By Carl Holcomb
Moorefield Examiner
The Cougars bedazzled the Mountain Lions building a 13-point lead in the first half, then Tucker County befuddled East Hardy taking the halftime edge en route to a 38-27 victory last Saturday in Baker.
“I am very proud and pleased with our start. We can’t hang our hat on anything, but wins here on out. We’re seeing flashes of what we can do and we’ve got some really good players. We’re getting outlasted and not making plays. We are allowing too many explosive plays and that has been the story of our season,” East Hardy coach Devon Orndorff commented.
East Hardy started the game with a seven play scoring drive which included a pair of third down conversions by Trevor Roof and Garrett Van Meter to get into Mountain Lions territory.
Roof connected with Levi Price on a 46-yard touchdown strike and Price added the extra point kick giving the Cougars a 7-nil edge at 9:25.
Price recorded a touchback on the kickoff, then the Cougars defense forced a quick third down with tackles led by Korbin Miller.
However, Tucker County avoided initial disaster as Samuel Marks found Cayden Arnold for a 20-yard catch and first down at the 45-yard line.
Marks added 15 yard to reach Cougars territory at the 40.
East Hardy’s defense was bending, but didn’t break with tackles by Bodie Brill, Hayden Baker and Micah Ludwig, plus a pass deflection by Nehemiah Graham forcing a fourth down situation on the 34.
The next pass went awry with an ineligible receiver to boot for a turnover on downs with East Hardy’s offense getting back on the field at 5:34.
Tucker County’s defense started with a sack and a pass went too far, then Roof hit target Ludwig creating a 21 yard catch to arrive beyond midfield.
East Hardy’s Garrett Van Meter plowed through the defense after a false start for 16 yards and moved the chains at the 38.
Roof picked up four yard and Van Meter notched 13 more yards for a first down at the edge of the red zone.
Two plays later, Price leapt for a touchdown reception from Roof at 2:19 extending the lead to 13-0.
Tucker County entered Cougars domain on its third play of the possession as Marks dashed 29 yards and was brought down by Price at the 32.
The Mountain Lions started the second quarter with an errant pass, then Keelyn Eichelberger snatched a pass for 30 yards with Price making a touchdown saving tackle.
A bad snap backed up Tucker County to the 15, but the Mountain Lions pounced forward again with Lucas Barb collecting a 15-yard touchdown pass and the conversion was dropped to cut the deficit to 13-6 at 10:58.
Two offensive penalties put East Hardy on the 28, then Roof tossed to Mason Wilkins racing down the sidelines for 62 yards with Marks making a shoelace tackle to save a score.
It took just three plays for the Cougars to pounce into the end zone as Roof zipped the ball to Price for a touchdown at 7:57 and the kick was blocked by Josh Crossland for a 19-6 advantage.
The kickoff bounced out of bounds inside the one yard line which created a start at the 35 for Tucker County.
Barb caught a pass for 40 yards as Marks was lit up on the pass which resulted in a roughing penalty placing the Mountain Lions in the red zone at the 11.
Eichelberger capped off the drive with an 11-yard touchdown catch and made the conversion to create a 19-14 game with 6:46 remaining in the first half.
Eichelberger garnered a sack as the Mountain Lions defense forced a three and out East Hardy punt.
On second down from midfield, Marks nailed Reid Kisamore for a touchdown and Cade Rapp hauled in the conversion to elevate Tucker County into the lead 22-19 with 3:29 to go in the half.
The Cougars started on their own 15 after a kickoff penalty, then Price took a pitch around the corner for a first down covering 15 yards.
Van Meter plowed ahead to the 47, but the play was negated on a holding call.
After a short screen pass to Dayton Dove, two incompletions including a near interception led to a punt with two minutes and change on the clock.
Barb made a 28-yard catch as Dove executed a wrestling style takedown on the Cougars 45.
