By Carl Holcomb
Moorefield Examiner
Sucker punch (verb) – Hit with an unexpected punch or blow.
The Wildcats sucker punched East Hardy on defining touchdown opportunities jarring the ball loose to secure a 35-27 overtime victory in the WVSSAC Class A State Football Quarterfinals in Franklin on Saturday afternoon.
When it rains it pours and the mood was dampened as the game tactics unraveled.
A rainy start provided a muddy terrain on the gridiron for the playoff bout between the Potomac Valley Conference rivals.
The 12th seed Cougars (6-6) had suffered a loss in the regular season against fourth seed Pendleton County (10-2) and hoped to claw out a playoff win in response and made the first pounce for a score.
The national anthem was sung by a Pendleton County student as a classmate played the piano.
It was a back-and-forth affair, but Pendleton County prevailed by grabbing the Cougars by the tail and snarled back on top.
One word that described this battle against the Cougars was resiliency for both sides according to Pendleton County coach Zac Smith.
“Just a resilient effort on both sides of the ball. Down on the goal line and we force a turnover and that’s a young corner, Cam Wyatt and I have been on him about being lazy and giving effort and he came up big on that play. He didn’t quit and could have let No. 14 walk into the end zone, but that was the mentality of the whole game and overtime, just resiliency and never giving up. We turned the ball over twice in the second half and gave East Hardy a lot of momentum. That’s a big, strong team. I am just proud of our guys,” Pendleton County coach Zac Smith commented.
“That’s why you play every play that you play, you never know what is going to happen. {Colton] He’s a phenomenal kid and gives phenomenal effort, but he couldn’t do it without those 10 others on the field with him. I am just really proud of our guys. We were undersized like we usually are and just battled the whole game. Colton stepped up in crunch time and I wouldn’t expect anything less out of him. [Semifinal] We have plenty of work to do. Wheeling Central, we know the tradition and know the state championships. We’ve got to be ready to play rolling into Wheeling.”
The opening kickoff sailed out of bounds and the Wildcats booted it again, then East Hardy kick returner Levi Price created a dynamic return to electrify the playoff atmosphere reaching the Pendleton County 25-yard line.
Nehemiah Graham carried the ball for four yards on the initial play from scrimmage for the Cougars with a stop by a destruction of Wildcats spearheaded by Colton Roberson.
A screen pass from East Hardy quarterback Trevor Roof was caught by Khristian Bauserman for two yards before Roberson made the tackle.
Graham notched two more yards as Roberson and Britton Lough made the stop forcing a fourth down and Price missed the ensuing 34-yard field goal attempt for the Cougars putting a damper on the opening sequence.
However, Roberson fumbled the ball on the Wildcats first possession and East Hardy’s Dayton Dove made the recovery at the 24-yard line.
The Cougars took advantage of the field position this time around as Garrett Van Meter made three consecutive carries totaling 22 yards to reach the two yard line.
Roof capped off the short four play drive with a touchdown keeper and Price added the extra point kick giving East Hardy a 7-0 lead at 8:43.
Price nailed his trademark touchback kickoff and Pendleton County began at the 20-yard line with Roberson connecting to Lough on a 24-yard throw.
After a defensive penalty, Roberson was stopped for no gain by East Hardy’s Van Meter and Bodie Brill.
The Wildcats snatched a first down in Cougars domain on a run by Braylon Willis, who was tackled by Connor Henderson and Dominick Hose.
There were encroachment penalties on both sides of the ball, then a defensive pass interference flag moved Pendleton County to the 31-yard line.
Roberson located Travis Owens for a 31-yard touchdown strike and Kammron Redman added the extra point kick to tie the game with 6:47 left in the opening stanza.
The Wildcats kicked out of bounds again and on the re-kick Graham had a monstrous Cougars return to the Pendleton County 41-yard line.
Graham plowed ahead for four yards with a stop by Roberson and Ty Heavner.
