SACKING —Madonna’s Josh Gasvoda, right, and Jacob Bonner sack Clay-Battelle quarterback Seth Casino Friday. (Photo by Joe Catullo)

WEIRTON — Gavin Dietrich had a night to remember as he closed out his high school career in Madonna’s 36-6 season-ending win over rival Clay-Battelle Friday on a crisp November evening inside Jimmy Carey Stadium.

The Madonna (4-6) quarterback was a jack-of-all-trades player throughout this, his senior year, but Friday he ran the football in a kind of “wildcat” formation. He ran with it 35 times, with mostly short bursts for 134 yards and two touchdowns. He sustained a late-game injury that sidelined him for a short while. Upon his return to the lineup early in the fourth quarter, Dietrich had his longest gain of the game, a 16-yard scamper.

Dietrich not only ran the football, but he also completed 5 of 7 passes (all to sophomore Tom Sessi) for 114 yards and two touchdowns. He intercepted a fourth-quarter pass at the Madonna 35 and returned it to the Clay-Battelle (5-5) 25. That set up the Madonna’s final touchdown, a 3-yard Sessi burst up the middle.

“Gavin had a heck of a night, a nice capstone to a heck of a career at Madonna, ” said Blue Don third-year coach Darrin Hicks, who came to Madonna after coaching several years at the college level. “I hope it doesn’t end. He’s definitely got the potential to go on and play college ball. It was a great ending to his high school career.”

While the Blue Dons had a 22-0 lead in the second period, it was a defensive stand in the red zone as the first-half clock ticked down that Hicks felt was key to the game.

After Madonna’s third score with 3:53 left before halftime, the Cee Bees’ Sean Hays ran back the kickoff from his 40 to midfield. Clay-Battelle put together an impressive 14-play drive that got the ball to the Madonna 11, with a first down about a minute before the break. Four straight Levi Carrico passes were defended by the Blue Dons defense, denying the Cee Bees a score.

“We were fortunate that when we needed to make a defensive play, we were able to make it,” Hicks said. “It’s been a couple of weeks in a row where our defense has played well. Coach (Jordan) Allen (defensive coordinator) does a great job putting those guys in a great position, and they really responded. Coach (Allen) is a fired-up guy, and the players love him and love to play for him. It’s nice to see all the hard work he puts in with those guys. The last couple of weeks, the defense has really come together.”

The Cee Bees opened the second half with a quick four-play drive that ended when Hays plowed into the end zone from the 14.

“Looking back at it, that stop was the key to the whole game for us,” said Hicks, who said goodbye to five seniors during pregame ceremonies. “Clay-Battelle came out and hit us with a reverse on the first play of the second half (a Nathan Swaniger 23-yard jet sweep). They got a little bit of momentum, and that 15-yard late hit out of bounds didn’t help us. So, if you go back to the stop in the first half, that could have been a massive momentum swing for them. That four-play sequence was probably the deciding factor in the game.”

Hicks opened the game with a different formation. He had three wing backs lined up just behind the tackle on either side of the offense and ran Dietrich and Sessi off of it with power plays repeatedly throughout the game. Dietrich got the call for 35 runs and netted 134 yards rushing, that after running the football for 201 yards last week in a tough three overtime loss on a muddy field at Conotton Valley.

“We’ve seen that formation, but we just didn’t adjust our defense well enough against it, and they got on us and we didn’t get enough penetration,” Clay-Battelle coach Ryan Wilson said. “There was a place on that first drive by Madonna that we had them third-and-15 and couldn’t get the ball back. After that, we threw an interception (one of two by the Blue Dons). They took that in for a touchdown and, after that, we had a fumble (recovered by senior Dylan Austin at the Cee Bee 46).

“We sort of hurt ourselves there at the beginning of the game. I told the kids after the game that it was sort of giving them some presents early. I thought we got right back into it to open the second half. That got some excitement into the kids, and we saw some things we liked, but we just couldn’t stop them and the injury bug hit us. We ended up playing some kids that were out of position.”

Dietrich hit sophomore Sessi with a 20-yard pass for the first touchdown of the game. Dietrich ran the ball in for the two-pointer.

Sessi intercepted a Seth Casino pass at his own 40 and returned the ball to the Cee Bee 37 to set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Dietrich. That drive saw Dietrich carrying the ball on all seven plays.

