Three months ago, following a disheartening loss to Wheeling Park to open the season, Morgantown coach John Bowers issued his team a not-so-subtle challenge. It appears to have paid off in a big way.

The Mohigans have ripped off 10 straight wins since Bowers went on his soliloquy, and have earned a spot opposite No. 5 Capital (10-1) in the Class AAA playoff quarterfinals Saturday at Pony Lewis Field in Morgantown. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.

To reset the scene, after the Mohigans fell to Park 27-13 in their opener, Bowers sounded off to reporters.

"The Mohigans mystique is gone,'' he said. "Whenever we have the opportunity to lay the hammer down, for whatever reason it doesn't happen any more. They made plays and we didn't. That's been the theme the last couple of years.

"I'm frustrated because it's happening on my watch. If they need me to resign, that's what I'll do.''

After that, coincidence or not, the Mohigans rediscovered the mojo that had carried them through the first part of the decade. (From 2000-06, they reached the AAA semifinals seven straight times and captured four state titles.)

Morgantown wound up running the table on the rest of the regular season, beating three AAA playoff teams in the process, then dispatched Nicholas County 47-13 in last week's opening round of the postseason. The Mohigans have averaged 44.1 points since the loss to Park.

Bowers doesn't regret his decision to speak up three months ago. He said it was overdue.

"Previously,'' he said, "we had challenged the kids privately, so what I did at that point was issue a public challenge.

"The Wheeling Park loss wasn't the problem. By no means was it an isolated incident. We had lost our last three games the year before, so after Wheeling Park, we had a four-game losing streak. Morgantown hadn't lost four in a row in . . . who knows. We wanted to right the ship the best we could. We needed to get some people's attention - the players, the assistant coaches, the parents. We didn't have everyone's attention, and I think we did that.''

Three months ago, following a disheartening loss to Wheeling Park to open the season, Morgantown coach John Bowers issued his team a not-so-subtle challenge. It appears to have paid off in a big way.

The Mohigans have ripped off 10 straight wins since Bowers went on his soliloquy, and have earned a spot opposite No. 5 Capital (10-1) in the Class AAA playoff quarterfinals Saturday at Pony Lewis Field in Morgantown. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.

To reset the scene, after the Mohigans fell to Park 27-13 in their opener, Bowers sounded off to reporters.

"The Mohigans mystique is gone,'' he said. "Whenever we have the opportunity to lay the hammer down, for whatever reason it doesn't happen any more. They made plays and we didn't. That's been the theme the last couple of years.

"I'm frustrated because it's happening on my watch. If they need me to resign, that's what I'll do.''

After that, coincidence or not, the Mohigans rediscovered the mojo that had carried them through the first part of the decade. (From 2000-06, they reached the AAA semifinals seven straight times and captured four state titles.)

Morgantown wound up running the table on the rest of the regular season, beating three AAA playoff teams in the process, then dispatched Nicholas County 47-13 in last week's opening round of the postseason. The Mohigans have averaged 44.1 points since the loss to Park.

Bowers doesn't regret his decision to speak up three months ago. He said it was overdue.

"Previously,'' he said, "we had challenged the kids privately, so what I did at that point was issue a public challenge.

"The Wheeling Park loss wasn't the problem. By no means was it an isolated incident. We had lost our last three games the year before, so after Wheeling Park, we had a four-game losing streak. Morgantown hadn't lost four in a row in . . . who knows. We wanted to right the ship the best we could. We needed to get some people's attention - the players, the assistant coaches, the parents. We didn't have everyone's attention, and I think we did that.''

Bowers noted that things started picking up right after the opening loss. Morgantown won its next four games by a combined score of 209-52.

"The kids really started to practice well,'' he said. "And I doubt if it was anything I said, but the middle schools started playing better. It rallied the whole program, and basically it was those kids coming back and answering the challenge of the old ballcoach.

"I thought we had nice ballclub coming into the season, but coming out of the Park game, I wasn't sure if it was a product of us playing poorly or that they were very good. Now seeing the success they've had [at Park], I can see it was a little bit of both. I don't think we played our best football game, and I think they're pretty good.''

Unlike some of Morgantown's other recent successful teams, this year's squad has more balance instead of leaning heavily on a star player like tailback Spencer Farley or quarterback Charlie Russell.

Fullback Jeff Allen (6-foot-2, 245 pounds) is the ringleader with 917 yards and 16 touchdowns rushing, but he's more than ably backed by running backs Daniel Strosnider (548 yards, seven TDs), Joey Musick (454 yards, six TDs) and Bassam Abulaban (303 yards, four TDs).

Quarterback Benny Miller (864 yards passing, 17 TDs) has even given way a few times to backup Matthew Saab (367 yards, four TDs), and they try to hook up with a receiving corps led by 6-3, 230-pound tight end Tyler Anderson (26 catches, 545 yards, nine TDs).

"It's something we've kind of stressed,'' Bowers said of the balance.

"We don't have a Spencer Farley jumping off the page at you, or a Charlie Russell throwing howitzers. We're just a good wing-T offense. Our stars, I guess, are Jeff Allen and Tyler Anderson. But I'd just say it's our wing-T offense, and they're blocking for each other and we're staying with what's working.''

Reach Rick Ryan at 348-5175 or rickr...@wvgazette.com.