By Carl Holcomb
Moorefield Examiner
The Hawks perched in the nest preparing for a defensive battle with Moorefield and South Harrison survived an errant field goal in the closing moments to snatch an 8-6 victory over the Yellow Jackets in Lost Creek.
“The coaching staff absolutely got the defense ready to play and they played a phenomenal game. You want a bend and not break philosophy.
They weren’t able to get the big play and that’s what kept us in the ball game,” South Harrison coach Chris Underwood remarked.
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“We came up on critical special teams and were very important tonight, we had one blocked field goal and pressure that bothered to make it go wide left. Our game plan coming in was to ground them down. All three phases of the game came together tonight.”
A short opening kickoff received by Moorefield’s Roger Myers placed the initial possession at the 45-yard line.
Matthew Jenkins rushed for seven yards on the first play from scrimmage, but the Yellow Jackets were called for a penalty on the next play.
After a stop for no gain, Moorefield’s Trevor Shoemaker made a first down catch of 20 yards to reach the South Harrison 33-yard line.
There was a holding call on the Yellow Jackets erasing a ten yard keeper by Brent Moran, then Jenkins was stopped by a group of Hawks at the 35-yard line on a five yard carry.
South Harrison’s Zachary Hogsed garnered a sack at the 42-yard line on third down to force a punt.
The Hawks started at their own 20-yard line after a touchback and quarterback Landon McFadden was stopped for no gain by Moorefield’s Cooper Riggleman and Matthew Weatherholt.
Riggleman, Malachi Hinger and Blake Funk tackled McFadden on a three yard gain before a hard count drew the Yellow Jackets offsides.
Jenkins tackled McFadden on two-yard keeper at the 30-yard line which resulted in a measured first down.
Moorefield’s Vincent Cyrus notched a sack on McFadden on the ensuing play pushing the Hawks back four yards.
Weatherholt nearly made an interception knocking the ball down for the Yellow Jackets and Jenkins made a rolling tackle on McFadden out of bounds on a two yard pickup to force a punt with Jackson Weese spinning away from a few Hawks.
There was a personal foul penalty on the punt return assessed on Moorefield placing the ball on the 25-yard line.
“The biggest thing for us on the defensive side of the ball is that we make sure we’re not giving them any more yards after contact than for what they are. If we have to tackle for a one yard gain, then we have to make sure we have a tackle for a one yard gain. We can’t give them three or four extra yards to move the sticks. We got them in some third and fourth down situations, but we have to make sure to keep them there. We made a couple adjustments and kudos to them for making adjustments and coming out ready to play.That’s a good football team and they were dog tired at the end of the game as we are,” Moorefield coach Matt Altobello commented.
“Operation time on that one [last kick] at the end of the game was 1-2-2. We were looking for one, two or better. He’s right there and just have to make a couple minor adjustments and put the ball through the uprights. He’s a great kicker, but being a great kicker comes great responsibility and he can handle it. He is one of our hardest workers. We try to replicate things in practice. When it comes down to it with all three aspects of the game, we can’t put ourselves in that situation. I liked our sense of urgency in the final minute, but we need that sense of urgency from the get-go.”
The Yellow Jackets went three and out starting with a run for no gain by Jenkins with a stop by South Harrison’s Hunter Bunch, then an incomplete pass and Moran added five yards with a tackle by Bunch again prior to a punt.
South Harrison began possession at the 16-yard line with 3:13 remaining in the first quarter.
Jenkins tackled McFadden on a one yard pickup, but the Hawks responded on the next play as McFadden broke through the middle for a first down on a 12-yard run before being stopped by Weese.
McFadden rushed for just under ten yards on the next play with Hinger and Riley Hedrick making the tackle shy of the first down marker.
South Harrison’s Kaden Ryan grabbed the first down on a five yard carry with Riggleman and Ethan Sines garnering the stop and Preston Peck added two yards to end the first quarter at the 45-yard line.
McFadden gained three yards to begin the second quarter with Riggleman making the tackle for the Yellow Jackets and Seth Wilson stopped McFadden on a six yard run into Moorefield territory.
On first down, Peck rushed for six yards with Myers recording the tackle, then McFadden caught a pass from Jaren Robinson for a 13-yard advancement with Weese and Coleman Mongold making the stop at the 27-yard line.