Dove made a sideline catch for four yards and was ushered out of bounds by Lough crashing into the chain setter.
Roof collected a first down on a five yard scamper and added six more yards on the ensuing play.
Van Meter carried a group of Wildcats for three tough yards.
Graham capped off the drive with a 19-yard touchdown run and Price made the kick as the Cougars regained the advantage 14-7 at 3:28.
Pendleton County’s Chase Owens made a catch and dodged tackles for 23 yards after the kickoff touchback and finally stopped by Bauserman and Price.
After an errant throw, Roberson notched five yards, then made a leaping play over a group of players on the gridiron only to have it negated on a holding call.
Travis Owens picked up a first down on a 11-yard catch into Cougars territory at the 42-yard line.
Willis added another first down at the 27-yard line and the first quarter ended on a five yard keeper by Roberson.
Pendleton County opened the second quarter with help from dirty laundry on the field as Chase Owens made a catch and was yanked down for a horse collar infraction moving the chains inside the ten yard line.
Two plays later, the Wildcats pounced into the end zone on Roberson’s six yard run and Chase Owens made a diving conversion catch to put Pendleton County ahead 15-14 at 11:13.
A jeer from the sideline about not knowing how to kick and this time the ball was in bounds and Price took off to the 38-yard line.
Graham took a pitch from Roof and was ensnared in the backfield by Roberson.
Van Meter made a catch and plowed forward to midfield and the play was wiped away on a holding call.
The Cougars failed to recover and punted away with Pendleton County’s Britton Lough making a bid return coupled with a face mask infraction place the Wildcats at the East Hardy 37-yard line.
Willis made a run and there was a block in the back penalty on the Cougars to move the chains at the 27.
Roberson was stopped for no gain by Henderson and a pride of Cougars, then Willis slipped in the mud at the line of scrimmage.
Roberson converted the fourth down and short, then connected with Lough on a diving play at the 4-yard line.
Roberson finished the series calling his own number for the touchdown to put Pendleton County up 21-14 as the kick went awry at 6:43.
East Hardy’s Brinn Childers muffed the kickoff, but was able to smother the fumble in time at the 20.
Price made a catch and shook off one defender before being tackled by Lough after a few yards.
Graham picked up a first down on a ten yard run.
Bauserman made a catch, but Heavner made a shoelace tackle allowing just five yards.
East Hardy responded as Korbin Miller garnered a huge block setting Van Meter free for eight yards and a first down at the 46-yard line.
Graham was stopped for no gain by Heavner and Roberson, then the Cougars were called for an illegal shift during an errant throw.
Another pass went awry as the defenders collided and Mason Wilkins couldn’t corral it leading to a punt with just over three minutes to go in the first half.
Lough made a diving catch spanning 11 yards to reach the 40-yard line with Graham making the tackle.
Willis added five yard on the ground, then Roberson made an aerial attack with Chase Owens hauling in the ball with Bauserman reaching for his shoulder to bring him down and was flagged for a horse collar penalty moving the Wildcats inside the red zone at the 12-yard line.
An offensive infraction moved Pendleton County back ten yards, but on the next toss connecting with Cameron Wyatt made a leaping catch with Roof in tow resulting in a pass interference call for half the distance.
Wyatt made another acrobatic reception and was stopped at the three yard line by Ryan Harman.
Graham made back-to-back touchdown saving tackles sandwiching an offensive penalty forcing a fourth down at the 10.
Van Meter rocked Roberson, who just got the throw off and Ryan Harman corralled the interception for the Cougars with just 23 seconds on the clock.
East Hardy put the two minute drill to work as Roof found Dove for six yards before launching another aerial shot to Price for 39 yards with Lough tracking hi down in Wildcats domain at the 44-yard line with nine ticks to go.
There were two unsuccessful passes to close the first half with Roberson deflecting the final toss as Pendleton County took a 21-14 lead into the locker rooms.
