Led by a pair of Robert McMullen touchdown passes and a 4-yard plunge by the senior quarterback the Patriots, now 6-4, equaled Nitro"s point production at halftime, 21-21.
But, Culbertson, who missed the entire second quarter and the last minute of the first, was more than the Patriot defense could handle as the senior speedster pounded out a pair of second half touchdowns and finished with a game-high 326 yards on 26 carries to push Nitro"s mark to 9-1 heading into the postseason.
South's chances of making the playoffs for the fifth straight season under head coach Mike DeVol weren't completely ended with the loss, however. Losses by Capital and Princeton kept the fires alive, but a win by St. Albans over Huntington (26-12) may have ended up being the final blow.
Trickery was the name of the game at opening kickoff as the Wildcats elected to attempt an onside kick.
However, the attempt failed to travel the necessary 10 yards with Parkersburg South taking possession at the Wildcat 48.
From there the Patriots needed only 12 plays to light up the scoreboard first when McMullen, who completed 9-of-17 passes for 118 yards, found a wide open Shane Wells in the end zone from one yard out with 5:28 remaining in the first quarter. Trent James came on to connect on the first of his three successful PATs and South took a 7-0 lead to the sidelines.
A lead that would last only 81 seconds, however.
Taking over on its 31, Nitro handed the ball to its Kennedy Award candidate Josh Culbertson and the 5-foot-9, 192-pounder didn"t let the Senior Night crowd down, rushing the entire 69 yards on five carries to make the score 7-6. South"s Matt Dunn kept it a one-point lead for the Patriots, however, when he blocked the PAT attempt.
It would be a short-lived advantage as Nitro would need only five more plays and 1:57 of the clock to take the lead, 14-7, on a 5-yard pass from Michael Scott to Chris Fulmer. The same two would connect for the 2-point conversion.
South would not stop, however.
A 13-play, 73-yard drive tied the game at 14 on a 4-yard run by McMullen and James" second PAT. Then the southsiders would take the lead again when McMullen connected with Josh Gains for a 20-yard scoring strike.
The drive was set up when Dunn recovered a Josh Culbertson fumble at the Nitro 20.
It appeared that those would be the final points of the half. Especially when Culbertson went to the locker room suffering from a bout of stomach flu.
But, the Wildcats would not slow down as Scott found junior Josh Humphrey in the right corner of the end zone with 19 seconds on the clock to bring Nitro to within one, 21-20. This time Andrew Rollins" kick would sail through the uprights and the two teams headed to the locker rooms tied at 21.
That would be the score until the 2:57 mark of the third quarter when John Culbertson hauled in an 8-yard Scott aerial for the six points.
Josh Culbertson culminated the scoring with touchdown runs of 2 and 11 yards.
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