Peck moved the ball to the red zone at the 20-yard line and the Hawks capped off the drive on McFadden’s 20-yard keeper plus his own two-point conversion to give South Harrison an 8-nil advantage at the 8:59 mark of the second quarter.
Moorefield’s Vincent Cyrus fumbled the kickoff and Parker Bunch recovered the fumble for the Hawks at the Yellow Jackets 43-yard line.
Cyrus sacked McFadden on second down for an eight yard loss with the ball jarred loose on the crash to the ground.
After a delay of game and a holding call, South Harrison was looking at a 3rd down-and-28 situation.
Ryan mustered one yard with a tackle by Hinger leading to a Hawks punt with Weese muffing the return and recovering in time at the 28-yard line.
Jenkins rushed for two yards and Myers made a diving catch to add four yard.
Weese caught a nine yard pass for a Yellow Jackets first down at the 43-yard line.
Jenkins notched a four yard gain before plowing through a group for a hard earned eight yards and another Moorefield first down at the Hawks 45-yard line.
Moran tacked on two yards and Jenkins was stopped for no gain with a neck tackle by Robinson.
Hawks defenders chased Moran on an incomplete pass play and Hunter Bunch came crashing to the ground breaking his arm.
There was a stretcher brought out to bring him off the field as both teams knelt down in silence and joined together after the game to pray for Hunter.
Every member of the South Harrison team came out to give well wishes to Hunter Bunch as he was taken off the field to the ambulance.
“Losing Hunter that was important as a huge contributor on both sides of the ball. What he said was ‘coach win this, please’ and that’s what he told the team too,” Coach Underwood noted.
After the injury timeout, the Yellow Jackets punted with 2:20 left in the first half.
Moorefield’s Cyrus and Hinger plus Jenkins and Riggleman make stops for no gain, before McFadden added five yards and timeouts were utilized to provide time for the Yellow Jackets to make a drive receiving the punt with 1:17 to go in the second quarter with possession at the 45-yard line.
Moran threw three incomplete passes as the Yellow Jackets faced fourth down with one minute remaining and this time connected with Myers for a 25-yard play to the 30-yard line.
Trevor Shoemaker made an 11-yard reception into the red zone at the 19-yard line with 31 seconds on the clock.
South Harrison’s Joshua Thomaschek made a sack at the 23-yard line and Moorefield elected to try a field goal attempt.
The 40-yard field goal attempt by Moorefield’s Atikilt Tamiru was blocked by South Harrison’s Jacob Haddix and as players looked on in disbelief, Jaren Robinson scooped up the ball for the Hawks and dashed down the sidelines and Weese joined Mongold on a touchdown saving tackle to end the half, 8-0.
Starting the third quarter, South Harrison had possession at the 20-yard line and picked up one first down at the 37-yard line and the Yellow Jackets defense tightened with tackles by Weatherholt, Sines, Hinger, Riggleman, Cyrus and Jenkins to force a punt with Weese creating a huge return to the Hawks 30-yard line.
On second down, Jenkins rushed 28 yard for a Moorefield touchdown and the two-point conversion went awry in the air as the Hawks held on to an 8-6 lead at the 7:52 mark.
After a touchback, South Harrison’s McFadden was stopped for no gain by Riggleman, Hinger and Cyrus before throwing an errant pass.
Jenkins tackled McFadden for a four yard loss leading to a Hawks punt setting up Moorefield at the 37-yard line.
A rush for 14 yards into South Harrison territory by Jenkins gave the Yellow Jackets a spark to start the drive.
Jenkins added two more yards, then Dequavious Kornegay rumbled ahead for ten yards and another Moorefield first down at the 37-yard line.
The series stalled on two rushes for one yard total and a catch by Jaydon See notching five yards before a holding call on fourth down was declined during a carry by Jenkins for a turnover on downs at the 30-yard line.
McFadden and the Hawks picked up two first downs reaching midfield at the close of the third quarter.
A pair of short runs by McFadden to begin the final stanza were stopped by Moorefield’s Funk, Weatherholt and Hinger.
A delay of game on a hard count ploy that didn’t work resulted in a punt bouncing to the 31-yard line.
Jenkins rushed for 33 yards for the Yellow Jackets racing down the sidelines with a stop by Haddix at the South Harrison 36-yard line.
Kornegay cut to the outside for a 13-yard gain to the 23-yard line moving the chains again and pierced the red zone carrying the ball to the 16-yard line.
