HS Football Playoffs: Midland Trail rides the Roop Express to a win over Petersburg
Jayden Roop rushes for 226 yards and two touchdowns
Friday night there were no real secrets when No. 7-seed Midland Trail hosted No. 10-seed Petersburg in the opening round of the Class AA football playoffs.
The Patriots were going to ride the Jayden Roop express, win or lose.
Once again, the senior tailback was up to the challenge.
Carrying the ball 41 times for 226 yards and two scores, Roop led Midland Trail to a 27-12 win over the Vikings on Roger Eades Field at Patriot Stadium.
The visitors made the first big splash of the night by returning the opening kick back to the Midland Trail 30-yard line.
Following a crucial conversion on 4th-and-5 from the 25-yard line, Vikings quarterback Payton Metheny found Kaleb Kuhn in the back of the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown pass.
Unfortunately for the Petersburg, it was the only bright spot of the first half.
The Patriots captured the lead for the first time with 1:12 to play in the first stanza when Rayce Dickerson hit Gage Johnson across the middle for a six-yard scoring strike.
When Dakota Bennett knocked in the extra point, the home team never trailed again.
The big play of the opening half came in the second quarter when a bad hand-off resulted in a Vikings fumble that was recovered by Aiden Weis.
Roop made the Vikings pay when he cashed in from five-yards out for a 14-6 lead that stood at the break.
The opening drive of the third quarter was more heavy doses of Roop as Midland Trail began to wear down Petersburg.
Roop eventually added his second score of the night from four-yards out, but the key play came on a 26 yard gain by Roop during the drive.
A good hit on the ball by the Petersburg defender forced the only fumble of the night for the Patriots, but Roop's teammate Jacob Ewing dove on the ball to save the possession.
The visitors refused to go away quietly, responding with a solid drive culminating in a three-yard touchdown run from Lukas Wolford, trimming the deficit back to 20-12.
Trail's second big defensive play of the night came less than two minutes into the fourth quarter.
With Petersburg driving for a possible tying score, Xaylen Johns picked off a pass, giving Trail the ball back at near midfield.
More heavy lifting from Roop ended in a one-yard plunge from Johnson for the final score of the ball game.
Roop finished the night with 41 carries for 226 yards and the two scores. The home team ran the ball 59 of its 65 offensive plays.
The win was the first playoff victory for the Patriots since 2018.
Midland Trail will now play the winner of No. 2-seed Bluefield and No. 15-seed Oak Glen. That game will be played at 1 p.m. Saturday at Mitchell Stadium.
P: 6 0 6 0 - 12
MT: 7 7 6 7 - 27
Midland Trail head coach Jeremy Moore talked about the playoff win.
