Tommy Miller's 2 TDs help deliver Mid-Prairie's power push at West Liberty

WEST LIBERTY

Tie game. Fourth down. A yard to go.

Given that scenario last Friday night at West Liberty, Mid-Prairie 215-pound offensive lineman Tommy Miller had one job: help with the tush push on quarterback Brooks Weber that would get the Golden Hawks a first down.

Except it wasn’t.

Instead, Weber handed the ball off to Miller, a two-time state shot put qualifier who pounded his way seven yards into the end zone for a second quarter touchdown that put the Golden Hawks ahead for good in an eventual 35-21 win.

“It’s awesome,” Miller said, crediting the strong blocking of his teammates. “I can run through anybody.”

And just to prove the point, he added another 2-yard TD run in the final quarter as his teammates surrounded him in the end zone for a celebration.

While senior quarterback Brooks Weber put up another nearly perfect night, throwing for 230 yards and a TD on 17-of-21 passing for a 131.1 efficiency rating, Mid-Prairie’s powerful running game provided the painful damage on a West Liberty team, coached by Mid-Prairie alum Jason Dumont, that had won three of its first four games.

Ryan Henry added a pair of TD runs and was one of three Golden Hawk receivers to catch five passes.

Ahead by a single point, 14-13, the Golden Hawks scored three consecutive touchdowns in the final quarter to win their 14th consecutive District 2A game dating back to 2023 and left them atop District 2A-6 with the only unbeaten record among six teams following wins against Wilton and West Liberty.

“We want to dominate,” head coach Daren Lambert said.

Mid-Prairie has three district games remaining, including this Friday against Central Lee, in its chase after a three-peat district title.

“We talk about every district game is a district championship game,” Lambert said.

“Every single game, it’s a district title,” Tommy Miller said.

Miller’s second touchdown was set up by an acrobatic catch of a long pass by Carson Humphrey, who was among three Golden Hawks to catch five passes apiece. Humphrey’s pass catches totaled a career-high 107 yards and he also had a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter that set up a Mid-Prairie TD.

The Golden Hawks scored on their opening possession for the fifth straight game as Henry sprinted untouched into the end zone from 7 yards out just 3:13 into the game.

Henry ran for nearly 98 yards on 19 carries and caught five passes for 38 yards as the two-time state sprint finalist sped around and through West Liberty’s defense on turf for the first time this season. His second TD, a 40-yarder, came when Henry got to the sideline and then just took off for the end zone.

“It’s definitely different than the muddy fields,” he said.

West Liberty answered Henry’s early score with a 7-yard TD run by Briggs Collins in the opening quarter and then a 7-yard TD pass from Devin Mericle to Beckham Simon in the second quarter. But the Golden Hawks defense pitched a near shutout after that, not allowing another West Liberty TD until there was just 1:32 left in the game and the Golden Hawks were up by three touchdowns.

West Liberty’s Enrique Michel-Toribio and Collins combined for 143 rushing yards, but just one touchdown against the Golden Hawks. The previous week against Central Lee, they combined for 170 yards and four rushing TDs.

Mid-Prairie was stuck in a tight battle until the Golden Hawks scored on three consecutive possessions in less than five minutes in the final quarter, a TD catch by Kale Miller, and scoring runs by Miller and Henry.

BY THE NUMBERS

MID-PRAIRIE 35, WEST LIBERTY 21

Mid-Prairie       7    7    0   21  --  35

West Liberty    7    6    0     8   --  21

M-P: Ryan Henry 7 run (Kale Miller kick)

WL: Briggs Collins 7 run (Iger Garcia Rosas kick)

M-P: Tommy Miller 7 run (Kale Miller kick)

WL: Beckham Simon 7 pass from Devin Mericle (kick failed)

M-P: Tommy Miller 2 run (Kale Miller kick)

M-P: Kale Miller 14 pass from Brooks Weber (Kale Miller kick)

M-P: Henry 40 run (Kale Miller kick)

WL: Tully Griffith 23 pass from Mericle (Collins run)

PASSING LEADERS

Mid-Prairie, Brooks Weber, 17-21-230, 1 TD, 0 INT; West Liberty, Devin Mericle, 11-16-197, 2 TD, 0 INT; Enrique Michel-Toribio, 1-2-24.

RUSHING LEADERS

Mid-Prairie, Ryan Henry, 19-98, 2 TD; Tommy Miller, 2-9, 2 TD; Lenox Miller, 4-12; Weber, 6-4; West Liberty, Michel-Toribio, 19-77; Briggs Collins, 7-66, 1 TD.

RECEIVING LEADERS

Mid-Prairie, Carson Humphrey, 5-107; Kale Miller, 5-53, 1 TD; Henry, 5-38; Nolan Jergens, 2-32; West Liberty, Landon Wainwright, 4-78; Beckham Simon, 3-44, 1 TD; Tully Griffith, 2-35, 1 TD; Pierre Shield, 1-25; Collins, 1-15.

TACKLING LEADERS

Mid-Prairie, Caedyn Huston, 6; Cecil Kelley, 5; Bronx Miller, 4; Carson Humphrey, 4; Tommy Miller, 4; Morgan Northup, 4; West Liberty, Landon Wainwright, 9; Pierre Shield, 5.5; Beckham Simon, 4; Enrique Michel-Toribio, 4; Cole Wagamon, 4.