Bluefield – The Great Wall of Hico fell under siege and became the latest obstacle to be cleared by Bluefield in what’s been a stellar season for the No. 2-seeded Beavers.
Bluefield jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the opening quarter and never looked back, rolling to a 45-7 victory over No. 7 Midland Trail Friday night in Mitchell Stadium.
The win sends the Beavers to the Class AA semifinals for the first time since 2021 where they’ll host No. 3 Phillip Barbour at a time and date to be determined Sunday.
For Trail the loss brings an end to a 10-2 campaign and the program’s best season since 2018.
“We couldn’t dig our way out of hole in the first quarter and they kind of slowed us down,” Trail head coach Jeremy Moore said. “They brought it man. Give them the credit man. They took the Great Wall of Hico stuff personal and the physicality – they brought it. The defense played lights out. They’ve got some studs over there. I’m anxious to see how far they make it. They’re a really good football team.”
The Bluefield game plan centered around slowing the area’s leading rusher (1,690 yards) in Jayden Roop and the hosts effectively did so, limiting him to a season-low 57 yards on 22 carries, including just 30 yards on 16 totes in the first half.
“Our defense is quick,” Bluefield head coach Fred Simon said. “They hustle and they take a lot of pride in what they do. Man I’m proud of them and I think they’re very good.”
Making matters worse for the Patriots was their struggles with field positioning. Two of their drives started at their own 2 – one due to a punt and penalty and another due to a red zone stand but those were opportunities they couldn’t afford to squander in a matchup that turned into a boat race early.
“It just took us too long to get going,” Moore said. “We had already dug a hole and you can’t dig a hole against the No. 2 team in the state. We’re not built for that. Kudos to them. They took away what we wanted to do and we didn’t have an answer for it.”
After forcing a Bluefield punt to open the game, Trail’s first drive started at its own 2 but only advanced to the 6, setting up a 15-yard punt. The Beavers struck first when Jeremiah Jones rolled through Trail’s defense for a 21-yard score to draw first blood.
Trail found some momentum on its following drive, converting a third down but a strip sack on second-and-13 was recovered by Bluefield’s Jessiah Hunt at the Trail 27. The turnover proved harmless as the Patriots forced a fourth down completion short of the sticks but they got the ball back on their own 2 again with no room to operate. A 19-yard punt set up another short field and the Beavers required just four play to make it a 14-0 game on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Max Simpson to Jordan Hess.
Another Patriot three-and-out, their third of the night to that point, led to another touchdown with a 47-yard completion to Jaleel Jones setting up a 1-yard plunge form his brother Jeremiah.
The trend continued with Jones adding a 5-yard rushing touchdown early in the second quarter and Simpson tossing his 32nd touchline pass of the season to Pax Calhoun from 22 yard out for a 35-0 lead.
On their last leg, the Patriots rolled the dice on fourth down on their following drive, coming up empty. Jamarius Smith then hammered the coffin with a 44-yard touchdown grab.
It was the scoring capper for a half that saw the Beavers roll up 288 yards of total offense with 242 of it coming through the air.
“(Offensive coordinator) Fritz (Simon) up top knows where the openings are on teams,” Simon said. “You’re not guessing anymore. He sees it and he can make the call and that’s what makes us so strong. He’s got a great seat up top and knows what’s going on. He’s seeing it, Max is executing and the guys are catching it – most of them. It makes us a heck of a team and guys can see the run game.”
While Bluefield moves on to face an unfamiliar opponent, Trail graduates a talented senior class led by Roop, standout pass rusher Xander Ooten and leading receivers Jamison Swafford and Xaylen Johns.
“I told the kids nobody has any reason to hang their head,” Moore said. “We’re very proud of what they accomplished. They were one of 32 teams practicing this week so it’s an honor and that’s a special group of seniors. I hate that the season had to end but there’s only one team in double-A that’s going to win it all in the playoffs so I’m very, very proud of them.”
Simpson completed 15 of 30 passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns while Calhoun hauled in seven of them for 98 yards.
Jacob Ewing scored Trail’s lone touchdown in the loss.
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