FEATURED PHOTO CREDITS: WES WILSON / WILLIAMSON DAILY NEWS

 

More of the same…
After picking up a tough win in Kentucky for their opener, the Capital Cougars returned to WV to battle the South Charleston Black Eagles in a cross-town rivalry. Capital broke the game open early as quarterback Kerry Martin Jr. found junior wide receiver Chance Knox for a 20-yard touchdown connection. Afterwards, a blocked punt from one of the state’s top defenders, Breece Hoff, allowed Martin to sneak in the endzone and put the Cougars up 14-0 before Knox added six more points as he returned a punt 67 yards for another score late in the first quarter. As if that wasn’t enough Chance Knox managed to haul in another Kerry Martin Jr. dime before halftime, giving Capital a 28-0 advantage going into the break. South Charleston added a few scores in the second half, but the Cougars matched them and went on to get the victory 42-13.

 

Highlanders Stout
Just down the road in Belle, the Highlanders of Huntington High were paying a visit to the Riverside Warriors for their week two matchup. The Highlanders started off by using their incredibly talented line to their advantage. Running back Ty Wilcoxon followed the path paved by his offensive linemen, Max Howell, Christian Hannah, Darnell Wright, Terrance Pankey, and company, all the way to the endzone to open the game up with a 7-0 Huntington lead. The Warrior defense stood tall after the first score, as Kain Ford picked off a Huntington pass on the Riverside 9-yard line. A late firsst half safety would cut the Huntington lead to 7-2 before the Highlanders began imposing their will. Huntington went on to score three more times and beat the Warriors 24-8.

 

 

Not this Year
The Spring Valley Timberwolves played host to Hurricane in week two and the Redskins got off the bus ready. The Timberwolves couldn’t hold them back as Hurricane marched down the field and Timothy McCuthchen booted in the field goal to put them up 3-0. The Redskins got a stop and started marching again, but as they reached midfield, QB Austin Womack threw a pick to SV’s Tyson Hall and he took it all the way to the house. The PAT was blocked making it 6-3, but the Timberwolves did not hesitate to get more points on the board. In the second quarter, QB Nate Ellis found Graeson Malashevich for 38 yards and a touchdown, followed by another long drive that was capped off by a four-yard Isaac Howard touchdown. Hurricane would not find the endzone again, and Spring Valley would ride out the rest the game behind their Division 1 linemen- getting them the win 27-3.

 

The Ivan Vaughn Show
No motorcycles and cannons this week, as the Cabell Midland Knights made the trip up to Parkersburg for a fight with the injury-ridden Big Reds. Parkersburg would be without their division one bound superstar, Brenton Strange, for this powerhouse matchup, but that was not the case for Cabell Midland. A 20-yard QB sneak by Jayce Gould got things rolling for the Knights, but the first score came shortly after as Vaughn went 45 yards to the Parkersburg endzone. After a missed PAT, Parkersburg QB Jake Johnson delivered a beautiful strike to Kionte Peacock, with the ensuing PAT giving the Big Reds an early 7-6 lead. However, this was short lived because as soon as Vaughn touched the ball he took it to the house again, this time for 42 yards. A blocked extra point followed, giving the Knights a 12-7 lead. Vaughn’s next 5-yard score was set up by a 65-yard reception from younger brother Isaiah Vaughn. Parkersburg drew up a trick play to close the deficit to 19-14, the closest they would get for the rest of the night. Vaughn added two more TDs to bring his total to five at halftime and giving his team a 33-14 advantage. The Big Reds would make a small second half surge, but it was quickly put to rest by the Cabell Midland defense. The Knights went on to earn the 40-20 victory over a Parkersburg team who is yet to play healthy.  Vaughn finished with over 300 yards.

 

Rising from the Ashes…
On Friday, Woodrow Wilson traveled to rival Greenbrier East in after taking out the Riverside Warriors in their opening game. RB Micah Hancock started the scoring with an explosive 80-yard touchdown and the Flying Eagles never looked back. The defense stood tall and caused multiple turnovers for the Spartans offense. One of which was an interception by Senior Logan Cook that he took 90+ yards for a score.  The Spartans’ only points came when Beckley dropped the ball in their own endzone and East recovered for the safety. The Flying Eagles ultimately took the win in dominating fashion 34-2. Speaking of comeback stories, there may be something going on up in Poca. The Dots are on the warpath, and after a week one thrashing of Nitro, they showed no signs of slowing down for week two. Poca traveled to Chapmanville for their contest to take on the Tigers, a team they have not beaten in 10 seasons. Ethan Payne opened the scoring for Poca with a 50-yard rushing touchdown on the opening possession. The Dots added to that with a 56-yard touchdown from the arm of James Cook to the hands of Owen McClanahan bringing the lead to 14-0. Bronson Skeens added a long pick-6 and touchdown reception before the half to contribute to a 35-0 Poca lead at the intermission. Seth Whitt found his way into the endzone late to get some points on the board for Chapmanville, but ultimately, they were overwhelmed as Poca cruised to a 30-point victory.

