BLUEFIELD — Sometimes victory is a dish best served cold.
No. 3 Bluefield was undeterred neither by the first truly wintery Friday outing of 2026 nor by No. 14 James Monroe in Friday’s WVSSAC Class AA playoff opener at Mitchell Stadium.
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Quarterback Max Simpson passed for five touchdowns — all in the first half — and the Beavers (9-2) rolled to a 54-18 victory over the Mavericks (6-5).
Bluefield will advance to face either No. 6 Phillip Barbour or No. 11 Clay County in next week’s Class AA state quarterfinal round, again at Mitchell Stadium, day and time TBA. The Colts (7-3) are slated to face the Panthers (7-3) Saturday in a 4 p.m game at George Bryrer Field at Phillipi.
Simpson completed 17 of 20 pass attempts for 346 yards, giving up one interception. Tylee Simon had four catches for 109 yards and two touchdown receptions. Pax Calhoun had five catches for 106 yars and one touchdown. Jamarius Smith had three catches for 37 yards and a touchdown.
Jeremiah Jones had a 5-yard scoring run for the Beavers, also scoring on a 47-yard touchdown reception on one of his three catches on the night.
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Jeremiah Wade blocked a punt for the Beavers, scooped up the ball up and scored on it to give Bluefield a special teams score.
Bluefield led 48-0 at the half.
The Mavericks, who entered the fray without senior starting quarterback Jayden Miller, were not held scoreless in the second half.
Sophomore backup QB Bentley McCroskey got some mileage out of his battlefield promotion, putting the Mavericks on the scoreboard with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Gardinier, who shortly thereafter added another score on an interception and 25-yard touchdown return.
A mysterious Mav added a third TD on a 46-yard scoop and score off a Beavers fumble.
Zymier Davis added a fourth quarter TD run to cap Bluefield scoring.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