Kornegay created a first and goal on a seven yard run to the nine yard line for Moorefield, but the Hawks made a goal line stand.
Jenkins made two carries to reach the five yard line with stops by South Harrison’s Hogsed, Gaven Velazquez and Trey Waller.
Moran made a pitch to Jenkins and McFadden caught Jenkins for a five yard loss.
Moorefield’s Atikilt Tamiru attempted a 27-yard field goal and it went wide with offsetting personal foul penalties called on the sequence with the Hawks taking over at the 20-yard line.
Hinger and Cyrus stopped McFadden for no gain on second down, then Cyrus and Jenkins slammed McFadden for a loss leading to a punt with 5:21 left.
Moorefield mustered just one yard on the next possession and a fake punt by Tamiru went awry with a slip and fall as South Harrison took over at the Yellow Jackets 32-yard line with 3:50 to go.
McFadden garnered a first down in the red zone on a second down carry of 13 yards to the 18-yard line with Moorefield’s Weese and Myers making the flip inducing tackle.
The Yellow Jackets utilized timeouts on the series with the defense coming up with a goal line stop for one final opportunity to win.
McFadden added six yards to the 12-yard line with a stop by Jenkins and Hedrick.
There was a false start on third down and an incomplete pass came prior to McFadden being chased out of bounds on fourth down for a turnover on downs at the 11-yard line.
Moorefield’s possession didn’t begin well with two incomplete passes including a jarring hit by Noah Dyer on Myers.
Facing third down from the 11-yard line with 1:02 remaining, Moran connected with Jenkins on a pass play converting for a first down on a 26-yard play to the 37-yard line.
Myers snatched a pass from Moran for 18 yards into South Harrison territory with 45 seconds remaining.
The Yellow Jackets were buzzing as Moran found Shoemaker on a 25-yard catch to the red zone at the 20-yard line with just 25 seconds to go.
Moorefield hurried to the line of scrimmage and Moran spiked the ball with 19 seconds left, then a delay of game was called on the next play.
Jenkins was stopped for no gain by Thomaschek and Waller and a timeout was called with 16 seconds on the clock.
The Yellow Jackets brought out Atikilt Tamiru for a potential game-winning 42-yard field goal, but the ball sailed just wide of the upright as South Harrison escaped with the 8-6 victory kneeling down for the final play.
After the post-game prayer together, players embraced each other thinking about the Hawks injured player.
Moorefield has its Homecoming game this Friday against Class AA Berkeley Springs. There will be a dinner and bonfire at Believers Victory Center on Thursday.
South Harrison’s Hogsed, Gaven Velazquez and Trey Waller.
Moran made a pitch to Jenkins and McFadden caught Jenkins for a five yard loss.
Moorefield’s Atikilt Tamiru attempted a 27-yard field goal and it went wide with offsetting personal foul penalties called on the sequence with the Hawks taking over at the 20-yard line.
Hinger and Cyrus stopped McFadden for no gain on second down, then Cyrus and Jenkins slammed McFadden for a loss leading to a punt with 5:21 left.
Moorefield mustered just one yard on the next possession and a fake punt by Tamiru went awry with a slip and fall as South Harrison took over at the Yellow Jackets 32-yard line with 3:50 to go.
McFadden garnered a first down in the red zone on a second down carry of 13 yards to the 18-yard line with Moorefield’s Weese and Myers making the flip inducing tackle.
The Yellow Jackets utilized timeouts on the series with the defense coming up with a goal line stop for one final opportunity to win.
McFadden added six yards to the 12-yard line with a stop by Jenkins and Hedrick.
There was a false start on third down and an incomplete pass came prior to McFadden being chased out of bounds on fourth down for a turnover on downs at the 11-yard line.
Moorefield’s possession didn’t begin well with two incomplete passes including a jarring hit by Noah Dyer on Myers.
Facing third down from the 11-yard line with 1:02 remaining, Moran connected with Jenkins on a pass play converting for a first down on a 26-yard play to the 37-yard line.
Myers snatched a pass from Moran for 18 yards into South Harrison territory with 45 seconds remaining.
The Yellow Jackets were buzzing as Moran found Shoemaker on a 25-yard catch to the red zone at the 20-yard line with just 25 seconds to go.
Moorefield hurried to the line of scrimmage and Moran spiked the ball with 19 seconds left, then a delay of game was called on the next play.
Jenkins was stopped for no gain by Thomaschek and Waller and a timeout was called with 16 seconds on the clock.