Graham disrupted a pass and the next pass went out of bounds and nearly caught by East Hardy coach Devon Orndorff.
Marks got back on the map with a 45-yard touchdown strike to Barb and Eichelberger added the conversion for a 30-19 Mountain Lions lead with one minute to go.
Tucker County’s Barb and Gunner Carroll garnered sacks, then the Cougars closed the half on a short catch by Van Meter.
Tucker County commenced the second half just inside East Hardy territory with the help of a penalty.
Marks converrted a third down on a dozen yard keeper to the 26 with a stop by Van Meter.
Graham slammed Kisamore for a loss on the next pass, then Marks reached the red zone on the ground.
Three plays later, Marks punched to pay dirt from three yards out and Cayden Arnold added the conversion for a 38-19 lead at 7:41.
“We moved guys around and we thought we had good matchups early on. That Price kid is hard to cover. He had all four of their touchdowns. We tried to slow him down a bit. Our offense played real well tonight, but didn’t run the ball as much as we usually do and knew that with East Hardy’s size up front. It benefited us a bit having an extra day. We play guys on both sides of the ball. We treat every season looking at one game at a time, because one time a team could bite you. Give credit to Coach Orndorff doing a nice job on offense and defense tonight,” Tucker County coach AJ Rapp noted.
A solid run by Van Meter was negated due to five men in the backfield, then Roof dodged the defense for 13 yards.
Roof picked up a first down on a three yard run to the 37 prior to a penalty.
Van Meter plowed ahead to get bak to the original line of scrimmage, but a bad snap resulted in a punt.
Tucker County committed a hold, then Rapp was stopped twice on short yardage by Nick Roomsburg and Korbin Miller.
Dove nearly made a diving interception and Tucker County was flagged for holding on the punt and had to punt again with Price making a huge return being shaved down at midfield due to an infraction.
Van Meter smashed forward for 25 yards as the Cougars arrived at the Tucker County 26.
Roof dashed into the red zone and moved the chains at the 15.
After a sack, a throw too far and illegal forward pass, Roof’s fourth down attempt was intercepted by Brayden Bennett.
Tucker County’s Barb caught an 11 yard pass for a first down at the 45 and a six yard carry by Rapp crossed midfield to end the third frame.
The Mountain Lions picked up one more first down before the drive stalled with tackles by Roomsburg and Brad Kidwell prior to a sack by Ryan Harman and Connor Henderson forcing a punt.
East Hardy converted a fourth down from its own 12-yard line as Dove corralled a pass for ten yards.
Dove added five more yards in the air and Van Meter rushed for six yards for a first down at the 33.
Van Meter plowed ahead for a dozen more yards to reach the 45, then Roof scrambled for 15 yards and a first down at the Tucker County 40
Van Meter punched for 13 more yards moving the chains again, then Roof connected with Price getting into the red zone on a 12 yard catch,
Roff added three yards before a bad snap backed the Cougars to the 26.
Price raced from the backfield returning to the 15 and East Hardy converted the fourth down into a 15-yard touchdowns trike from Roof to Price with 2:24 left and Roof notched the conversion to close the gap to 38-27.
“We played better defense at times tonight, then we would give up a third down and long. Most games boil down to five or six plays making the difference and those happened when they were on offense and we were on defense. We’ve got to focus on our defense. We scored three touchdowns on three drives to start the game, then we kind of fizzled after that and found ourselves somehow down at halftime. Scoring three touchdowns in the first half, we should be at worse tied at halftime. We have to get back to holding teams to 21 points or less. Back to the drawing board this week. The turning point happened early. We were executing on offense and they were struggling. They just made chunk plays and swung momentum. Analytically speaking, the team with the most explosive plays win games, Coach Orndorff concluded.
Tucker County remains undefeated at 3-0 and travels to Class AA defending state champion Frankfort this Friday, while the Cougars fell to 0-3 and has a bye week before hosting Southern Garrett (MD) on September 26.
