Jefferson rocks Musselman on gridiron

October 06, 2000

Jefferson rocks Musselman on gridiron

By DAN SPEARS / Staff Writer

SHENANDOAH JUNCTION, W.Va. - According to Emily Post's rules of etiquette, the Musselman football team did the right thing Friday night by giving Jefferson running back Damon McDowell a present for his birthday.

Applemen coach Denny Price didn't want his team to buy out the store in the process.

McDowell returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, then torched Musselman for 172 yards rushing and two touchdowns as the Cougars pulled away for a 29-6 victory at Cougar Field.

"Anybody that plays Jefferson knows you have to focus on Damon McDowell," Price said. "We didn't do a very good job of that tonight. ... We kicked right to the middle at him, and we paid for it."

For the rest of the half, though, it was the Cougars (2-5) passing out hospitality presents. Jefferson was picked off once, had six fumbles and lost two of them - including one at the Musselman 5.

All the Applemen (2-5) could only muster a wind-aided 49-yard field goal by Andy Shutts by halftime.

"It's been like that with us for two years now," Jefferson coach Jay Kirby said. "Tonight we overcame that."

It was mostly because of McDowell. He ran for 73 yards on Jefferson's opening drive of the second half, finishing the eight-play, 84-yard drive with a 16-yard run through two tackles into the end zone. It gave the Cougars a 13-3 lead.

"They just said at halftime to hold onto the ball," McDowell said. "After that, the holes just opened up and I took off."

After an interception on Musselman's next drive, McDowell scored again from 13 yards out, with plenty of help from, a great block by receiver Kyle Wilt for a 19-3 game.

The Applemen finally got a first down on their next drive, but Jefferson stumped them again and scored again on Bryan Hyre's 1-yard run. It was set up by a surprise pass play from Hyre to Wilt for 14 yards on third-and-5.

It capped Jefferson's first win over Musselman since 1994, and sent the Applemen to their first five-game losing streak since 1966.

"That's the best McDowell's run all year. That's the best they've passed all year. That's the best they've blocked all year. That's the best they've played defense all year," Price said. "Put that all together, you'll see a good football team and you'll get beat."

McDowell received birthday congratulations from everyone on his way to the locker room, and he got a little bit more from Kirby - a compliment.

"Damon took over and really stepped up in the second half and went after it," Kirby said. "I think this is the one where he's finally found his potential.