East Hardy Marching Band performed songs from movie soundtracks to the delight of the crowd which included Indiana Jones and Star Wars.
On the second half opening kickoff, the Pendleton County return man was hammered by East Hardy’s Nick Roomsburg at the 30-yard line.
Two plays later, Lough made a reception and had the ball jarred loose by Bauserman and Price.
Mason Wilkins scooped up the fumbled ball for the Cougars and returned it to the Wildcats 41-yard line as under a minute had transpired in the third quarter.
East Hardy needed just seven plays to score and tie the game starting with an eight yard run by Graham.
Van Meter carried defenders for a first down at the 24-yard line, then Roof dashed forward and slid into the red zone.
Van Meter added five yards and Roof got the Cougars down to the 10-yard line.
Graham picked up four yards and Roof capped off the drive with a touchdown keeper with blocking by Van Meter and Price’s kick knotted the quarterfinal at 21 points apiece at 7:27.
Pendleton County started at its own 29-yard line and Roberson was dropped for a ten yard sack by Dove.
After an incompletion, Roberson covered nearly 20 yards before being rocked by Bauserman with the ball flying free and collected by Sam Eason at the 41.
Roberson’s next pass went directly to Roof for an interception and a return to the Wildcats 45-yard line.
Roof faked a handoff which was sold perfectly by Graham to create a nine yard keeper and added a first down on the ensuing play at the 28-yard line.
Graham added four yards , then Roof reached the edge of the red zone.
Van Meter garnered a first down on a five yard run.
Three plays later, Roof dashed to the Pendleton County sideline area and scrambled back across the field avoiding the danger as Bauserman was jumping and waving open in the corner and Roof’s eyes locked on Price for a touchdown catch in the middle of the end zone putting East Hardy back on top 27-21 with the kick failing at 2:02.
Pendleton County lined up in a bunch formation for the receivers as Roberson passed to Chase Owens who managed to get nine yards before being slammed by Van Meter.
Roberson picked up the first down on a four yard run, then the Cougars gifted five more yards on a penalty.
After an errant throw, a screen pass was made to Owens, who slipped in the process losing two yards.
Roberson found an opening for nine yards and a first down, then dodged tackles for a huge gain moving the chains once again to close out the third frame reaching the Cougars 40-yard line.
Roberson commenced the final stanza with a three yard keeper and was tackled by Brill and Korbin Miller.
Chase Owens hauled in a pass and was brought down by Wilkins, but not before grabbing a first down at the 23-yard line.
Roberson added tow yards and was smashed by Miller, then Roberson eluded capture on the next play with inadvertent blocking assistance by a referee before being stopped by Wilkins at the seven yard line.
After a holding call, Roberson hit pay dirt from 12 yards out to tie the game with 9:32 remaining, 27-all.
There was a pass interference penalty on the first conversion attempt, then Chase Owens took the snap and fumbled the ball with Van Meter making the recovery as the game remained deadlocked.
Childers returned the Cougars kickoff to the 41-yard line and time of possession was crucial.
The Cougars munched away the time with carries by Graham, Roof and Van Meter with the final carry converting a fourth down beyond midfield as over two and a half minutes elapsed.
Van Meter snatched another first down on a 16-yard run powering through a destruction of Wildcats.
Bauserman made a diving catch converting a third down spanning six yards to arrive just outside of the red zone.
Shouts from the sideline and stands could be heard saying ‘eat the clock’ and the Cougars continued to feast as Van Meter entered the red zone, then Price made a catch and was forced out at the 14.
Roof rushed seven yards as the time was ticking away, then added one more yard before timeout was called.
Roof was stopped for no gain with 2:47 left with another timeout called.
Coming out of the timeout, Graham took the handoff and raced to the outside corner by the Wildcats sideline nearly reaching the end zone before the ball was punched out by Wyatt and bounced through the end zone for a Pendleton County touchback possession.
Wyatt converted a third down for the Wildcats reaching the 33-yard line with 1:20 remaining as Roof made the tackle.