 
“AA” Top of the Pile
The Big Blacks of Point Pleasant were coming off of a big week one win that came in dramatic fashion over Mingo Central. In week two they headed down a division to battle “A” South Harrison. Point opened the game with Cason Payne methodically moving the ball downfield for close to 70 yards. The drive was capped off by a Brady Adkins touchdown run to open up the scoring.  Immediately following, the Big Blacks blocked a Hawk punt that gave them the ball on the South Harrison nine yard line. Payne then found Josh Wamsley headed up the sideline as he took it in for six more. The Point Pleasant defense came up big Friday night, causing multiple turnovers and only letting the Hawks into the endzone once. Behind a big performance by QB Cason Payne, Point Pleasant would go on to get the win 58-7. While Point took a step down, Bluefield took a step up in as they hosted the “AAA” Princeton Tigers. Bluefield controlled the ball early as they drove down the field in the first quarter, but could only come away with a field goal. A After a quick stop by the Beaver defense, Juice Edwards started toting the rock. On the first play of the second quarter, Edwards took the ball in from 8 yards out to get the first touchdown of the game. QB Chandler Cooper was able to punch it in the endzone one more time before half, giving Bluefield a 27-0 halftime lead. The Beaver defense would hold true through the rest of the game and the offense would continue to roll as Bluefield takes it 48-0.

 

Tigers and Grizzlies
Meanwhile, in Summersville, the Nicholas County Grizzlies would meet with an impressive Shady Spring team. The Tigers opened the scoring when Tyler Bragg went scorching down the field outrunning everyone for the 71 yard touchdown run, but Nicholas County answered quickly as QB Jared Sagraves connected with Luke LeRose for a five-yard score. With a failed 2-point conversion from Nicholas County, and a blocked Shady Spring PAT they were locked at 6-6. However, Shady would go on to add a 27 yard Eric Bevil field goal followed by a 40 yard touchdown pass from Haven Chapman to Isaiah Valentin to give them a 16-6 first quarter advantage. With under 6 minutes to play Sagraves once again found Lerose through the air for a touchdown and Nicholas County’s first lead of the night 18-16. However, thanks to Tyler Bragg they didn’t hold that lead for long. On the ensuing kickoff Tyler Bragg once again darted down the field going 75 yards to put the Tigers back up 24-18. With time running out, Sagraves once again rallied his Grizzlies and drove them all the way to the endzone, tying the game 24 all. Going for the 2-point conversion and the win, Timmy Baker got the handoff and managed to fight his way into the endzone for Nicholas County’s first 2-point conversion of the night and the 26-24 victory.

 

Valley Battles

Down in the valley, several AA’s battled for their spots.  Top ten Sissonville took on a surprisingly stout Logan team.  Thanks to a great performance by Logan’s Chucky Felder, the Indians found themselves down in the third.  Cue Will Hackney.  Hackney, who didn’t have 90 yards passing the first half, would go out to will his team to wind with several wide receivers along the way.  He finished with 397 passing, 97 rushing, and seven touchdowns in their 48-30 win.  In Wayne, the Miners completely proved their worth to the entire state.  Despite early Pioneer success behind Mike Bartram and a handful of Miner turnovers, Daylin Goad took over on the ground and through the air for over 300 yards of offense.  Their spread style kept them alive and allowed a late score to take the lead 29-24 and steal a win.  Finally, despite being up 27-14 in the third quarter, the Generals road 165 yards by John Covert and 128 yards by Nick Vance to overcome Rhett White and the Herbert Hoover Huskies late in an awesome 34-27 win.

 

Notables

Sherman got back on track with a dominating performance by JT Hensley and his heavy line in a 46-0 win over Tug Valley.  Ravenswood found themselves down 16-3 against Webster County but kept pushing to score 28 unanswered points to pull to 2-0 win.  Midland Trail, Fayetteville, and Richwood all took on inferior foes to move to 2-0 as well.  Tolsia had a bounce back win behind five touchdowns by Devon Crum and Oak Hill continues to impress after another stellar performance behind Khori Bass and Abe Farrow.

 

AAA Player of the Week: Ivan Vaughn (RB) Cabell Midland

AA Player of the Week: Will Hackney (QB) Sissonville

A Player of the Week: Caleb Bower (RB) Wyoming East