Parkersburg Big Reds beat rival Marietta Tigers

November 24, 2009

By iHigh Admin of Great American Rivalry Series

On Friday night, under a clear West Virginia night sky, with the stands packed with over 8,000 fans, the Parkersburg High School Big Reds and the Marietta High School Tigers renewed this classic series and this game ended up being a one man show. The rivalry series game, played at Parkersburg Stadium Field, had not been played since 1994 because of scheduling problems, but dated back to 1908. And on this night, Parkersburg High School Senior Tailback and Great American Rivalry Series Game Most Valuable Player, Allan Wasonga, ran the Parkersburg Big Reds past the Marietta Tigers 28-7 and etched his name into the series history.

The game started off as a defensive battle with both teams going scoreless throughout the first quarter. The Big Reds and the Tigers took the first 28 minutes of the game looking for holes in each other's defense and none appeared until within the last minute of the second quarter. With 1:06 to play, Parkersburg returned the fifth Marietta punt of the first half back 39 yards to the Marietta 10 yard line. And with :10 left in the half, PHS Quarterback, Stephen Roush threw a touchdown pass to send the Red's into the locker room with a 7-0 lead.

In the second half, Wasonga put the Reds on his back and powered them to an insurmountable lead. Wasonga had touchdown runs of 67 and 50 yards in the third quarter and ended the game with 233 yards on 16 carries and was presented the Great American Rivalry Series Game Most Valuable Player Award by Staff Sergeant Edward Guevara at the conclusion of the game.


Marietta finally got on the scoreboard with 3:16 left in the game when Quarterback Matt McKitrick tossed a 44 yard touchdown pass to Morgan Wynn. But in the end, it was Wasonga's legs and the Parkersburg defense that carried the night. And with their 28-7 victory on Friday night, Parkersburg High School now lead the series between these two schools, 68-26-4.