Price prevented a reception, then Dove slammed into Roberson as the throw was released and a face mask penalty was called on the Cougars.
Roberson made a toss horizontally across the backfield to Wyatt who found Chase Owens opened, but that connection was dropped with 1:05 on the clock.
Roberson avoided initial danger gaining seven yards for a first down before tripping as Roomsburg was coming in for a tackle.
Owens made a diving reception for a first down spanning 19 yard arriving at the East Hardy 35-yard line.
Roberson fell in the back field with 27 seconds left, then located Travis Owens for a catch, who toppled over on his head at the 27-yard line.
A pride of Cougars led by Roomsburg created a sack on the final play of regulation forcing overtime.
East Hardy won the coin toss and elected to play defense first and the Wildcats overtime start was on the 20-yard line.
Pendleton County’s first play was a Roberson to Chase Owens connection for ten yards to move the chains with a stop by Brill.
Roberson eked out seven more yards with Wilkins denying a score.
The Wildcats responded on the next play with Roberson finding the end zone and adding the conversion for a 35-27 advantage in the extra frame.
“[Team determination] It’s amazing. This team has really come together and our defense is starting to play really good ball. We’re a family on and off the field. We are starting to play together and you could see that out on the field. Those last couple of plays, we really came together and gave it all we had. Now we are going on the Final Four. [Game winning score] It feels amazing. That’s everything I’ve worked for right there putting it on the field. This game is my life and I would do anything for it,” Pendleton County quarterback Colton Roberson noted.
Now it was the Cougars’ turn to answer that first strike and the Pendleton County defense clamped down.
Price rushed for three yards and was tracked own by Travis Owens, then Roof was stopped for no gain by Heavner.
After a timeout, Roof launched the ball into the back of the end zone where Dove tried to make the catch only to have the ball knocked away by Lough as he fell backwards.
Facing fourth down with the semifinal playoff dreams on the line, Roof located Price in the corner of the end zone with the catch being hauled in under two-man coverage by Travis Owens and Wyatt and just as Price came crashing to the ground Owens managed to punch the ball out to seal the quarterfinal overtime victory, 35-27.
Price sat in shock and dismay in his final career football game as the Wildcats celebration commenced.
Pendleton County advances to face top seed Wheeling Central Catholic (8-2) on the road this week in the state semifinals with a trip to the state championship game in Charleston up for grabs which would be the first appearance for the Wildcats.
Coach Orndorff told his charges that the difference was one yard and that they have to work to be one yard better next year, then the East Hardy faithful received a heart full of gratitude after the coaches embraced their seniors and underclassmen in Franklin.
“[Heart] This is the most we’ve seen in many years, going all the way back to Mason Miller and Dawson Price and those guys. They set the bar for playing with pride and effort and heart. You knew you were going to get all that stuff every Friday night even if they had a bad game. We played like that today. I could not be more proud of them, from the way we started the season to where we finished is a night and day difference. We put ourselves in a position where we should have capitalized on it today,” East Hardy coach Devon Orndorff remarked.
“The difference in this game was four or five plays like it always is. It’s a tough match-up and we have to learn to grow and keep growing. We played a lot of young guys this year and hopefully they will be back and better than ever. We are just going to move forward. We did exactly what we told the boys we needed to do. We came up to Pendleton County and they are going to have some good drives early more often than not and they did and we responded. We come back and tie the game and take the lead, then they tie the game. We go down to the one yard line and have a touchback. Nehemiah Graham is a special player for us and he will learn from this and still be a special player for us moving forward. Obviously, a back-and-forth game. It was a roller-coaster and I don’t know how you could have it any tighter. I’m sure it was a fun one to watch. We just have to capitalize on every opportunity and we did a much better job of that today. Obviously, this wasn’t quite good enough. This one hurts.”
The Cougars played with tremendous heart and left everything on the field for their curtain call.
