SHORT GAP, W.Va. — Frankfort needed a test.
Since their 20-point win at Williamstown in Week 8, the Falcons have laid waste to their opponents, outscoring them 200-13. Their closest win was a 42-point romping of Grafton in Week 10.
Frankfort’s starters have rarely seen action in the second half during that stretch.
No. 8 Bluefield (5-6) gave the top-seeded Falcons (12-0) quite the test on Saturday, but Jullian Pattison made sure his team passed it with flying colors, as Frankfort soared to a 27-6 win over the Beavers in the Class AA quarterfinals.
“We knew we were going to be tested,” said Frankfort head coach Kevin Whiteman. “They’re big, they’re athletic, they’re quick. They’ve got a lot going for them. I’m just proud of the way the kids battled through the adversity because you’re going to face that in these big games, and we just kept fighting. We didn’t give up. Anytime we made a mistake, we just kept battling, and that’s what we’ve got to do moving forward.”
A week after rushing for 130 yards and four touchdowns, Pattison followed up that performance with 21 carries for 230 yards and three touchdowns.
Despite the rushing performance, Pattison’s most crucial play may have come on defense.
Trailing 21-6 midway through the third quarter, Bluefield took over at the Frankfort 26 following a fumble.
Six plays later, the Beavers faced a fourth-and-13 at the Falcons’ 14. Quarterback Mattox Simpson rolled out and looked for a receiver near the goal line, but Pattison sliced between a group of bodies to bat down the pass.
“He runs really hard,” Whiteman said of Pattison. “He’s very determined. … Defensively, he’s the man. Like I said, he’s very physical. He likes to hit people, and I just can’t be more proud of all of them. They really battled hard. It was a great team win.”
Frankfort needed the ensuing drive to result in a score or chewing of the clock — the Falcons got both, with a heavy dose of Pattison when the Falcons took over with 4:19 to play in the third.
After a Frankfort run for no gain on first down, Pattison got the ball on the next five plays for runs of 11, 15, 6, 2 and 5 yards to get the Falcons across midfield.
A 5-yard run by Uriah Cutter on third-and-1 got Frankfort on the edge of the red zone, and Pattison later capped off the drive with a 3-yard TD run to put the score at its final with 7:36 remaining. The drive spanned 86 yards on 14 plays and ate up eight minutes and 43 seconds.
Keiton Nester picked off a pass on Bluefield’s next play from scrimmage, and Blake Jacobs’ interception with 3:27 remaining halted a Bluefield drive and iced the game as the Beavers only had one timeout left.
“We wanted to stop the big play, and we were able to do that,” Whiteman said of his team’s defensive approach. “We gave up a few big plays, but we didn’t let them capitalize on it. Great defensive effort, great team effort. Felt like we battled through a lot of adversity, but we kept fighting. Those fumbles killed us. We can’t do that in these big games. But we kept scratching and clawing, and just great win for us, great win.”
In addition to Bluefield’s drive that ended with Pattison breaking up the pass at the goal line, the Beavers’ lone score came as a result of Frankfort turning it over on the ground.
After a running into the kicker penalty gave the Falcons a first down early in the second quarter, Frankfort fumbled the snap on the next play to give Bluefield the ball at the Falcons’ 43.
Five of the next six plays went to running back Ty Patton to get a third-and-goal at the Frankfort 3. Jeff King rolled left and into the end zone on a jet sweep for the score. The snap on the point-after try sailed over the holder’s head to cut the Beavers’ deficit to 14-6.
“Well, first of all, it’s tough on a night like tonight, with all this cold air, that ball gets really hard, and it is hard to hold on to,” Whiteman said of the fumbles. “I’ve got to look closer at the film. I can’t tell if the quarterback pulled out on them or he said one time the pulling guard hit the ball. We’ve just got to look at it closer on the film. The one (fumble), they hit it right at the right time and the right way to knock it out.”
Pattison opened the scoring at 5:23 in the first with a 77-yard dash.
Carder Shanholtz doubled the Falcons’ lead with 39 ticks left in the first with a 9-yard run.
Pattison stretched the Falcons’ lead to 21-6 with 1:20 to go before halftime on a 27-yard scamper.
Frankfort outgained the Beavers, 322-123, including a 310-49 advantage on the ground, with Pattison accounting for nearly 75% of those yards.
Patton led the Bluefield ground game with 54 yards on 13 tries, while Simpson was 6 of 18 for 74 yards through the air. Jaden Francisco recovered a pair of fumbles.
The win sets Frankfort up with a rematch against No. 4 Williamstown, who toppled No. 5 Wheeling Central Catholic, 29-21, on Friday night. The winner next week will play for the Class AA state crown against the winner of No. 2 Roane County and No. 3 Independence.
“They’re a very tough, well-coached football team,” Whiteman said of Williamstown. “What I like about them, they play like us. They’re very physical, and we know it’s going to be a tough battle. We’ve got to be locked in this week, prepare, and come out and be ready for battle again.”
The Falcons won the Week 8 meeting at Williamstown, 27-7, and will have one more chance to go out with a win at home with a senior-laden team.
“I love it for them, and I say it all the time,” Whiteman said. “Not only are they good football players, they’re great young men, and that’s what I’m most proud of. On and off the field, they’re great young men, and they represent our school and our community very well, and that’s the main thing all about it. But to get to have one more game here at Frankfort Stadium is priceless.”