The constant rain created miry conditions as the Wildcats wreak havoc ending Moorefield’s season with a 30-7 victory during senior night last Friday in Franklin.
“I was proud of their effort. I thought we fixed some mistakes from last week on the defensive line and in coverage. Give Pendleton County credit, they have great playmakers. They made plays and are well-coached. The rain, mud and the conditions no matter what it is, I am proud of their effort,” Moorefield coach Matthew Altobello stated.
“I told them in the locker room after the game, all season long you couldn’t tell what our record was because they came back to work every week and never hung their heads. That type of resiliency from our seniors going all the way down is exactly what we need to build back up. It was nice to see them fight. No matter what the score or their record, they always fought. That helps moving forward trying to build back up to greatness. Now it is a matter where we need to be that team making big plays.”
A sloppy ordeal that kept the teams from reaching the end zone until the final seconds of the first quarter was a test of resiliency.
After the Pendleton County senior ceremony and captains greeting, it was time to commence the contest as fans tried to find cover under umbrellas, ponchos and tents.
“I’m incredibly proud of these guys, especially on senior night you always want to send them off right with a win. Of course against Moorefield, any time you can get a win against those guys is good,” Pendleton County coach Zach Smith remarked.
“They have a lot of tradition and a good coach. Coach [Matthew] Altobello is trying to build that and they came ready to play. They came out with some energy and it took us a little bit of time to get started, but we got things rolling. We played well and our defense carried us, especially in the second half of the season. We came up with some big turnovers and Tim Thorne is a playmaker, he has a knack for getting to the ball. Toward the end of the second half this reminded me of our Tucker County game, except it was two times worse. It was a slop hole, but you have to find a way to win. The rain and mud is a great equalizer and we found a way to get it done. Hopefully we can carry the momentum going into next week against Berkeley Springs and keep it going after that and we hope to host a playoff game.”
On the game’s opening series for the Yellow Jackets starting at the 30-yard line after a kickoff return by Jackson Weese, Moorefield couldn’t reach a first down only making five yards on a carry by Dequavious Kornegay with a stop by Pendleton County’s Dalton Dunkle leading to a punt.
The Wildcats began on their own 2-yard line and quarterback Kole Puffenberger was sacked immediately by Moorefield’s Blake Funk for a 16-yard loss.
Pendleton County’s Dallas Sly gained five yards and was taken down by Moorefield’s Matthew Jenkins, then a screen pass to Joshua Wagoner was read by Yellow Jackets’ Seth Wilson creating a loss to force a punt.
It was just under four minutes into the game and the Yellow Jackets has possession for the second time, but couldn’t gain traction in another three and out punt situation despite a seven yard pass from quarterback Brent Moran to Jenkins on third down.
Pendleton County gained one first down at the 29-yard line on a run by Sly, but the series came to a halt as Funk made another sack, then a pass went through the hands of Isaiah Gardner, and a third down catch by Garnder was four yards shy of the marker with a tackle by Moorefield’s Weese and Wilson creating a punt at 3:46.
Moorefield’s Matthew Wright leapt for a pass, but couldn’t haul it in and there was a holding penalty on the Yellow Jackets backing up possession to the 10-yard line.
Weese dropped a pass and Kornegay was stopes for no gain by Pendleton County’s Phillip Hull prior to an incompletion forcing a punt.
Pendleton County started at the Yellow Jackets 43-yard line with 2:30 left in the first quarter.
Moorefield’s Weese deflected the first pass attempt, then Puffenberger was tackled fora two-yard loss by Matthew Weatherholt.
Pendleton County’s Timothy Thorne turned out to be both an offensive and defensive threat during the game notching two interceptions, but this time caught a pass for 11 yards and was tackled by Moorefield’s Jaydon See and Coleman Mongold.
Sly converted the fourth down with a five yard run with Vincent Cyrus and Seth Wilson making the stop.
Two plays later, Thorne made a 23-yard touchdown catch and Sly added the two-point conversion to give the Wildcats an 8-nil lead with two seconds to spare in the first quarter.
Moorefield had a brief series as Javen Fawley gained three yards to reach midfield, then Moran’s pas was intercepted by Pendleton County’s Thorne with a return to the Yellow Jackets 29-yard line with a tackle by Weese.
Wagoner made a 25-yard catch for the Wildcats and was dragged down at the four yard line on a touchdown saving tackle by Mongold.
The very next play, however, Puffenberger turned a quarterback keeper into a touchdown at the 10:11 mark of the second quarter and the extra point by Evan Kile was good for a 15-0 advantage.
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A couple penalties on the Wildcats put Moorefield at the 36-yard line, then Fawley rushed 10 yards for a first down and was tackled by Draven Roberts and Puffenberger coming in swiftly.
A penalty on Moorefield during the next carry and a tackle for a loss by Thorne on a pitch to Fawley sent the Yellow Jackets backpedaling.
Fawley added two yards, then Wright caught a pass for five yards setting up the special teams for a punt which turned into a fake punt as Atikilt Tamiru looked like he was going for a rugby kick and took off running before coming up just short of the first down marker in Pendleton County territory at the 47.
Thorne showed athleticism on a Wildcats reception, juggling the ball up in the air when being rocked by Weese and managed to corral the ball when being flipped over for a nine yard play at the Moorefield 43-yard line.