The Yellow Jackets brought out Atikilt Tamiru for a potential game-winning 42-yard field goal, but the ball sailed just wide of the upright as South Harrison escaped with the 8-6 victory kneeling down for the final play.
After the post-game prayer together, players embraced each other thinking about the Hawks injured player.
Moorefield has its Homecoming game this Friday against Class AA Berkeley Springs. There will be a dinner and bonfire at Believers Victory Center on Thursday.
chdown and the two-point conversion went awry in the air as the Hawks held on to an 8-6 lead at the 7:52 mark.
After a touchback, South Harrison’s McFadden was stopped for no gain by Riggleman, Hinger and Cyrus before throwing an errant pass.
Jenkins tackled McFadden for a four yard loss leading to a Hawks punt setting up Moorefield at the 37-yard line.
A rush for 14 yards into South Harrison territory by Jenkins gave the Yellow Jackets a spark to start the drive.
Jenkins added two more yards, then Dequavious Kornegay rumbled ahead for ten yards and another Moorefield first down at the 37-yard line.
The series stalled on two rushes for one yard total and a catch by Jaydon See notching five yards before a holding call on fourth down was declined during a carry by Jenkins for a turnover on downs at the 30-yard line.
McFadden and the Hawks picked up two first downs reaching midfield at the close of the third quarter.
A pair of short runs by McFadden to begin the final stanza were stopped by Moorefield’s Funk, Weatherholt and Hinger.
A delay of game on a hard count ploy that didn’t work resulted in a punt bouncing to the 31-yard line.
Jenkins rushed for 33 yards for the Yellow Jackets racing down the sidelines with a stop by Haddix at the South Harrison 36-yard line.
Kornegay cut to the outside for a 13-yard gain to the 23-yard line moving the chains again and pierced the red zone carrying the ball to the 16-yard line.
Kornegay created a first and goal on a seven yard run to the nine yard line for Moorefield, but the Hawks made a goal line stand.
Jenkins made two carries to reach the five yard line with stops by South Harrison’s Hogsed, Gaven Velazquez and Trey Waller.
Moran made a pitch to Jenkins and McFadden caught Jenkins for a five yard loss.
Moorefield’s Atikilt Tamiru attempted a 27-yard field goal and it went wide with offsetting personal foul penalties called on the sequence with the Hawks taking over at the 20-yard line.
Hinger and Cyrus stopped McFadden for no gain on second down, then Cyrus and Jenkins slammed McFadden for a loss leading to a punt with 5:21 left.
Moorefield mustered just one yard on the next possession and a fake punt by Tamiru went awry with a slip and fall as South Harrison took over at the Yellow Jackets 32-yard line with 3:50 to go.
McFadden garnered a first down in the red zone on a second down carry of 13 yards to the 18-yard line with Moorefield’s Weese and Myers making the flip inducing tackle.
The Yellow Jackets utilized timeouts on the series with the defense coming up with a goal line stop for one final opportunity to win.
McFadden added six yards to the 12-yard line with a stop by Jenkins and Hedrick.
There was a false start on third down and an incomplete pass came prior to McFadden being chased out of bounds on fourth down for a turnover on downs at the 11-yard line.
Moorefield’s possession didn’t begin well with two incomplete passes including a jarring hit by Noah Dyer on Myers.
Facing third down from the 11-yard line with 1:02 remaining, Moran connected with Jenkins on a pass play converting for a first down on a 26-yard play to the 37-yard line.
Myers snatched a pass from Moran for 18 yards into South Harrison territory with 45 seconds remaining.
The Yellow Jackets were buzzing as Moran found Shoemaker on a 25-yard catch to the red zone at the 20-yard line with just 25 seconds to go.
Moorefield hurried to the line of scrimmage and Moran spiked the ball with 19 seconds left, then a delay of game was called on the next play.
Jenkins was stopped for no gain by Thomaschek and Waller and a timeout was called with 16 seconds on the clock.
The Yellow Jackets brought out Atikilt Tamiru for a potential game-winning 42-yard field goal, but the ball sailed just wide of the upright as South Harrison escaped with the 8-6 victory kneeling down for the final play.
After the post-game prayer together, players embraced each other thinking about the Hawks injured player.
Moorefield has its Homecoming game this Friday against Class AA Berkeley Springs. There will be a dinner and bonfire at Believers Victory Center on Thursday.[/private]