Musselman Game
Big Reds Peel Applemen 41-10
To Earn 13th Playoff Position
Game Statistics
INWOOD – In a game with lots of playoff implications, Parkersburg spotted Musselman an early field goal then ripped off 41 unanswered points to defeat the Applemen 41-10 here Friday and earn the 13th spot in the final ratings.
The 6-4 Big Reds got a big return to the lineup effort from senior Anthony Ice with three touchdowns and will unofficially play third seeded Hurricane in the first round of the Class AAA playoffs. Official final ratings as well as the date and time of the game will be decided Sunday at the playoff meeting at the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission office.
Ice came back with a flourish in a hurry as he returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown just three minutes into the game after the Big Reds had fallen behind by a field goal thanks to a fumbled on Parkersburg’s first play from scrimmage. He later caught scoring passes of eight and 18 yards from David Parsons and finished with 68 receiving yards on four catches while Parsons completed 10 of 16 passes for 162 yards and three more touchdowns to add to his already record-setting total. Parsons has set the regular season record of 27 TD passes and that ties the overall season record including playoffs.
While Ice & Co. provided lots of offensive fireworks it was a fired-up Big Red defense that came up with the big plays that enabled the visitors to shut down the 15th ranked Applemen. Those plays included a blocked punt and recovery for a touchdown as well as three interceptions and fumble recovery. Andrew Stalnaker had the blocked punt and 12 yard return for a touchdown.
Jason Williams ran for 67 yards on just eight carries and a touchdown while Casey Stanley had the other TD reception, a 37-yard play as part of a 21-point first quarter.
The game begin the fourth quarter as part of the 35-point, mercy rule protocol that included a running clock. It was the fifth time this season the Big Reds have won a mercy-rule game.
Musselman took the 3-0 lead after recovering a fumble on the PHS six yard line but the defense, led by Andrew Stalnaker, held the home team on downs and Wilson Bonham had to kick a 31 yard field goal.
Ice answered that with a scintillating kickoff return for a touchdown and the rout had begun.
The second PHS possession resulted in a seven-play, 54-yard scoring drive with Williams breaking off a 24 yard run along the way and Parsons hitting Ice for the final eight yard with 4:58 on the first quarter clock.
The PHS defense came through again as Andrew Stalnaker recovered a Musselman fumble on the home team’s 40 yard line and it took three plays for Parsons to hit Stanley with a 37-yard scoring pass. Stanley’s third extra point kick made it 21-3 with 2:48 left in the first quarter.
On the Big Reds first possession of the second quarter, they were able to put together a 90-yard drive that took eight plays to reach the end zone again. Williams did the honors this time with a great second effort, tackle-breaking run covering 38 yards.
PHS continued its onslaught in the third quarter, driving from its own 10 to the Musselman 17 only to fumble the ball away. But once again the defense held on downs and this time Andrew Stalnaker broke through the block the punt attempt and then picked the ball up and rambled into the end zone to make it 35-3 midway through the period.
Connor Petty tipped a pass on the next series that Andrew Stalnaker intercepted and returned to the Musselman 21. Once again the Big Reds capitalized as Parsons found Ice with the sixth TD of the night and a 41-3 lead.
With the clock running in the fourth quarter Musselman was able to complete a 10-plau, 80-yard scoring drive thanks to some workhorse running by Brayden Miller.
#15 Parkersburg vs Musselman (Nov. 3, 2023 at Inwood, WV)
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Total
Parkersburg 21 7 13 0 - 41
Musselman 3 0 0 7 - 10
Qtr Time Scoring play
1st 09:36 MUSS - Wilson Bonham 31 yd field goal, 4-0 2:14
09:22 PHS - Anthony Ice 94 yd kickoff return (Casey Stanley kick)
04:58 PHS - Anthony Ice 8 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 7-54 3:18
02:48 PHS - Casey Stanley 37 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 4-40 1:27
2nd 07:25 PHS - Jason Williams 38 yd run (Casey Stanley kick), 8-90 4:05
3rd 05:52 PHS - Andrew Stalnaker 12 yd punt return (Casey Stanley kick)
00:51 PHS - Anthony Ice 18 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick failed), 5-21 3:16
4th 07:45 MUSS - Brayden Miller 2 yd run (Wilson Bonham kick), 10-80 5:06
......................................................................PHS MUSS
FIRST DOWNS 15 10
RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 31-139 24-43
PASSING YDS (NET) 162 83
Passes Att-Comp-Int 16-10-0 20-13-3
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 47-301 44-126
Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards 1-12 0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards 2-94 4-105
Interception Returns-Yards 3-19 0-0
Punts (Number-Avg) 1-19.0 4-25.0
Fumbles-Lost 3-3 1-1
Penalties-Yards 4-40 3-44
Possession Time 20:39 19:36
Third-Down Conversions 4 of 9 2 of 9
Fourth-Down Conversions 3 of 3 0 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances 2-3 2-2
Sacks By: Number-Yards 2-17 0-0
RUSHING: Parkersburg-Jason Williams 8-67; Jakel Shelton 13-45; Sylas Cheuvront 2-18; David Parsons 5-9; Anthony Ice 2-1; TEAM 1-minus 1. Musselman-Brayden Miller 11-46; Logan Shelton 7-13; Blake Sanders 1-minus 1; Eli Fleming 3-minus 3; Michael Thompson 2-minus 12.
PASSING: Parkersburg-David Parsons 10-16-0-162. Musselman-Eli Fleming 9-14-3-56; Michael Thompson 4-6-0-27.
RECEIVING: Parkersburg-Anthony Ice 4-68; Matthew Stalnaker 3-43; Casey Stanley 2-45; Jakel Shelton 1-6. Musselman-Brayden Miller 5-49; Logan Shelton 3-13; Isaah Beard 2-13; Blake Sanders 2-6; Eli Fleming 1-2.
INTERCEPTIONS: Parkersburg-Andrew Stalnaker 2-19; Cyrus Backus 1-0. Musselman-None.
FUMBLES: Parkersburg-David Parsons 2-2; Cyrus Backus 1-1. Musselman-Brayden Miller 1-1.