Austin’s fumble recovery on Clay-Battelle’s first play of the ensuing possession set up another Dietrich touchdown run. It was an 8-yard dash through a huge hole on the left side. A Dietrich carry into the end zone for the two-point conversion (one of two by Dietrich in the game) gave the Blue Dons a 22-0 lead that they carried into the half.

Dietrich hooked up with Sessi on a 44-yard scoring play to make it 28-6 midway through the third quarter, and Sessi wrapped up the scoring with a 3-yard power run through the middle with 6:37 left. He ran the ball in for the two-pointer.

Reflecting back on the 2018 season, Hicks felt it was one of ups and downs.

“It was a season of adversity, a season of young players having to step up,” he said. “It was kind of a next man up mentality. It was a season of five seniors that believed in Madonna football, that believed in the program, believed in each other, believed in this team. They really kept it together. With all the crazy things that happened — the ebb and flow of the season — it’s nice to finish it on a high note for a lot of reasons.

“I’m pleased with the way it ended. We can continue to build on this momentum. I think the program is on solid ground. We just need to continue to look forward. We had a lot of young kids get playing time. There probably were seven games this year where our entire roster played in games. So, that’s 11 freshmen that got varsity reps, some in very critical situations. That’s exciting for our future.”

Injuries played a huge role in the season outcome for the Blue Dons, including seniors Dietrich and Garrett Cook and juniors Josh Gasvoda and Jakob McCombs.

“We had a lot of guys that missed time this year with injuries,” Hicks said. “It’s tough for them, especially the seniors. You’re only guaranteed 10 of these things and, in that way, you’re not guaranteed 10 because there’s only 10 on the schedule.

“It’s tough for those guys, and my heart breaks for them because they don’t get all the opportunities. But, each one of them battled back and did everything they needed to do to get back. That’s a testament to them and their desire, willingness and love for Madonna, which is awesome.”

Austin spent his entire Madonna career as an interior lineman but got a complementary offensive carry of 6 yards in the waning minutes of the game.

Dietrich, who missed a couple of games early with an ankle injury, had several big games and finished the season as the Blue Don leading ground gainer, with 704 stripes on 172 carries and nine touchdowns. Dietrich was the starting quarterback in 2017 but didn’t throw the ball much and tossed it only 42 times this year. But, he was very efficient, completing 26 of them for 301 yards and three scores. He was intercepted five times, including one in Friday’s game.

Sessi was right behind Dietrich in the ground gaining department, with 699 yards on 134 carries and seven touchdowns. The sophomore not only led Madonna as the leading pass receiver, but he also led the entire Herald-Star/Daily Times coverage area with 46 catches. His receiving garnered 477 yards and five scores.

Showing his all-around skills, Dietrich was Madonna’s second-leading receiver with 23 catches for 278 yards and two scores.

Madonna 36, Clay-Battelle 6

Clay-Battelle 0 0 6 0 — 6

Madonna 8 14 6 8 — 36

M: Dietrich 20 run (Dietrich run)

M: Dietrich 2 run (run failed)

M: Dietrich 8 run (Dietrich run)

CB: Hays 14 run (run failed)

M: Sessi 44 pass from Dietrich (run failed)

M: Sessi 3 run (Sessi run)

RUSHING: Clay-Battelle 29-105-1 (Swaniger 9-74, Hays 6-18-1, Hilley 1-9, Skavinsky 2-3, Payton 1-(-5), Carrico 1-4, Ammons 2-6, Casino 2-(-13), Watson 3-11, Arnett 2-(-2). Madonna 52-148-3 (Dietrich 35-134-2, Sessi 11-47-1, G. Cook 1-6, Arlia 3-(-23), Daddario 2-(-6).

PASSING: Clay-Battelle 8-22-73-0-2 (Casino 2-6-10-0-1, Watson 0-1, Carrico 6-15-63-0-1). Madonna 5-7-114-2-1 (all by Dietrich).

RECEIVING: Clay-Battelle (Skavinsky 4-40, Hays 2-8, Swaniger 1-20, Casino 1-15). Madonna 5-7-114-2 (all by Sessi).

FIRST DOWNS: Clay-Battelle 10; Madonna 13.

FUMBLES-LOST: Clay-Battelle 1-1; Madonna 5-1.

PENALTIES: Clay-Battelle 4-26; Madonna 4-45.