By Rob Mario of WEPM radio

For the second consecutive year the Eastern Panhandle will not have a team represented in the Super Six at Wheeling Island Stadium, as both Martinsburg and Keyser were defeated in their quarterfinal round games last week.

From 1995 to 2006, the region produced 14 title game appearances and seven championships with Moorefield providing the most recent of their six Class A titles in 2003. The year 2008 will mark the 50th anniversary of the AAA classification in West Virginia, and it will also mark a half century without a Class AAA champion from the region. The last Class AA champion from the Eastern Panhandle was Musselman in 1995. Keyser looked like a pretty good bet to break that drought ,as former Mountaineer Sean Biser’s team was loaded with seniors, speed and skill. That dream died, though, when Magnolia ended the Golden Tornado season with a 23-19 upset in Morgantown last Friday. The Blue Eagles stopped Keyser at the 12-yard line late in the game to secure the victory. Keyser’s big three did their thing, but in the end, it was just too much Magnolia and too many Keyser mistakes. Jeremy Green scored on a 15-yard touchdown run, Matt Wilmer scored on a five-yard run, and Chris Brown scored the third and final touchdown on a three-yard dive to cut the score to 23-19. Wilmer finished the game with 141 yards on 18 carries. Among the Keyser mistakes were a 90-yard kickoff return that was called back because of holding, a pair of missed point after conversion opportunities, and consecutive first half fumbles that helped to set up at least one Magnolia score. The too much Magnolia part factored in when the Blue Eagle defense pulled off a first half goal line stand which saw Keyser fail to punch it in twice from the two-yard line and at the end of the game from the 12. Keyser, a senior-dominated team at the skill positions, finishes 10-1. The Golden Tornado will say goodbye to many star players, including Wilmer, Green, quarterback Preston Hartman, Brown, John Purdy, Brandon Barnett, Jordan Mellott, Joey Amtower and tackle/linebacker Taige Redman among others. (That said, don’t write off Keyser next season or in the future despite these key losses. Keyser’s youth football league teams routinely play for and win area championships). The last Keyser team to win a state title in football was the 1969 squad, which won Class AA with a 21-20 win over Winfield. Other Keyser championships were won in 1962 and 1956.

Martinsburg’s season came to a close in Charleston, as top-ranked South Charleston rallied from a fourth quarter deficit to defeat the Bulldogs, 28-21. Martinsburg’s vaunted running attack had difficulty against a very tough South Charleston defense, so the Bulldogs improvised their way to three touchdowns. Martinsburg scored on a fake field goal, a blocked punt return and when they recovered their own fumble in the end zone before it escaped for a touchback. The Dogs had a chance late near midfield but some confusion over a time out that they thought they had, and a subsequent shotgun snap that went over the quarterback’s head put an end to their season.

Martinsburg took its first lead midway through the second quarter when Brett Rogers pulled up from a field goal hold and hit Darren Arndt for a 25-yard scoring pass, which along with extra point, made it 7-6. The Dogs tied the game at 14 in the third when Jordan Fields recovered a blocked punt for a 10-yard score. Midway through the fourth quarter. Martinsburg took their last lead at 21-20 when James Jordan recovered a teammate’s fumble in the end zone just before it escaped past the end line. Jordan’s extra point would be the last point of the season for the Bulldogs, who finished the season 9-3. Martinsburg will lose 23 seniors from this team, including standouts like 1,200-yard rusher Ryan Rowland, fullback/linebacker/kicker/punter James Jordan, and leading tackler, linebacker Jordan Fields. Brett Rogers graduates, as does cornerback Will Manley and safety Jon Arndt. Big bodies like Mike Nolet, Blake DeBord and Leonard Dixson among others will be tough to replace. However, at Martinsburg it is more about reloading than rebuilding, and it will begin with the return of sophomore quarterback Kameron Puller. The school is also flush with talented young skill players who will either be returning for another varsity season, or rising through the ranks for their first varsity season next year.