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WHEELING -- Seven different players found the end zone for No. 8 Wheeling Central in what was a dominating 55-0 victory over upset-minded No. 16 Gilmer County on Saturday in a West Virginia Class A Quarterfinal at Wheeling Island Stadium.
Only No. 4 Ritchie County stands in the way of the Maroon Knights and another appearance in the state championship.
"We played hard and I'm proud of them," Central coach Mike Young said. "They played together as a team. We came out on fire, got a little lax in the second quarter but their quarterback (Ean Hamrick) is an elusive kid. He's very athletic and he has a good arm. (Avery Chapman) is a great receiver, too. We knew that was their bread and butter. Coach (Shannon) Kuchinski did a super job of defending him and coach (Jason) Rine did a super job of dominating offensively. Running the ball, throwing the ball, everything was right on cue."
Gilmer County, which was fresh off a huge upset win last week over top-ranked Cameron, opened the game with a three-and-out and following a bad punt, gave Wheeling Central the ball at the 39.
Three plays later Riley Watkins rumbled into the end zone from 11 yards away for a 7-0 upper hand.
However, the Titans came firing back with a drive starting at their own 10. After marching down the field, Hamrick launched a pass to the end zone that was intercepted by Jayvon Miller. That turnover seemed to be all Central needed to separate itself from Gilmer.
"That turned the table," Young said. "Jayvon's interception was huge in blowing their momentum and bursting their bubble.
"It was a great momentum builder for us and a deflator for them."
The Knights followed the interception up with an 80-yard, seven-play drive that culminated in a 1-yard TD burst by Cody Martos.
After a Gilmer punt, Central marched 74 yards on eight plays and Cole O'Neil walked into the end zone from 6 yards out to make it a 20-0 Central cushion with 8:02 remaining in the half.
The Titans' big chance came right before halftime when they reeled off a 16-play drive but a touchdown pass was called back due to an illegal man downfield. Gilmer settled for a field goal try that came up empty heading into the break.
Central made the Titans pay for that missed opportunity as Lorenzo Ferrera found paydirt from 13 yards out to start the second half and he followed that up with a 52-yard punt return to the house to extend the lead to 35-0 less than 4 minutes into the third quarter.
"Lorenzo had a great game," Young said. "We did some different things that make or break a team and that definitely made our team (Saturday). I'm awfully proud of them."
The highlights continued for the Knights and perhaps none bigger than Caleb Ratcliffe, who used one hand to secure a 24-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Payton Hildebrand for a 42-0 advantage heading into the fourth quarter with a running clock.
Braden McWreath turned on the jets in the fourth with a 46-yard TD scamper on fourth-and-5, before Grant McCabe jumped on a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown with over 5 minutes to play.
"I can't say enough about our kids and how they are playing aggressively," Young said. "They were balanced. I've said this numerous times -- I don't really care who gets the points. It's a team effort. We're not caught up on individuals, we're caught up on the team. That's the key to our success. These kids are stepping up and doing a super job."
Hamrick threw for 190 yards on 17 of 24 passing and ran for 23 yards on 13 carries.
Watkins, Ferrera and Martos each handled seven carries gaining 139, 86 and 73 yards, respectively.
"We have to continue to get better at blocking and tackling," Young said. "It's the fundamentals that make a difference in a game. That was huge how we played (Saturday) and we're going to continue to work on fundamentals."