Puffenberger went behind his lineman for a first down and was tackled by Moorefield’s Noah Ketterman on the one-yard gain.
Gardner caught a pass for 15 yards and was taken down by Funk.
There was a deep pass in the end zone nullified on a defensive pass interference call setting up Pendleton County at the one yard line and Puffenberger punched the ball over the threshold with the kick making it 22-0 at the 2:43 mark.
Moorefield started at its own 33-yard line and Jenkins plowed into a group of Wildcats, then there was a defensive unsportsmanlike penalty which moved the chains at the Pendleton County 37-yard line.
Jenkins was brought down for a loss by a pride of Wildcats.
Jenkins knocked over Pendleton County’s Keinyn Lockard for a nice advance, but it was called back on a holding call to the 44-yard line.
Fawley made a catch for 17 yards reaching the Pendleton County 39-yard line.
Facing third down, there was a fumble which was covered by the Yellow Jackets.
After a timeout, Jenkins rushed towards the line and made a jump pass over the linemen to Funk, who eluded tackles for a 38-yard touchdown reception with 42 seconds to go in the first half and Tamiru’s kick made it 22-7.
A potential sack by Wilson turned into a horse collar tackle penalty even though both hands were on the shoulders during the takedown, then Gardner and Sly made a couple catches as the half came to a close.
Pendleton County’s Timothy Thorne started the second half with an 82-yard kickoff return reaching the red zone before being taken down at the 13-yard line by Mongold.
Sly was stopped for a one-yard loss by Cyrus and Malachi Hinger, then Puffenberger was sacked by Funk at the 18-yard line.
Moorefield finished the goal line stand as senior Benjamin Pyles deflected the next two pass attempts and the Wildcats had a holding call.
Jenkins carried the ball several times before reaching a first down at the 31-yard line for the Yellow Jackets with a stop by Puffenberger.
After a five yard run by Jenkins, there was a false start and the negative yards were erased again by Jenkins on a 14-yard carry for a first down at the 45-yard line with a stop by Roberts.
Moorefield managed to get to midfield, but remained stuck in the mud on tackles by Wagoner and Sly leading to a fake punt coming up short.
Pendleton County took over at the Moorefield 41-yard line, but couldn’t convert a first down on two errant passes sandwiching a tackle for loss by Funk and Jenkins on Dunkle to force a punt.
There was a bad snap as the ball slid through the mud during the punt and the Yellow Jackets setup at the 25-yard line.
Jenkins took the snap and his throw was intercepted by Thorne, his second interception on the night to give the Wildcats possession at the 49-yard line.
All of the uniforms were covered in mud, except for Moorefield’s Cooper Riggleman with a bright white jersey on the defensive line.
Pendleton County covered a third down on a carry by Sly with Wilson in tow, then Mongold made a tackle for a loss on Wagoner.
Sly grabbed a first down on a 23-yard run to the 19-yard line and was brought down by Mongold.
Wagoner caught a pass with Jenkins and Pyles combining for the tackle, but Pyles was flagged for a face mask penalty placing possession at the five-yard line.
Sly slipped into the end zone for a Wildcats touchdown and Puffenberger added the two-point conversion to create a 30-7 lead with 13 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
The Yellow Jackets couldn’t garner a first down early in the fourth quarter with a punt coming after three short carries carries by Fawley, Jenkins and Funk.
The Wildcats picked up a first down on a 14-yard run by Sly, then Moorefield’s Riley Hedrick made a sack.
There were a few holding calls on Pendleton County and a defensive pass interference with Weese trying to turn for the ball being held in the process and the series came to halt on the infractions for a Wildcats punt.
Moorefield got the ball back with 7:30 remaining in the game trailing the Wildcats 30-7, then Moran slipped in the mud at the 20-yard line losing four yards, a pass went awry, and sack by Hull forced a punt.
Pendleton County started at the 45-yard line with 5:40 to go, then Gardner caught a pass eluding tackles for a 25-yard play to the Moorefield 30-yard line where Weese made the stop.
Sly added two yards and was tackled by Hedrick.
On second down, Moorefield’s Benjamin Pyles made an interception near the end zone and returned it to the 36-yard line with 4:12 left.
After a false start, a pass fell incomplete for the Yellow Jackets.
Mongold snatched a three-yard pass and timeout was called, then Moran tackled for a seven yard loss by Dunkle for a punt at 2:50.
Tackles by Moorefield’s Cyrus, Hedrick, Funk and Weatherholt led to Pendleton County punting with one minute remaining.
Pendleton County’s Ryan Mitchell made an interception to seal the victory as the Wildcats (7-2) kneeled down to finish the contest, 30-7.
The Yellow Jackets season came to a close at 2-8, but progress was made with men of integrity growing each week.
“The mud makes it tougher on both sides. It is just a matter no matter what type of ply it is, you have to keep your feet in front of you. We will now go through three cases of OxiClean and several big gallons of detergent. It was well worth it. It was awesome working with these boys. The community and businesses have been very supportive. We really appreciate their support. We want to make sure we are doing right by these kids, so one day they can go out in the community and they can be productive members. The character has been really great and they have bought into the program. It all starts in the classroom having good grades and studying for tests, then it becomes being a good classmate all the way down to being a good teammate and a good representative of the program. This runs into their life so they have things to fall back on to be a good brother, to be a good brother, to be a good uncle or be a good husband one day and those things are more important to me,” Coach Altobello concluded.
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