By Carl Holcomb
Moorefield Examiner
Pendleton County ate all the Halloween candy taking the fun away and leaving the Yellow Jackets feeling blue with empty buckets on senior night with a 42-21 win in Moorefield.
It was Halloween night and the Moorefield student section came decked out in hilarious costumes and were cheering loudly as the Wildcats tried to ignore the decibel level.
The Yellow Jackets shared the love for their seniors honoring every member from the football team, marching band and cheerleading squad prior to the game as the underclassmen formed a tunnel congratulating each one as they were escorted unto the field for one final bow in front of the home crowd.
Moorefield senior drum majors Dane Foster, Jake Lumia and Carter Sherman-Pratt put on quite a show at halftime commanding the band in alternating fashion.
Although it was a tough loss, the Yellow Jackets were given tremendous support by the fans and the team kept battling until the final whistle.
“This group of seniors are super special to me. I’ve seen these guys come up through youth league, middle school and now varsity. They work hard and are tougher than nails. The energy was great all week. The boys brought it to the field and as always, never gave up,” Moorefield coach Eric Linville remarked.
It was a struggle for Moorefield to find rhythm during the game as yellow flags kept popping up on the field in frequent fashion as if there were haunted ghosts wreaking havoc.
“As far as a turning point, every time we got something going, there was a flag on the field. We were in quicksand all night,” Coach Linville added.
The Halloween cryptids kept the down marker chain gang from arriving on time as they were chased around the concessions stand to the field as the fans waited for the game to start with them appearing.
Moorefield started near midfield after a failed onside kick, but a pride of Wildcats would prevent the Yellow Jackets from getting a first down on the opening possession.
Minimal gains on the ground by Moorefield seniors Oliver Crites and Brock Linville along with freshman Mathew Iman looked to combine for a first down, but a decision was made for the chain crew to come out for measurement and it was determined not enough yardage was made.
Pendleton County quarterback Colton Roberson tracked down a wild snap and turned nothing into something getting to midfield before being stopped by Crites.
A screen pass behind the line of scrimmage went awry turning into a fumble and the pumpkin was cultivated by Moorefield senior Gage Wolfe at the Wildcats 45.
Iman collected a first down at the 34, then Crites moved the chains again at the 24 as momentum ensued.
Pendleton County was spooked as Crites punched the ball into the red zone reaching the 15.
However, the Yellow Jackets treat gathering was scattered with a trick as play started without movement by the center and the Wildcats’ Chase Owens whisked the ball away.
The Yellow Jackets were furious and buzzed back on defense with Davin Abreu making a monstrous sack, then Wildcats wideout Travis Owens dropped the ball after a catch and Zakk Keplinger smothered the fumble Ito flip the crypt for Moorefield.
Linville converted a fourth down with a keeper getting to the 25-yard line.
Iman plowed ahead for four yards, then a fake handoff turned into an errant throw despite a dive by senior Shawn Reed.
Finding the touchdown treat came with fancy footwork by Reed going 21 yards on third down to dance into pay dirt and Levi Davis added the kick to give Moorefield the initial 7-nil lead with 2:26 left in the first stanza.
The Yellow Jackets went into the bag of tricks with an onside kick and made the recovery, but a yellow flag negated the good fortune with an illegal touch infraction.
Moorefield seniors Brady Vetter and Oliver Crites made a crunching hit on Pendleton County’s Carmeron Wyatt.
The fans weren’t happy when another fourth down measurement resulted in the Wildcats getting a first down at the 40.
Vetter would make a slamming tackle on the ensuing play, but a personal foul was called on a teammate moving the ball to the 25.
Wyatt made a diving catch for the Wildcats inside the red zone at the 12.
A Pendleton County touchdown play was waved off due to a false start at the beginning of the second frame.
The Wildcats equalized the score as Wyatt made a 17-yard touchdown catch (Roberson) and Kammron Redman added the kick at 10:58.
Pendleton County recovered an onside kick, despite pleas that the minimum distance required didn’t occur.
Roberson launched the ball and it deflected off Travis Owens and talk about being in the right place at the right time as Keplinger was there swooping in for an interception.
Linville was able to erase the yardage made by a holding call, but Moorefield couldn’t move the chains on a dropped pass along the sidelines and punted.
A penalty would back the Wildcats to their own 14, then a catch by Britton Lough shaved off most of the damage dodging tackles before being tackled by Thomas Simmons at the 35 forcing a third down five yards shy of the marker.
However, a sharp count and clap caused an offsides and first down was obtained.
Kepligner kicked a pass away, then Lough caught a pass for seven yards and Chase Owens corralled another reception for 23 yards as the Wildcats pounced to the Moorefield 30.
There were penalties on both sides, then two big tackles by Wolfe.
Pendleton County got into the red zone and faced third down and one after a tackle by Keplinger, then a daly of game was called.
Roberson connected with Travis Owens for a 16-yard touchdown strike to put the Wildcats up 13-7 with 3:26 remaining in the first half.
A short kickoff placed the Yellow Jackets on the 39, then Linville was off to the house on a huge touchdown run only to see it negated on a holding call.
Crites slammed forward with his face mask being tugged as Moorefield wrestled for a first down at the Wildcats 36.
Linville was chased out of bounds on a four yard keeper.
The Yellow Jackets reached deep into their bag of tricks as Linville made a screen toss to Reed in the backfield and Reed started to charge forward before duking the defender by throwing to Iman for a 32-yard touchdown and Davis added the extra point to put Moorefield back on top 14-13 at 2:35.
The kickoff sailed out twice with the latter landing in the Moorefield costumed student section and almost caught by the dinosaur behind Spider-man.
Pendleton County spooked the Yellow Jackets going deep one the first play as Roberson found Travis Owens for a 53-yard touchdown score and Redman added the kick moving the Wildcats ahead 20-14 with 2:26 to go.
The Yellow Jackets fumbled on the kickoff giving Pendleton County a short field at the 26.
Four plays later, the Wildcats scored on a ten yard touchdown run by Roberson and the kick elevated the haunting to 27-14 with under a minute to play in the half.
Moorefield’s Edison Metheny made a huge kickoff return entering Wildcats domain at the 45 with 47 seconds left.
A potential interception was dropped, then Reed was bumped out trying to make a catch after having his jersey grabbed.
A defensive pearly gave Moorefield a first down at the 35.
After three more errant throws, the Yellow Jackets went to the ground as Iman dashed for a first down at the 25 and got out of bounds with seven seconds to spare.
Linville made dive forward for better positioning and timeout was called.
A 41-yard field goal attempt by Davis would sail wide right as time expired and the halftime festivities commenced.
The Wildcats struck first in the third quarter at 8:54 on a short five yard touchdown pass from Roberson to Wyatt.
Moorefield respond a little over a minute later as Crites punched the ball into the end zone from three yards out and the conversion was made on a sweep to the right.
Pendleton County (7-2) added one more touchdown in the the final stanza by Braylon Willis en route to the 41-22 win over the Yellow Jackets (1-8) for a Halloween treat.
Class AA No. 24 Moorefield visits Class AA No. 29 Berkeley Springs for the season finale this Friday, while Class A No. 5 Pendleton County travels to Class A No. 7 Cameron with playoff seeding at stake.
