put points on the board against everybody."
The win was Huntington High's first playoff win since a 55-28 win over Nitro in the 2003 season.
Game-times and locations for second-round contests will be finalized on Sunday at the coaches' meeting at the WVSSAC office in Parkersburg.
The Big Reds end their season at 7-4.
PARKERSBURG 7 13 15 21 -- 56
HUNTINGTON HIGH 7 7 0 6 -- 20
HH -- Paden Christian 12 run (Stevens kick)
P -- Adam Lindamood 18 run (Roney kick)
P -- Lindamood 6 run (Roney kick)
HH -- Toquan Hayes 18 pass from Shaver (Stevens kick)
HH -- King 55 pass from Shaver (run failed)
HH -- Tubbs 22 run (Christian run)
HH -- Christian 3 run (Stevens kick)
HH -- King 50 run (Stevens kick)
HH -- Hayes 36 pass from Shaver (Stevens kick)
P -- Hamilton 2 run (pass intercepted)
HH -- Shaver 24 run (Stevens kick)
P HH
Total yards 256 542
First downs 16 21
Rushes-Yds 34-125 49-405
Comp-Att-Int 13-25-2 5-8-1
Passing yards 131 137
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-1
Penalties-Yds 4-20 6-60
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Parkersburg: Lindamood 22-110, 2 TDs; Hamilton 5-16, TD; Ash 6-0; Santer 1-(-1). Huntington High: King 9-142, TD; Tubbs 14-89, TD; Christian 13-82, 2 TDs; Shaver 7-47. TD; Page 3-26; Thompson 3-19.
PASSING -- Parkersburg: Ash 13-of-25, 131 yards, 2 INTs. Huntington High: Shaver 5-of-7, 137 yards, 3 TDs; Elijah King 0-for-1,0 yards, INT.
RECEIVING -- Parkersburg: Minnite 4-54; Terrell 2-30; Bell 3-29; Santer 1-9; Lindamood 2-5; Shank 1-4. Huntington High: King 2-64, TD; Hayes 2-54, 2 TDs' Rutherford 1-19.
