By Carl Holcomb
Moorefield Examiner
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31
A trip down memory lane to yesteryear awakened the spirit within the Cougars to transform into the Mathias Eagles and took flight over Baker reminiscing in a tribute culminating with a swift swoop descending with talons to rip the Indians 74-33.
Mathias High School shuttered its doors in 1979 and consolidated with Wardensville High School to become reborn as East Hardy High School later that same year.
The Cougars turned back the clock with a throwback tribute night honoring Mathias basketball alumni and showcasing the Eagles blue and white uniforms.
The gymnasium was breaming with history as 26 former Eagles were recognized at halftime.
The Mathias Eagles alumni announced by East Hardy athletic director Devon Orndorff were: Edwin Hamilton (1968), Willard Barb (1974), Carl Wilkins (1976), Randy Moyer (1969), Richard Strawderman (1965), Raymond Snapp (1970), Cletus Miller (1973), Sherwin Tusing (1974), Calvin Mongold, Eldin Whetzel (1972), Mike Strawderman (1976), Mary Basye, Rachel Childers, Glen Mathias (1967), Jay “Bird” Fansler (1977), Brent Strawderman, Don Hamilton (1971), Randy Branson (1967), Lowell Mathias (1961), Michael Sager (1978), Don Whetzel, Charity Smith, Annette Shipe (1977), Heather Mills, Alvin Foltz and Devin Hamilton.
Raymond Snapp was the first girls basketball and baseball coach for East Hardy.
Alvin Foltz is the Mathias all-time scoring leader.
“It was special. It was nice to see those old hats in here watching the game. A lot of those guys haven’t been here, probably since it has been East Hardy, seeing how they played at Mathias. It was good to see the guys watching us working hard. We had a real balanced scoring effort tonight. We played unselfish basketball and worked together as a team,” East Hardy coach Chris Hahn remarked.
The visiting Pocahontas County Warriors joined in on the trek back in time with their own historic threads.
Speaking of Warriors, the Wardensville tribe returned for a throwback recognition this week.
One could see the legacy of families gathering together as traditions continue to grow from Mathias to East Hardy.
The grandsons of some of the Mathias alumni playing for the Cougars are: brothers Evan and Mason Hamilton along with Joseph and Levi Price, plus Mason Wilkins.
East Hardy turned Mathias scoring leader was Evan Hamilton with a game-high 15 points (all 3’s) to lead four Eagles in double figures, followed by Trevor Roof with 13 points, Aubrey McCullough with 12 points (3’s twice) and Mason Hamilton (3’s thrice) with 11 markers.
Pocahontas County was paced by Cash Beers with 10 points and George Shifflett with 7 points.
Evan Hamilton drilled the first of his five perimeter shots on the game’s opening possession for the Eagles.
Both teams drew iron before Mathias’ Gideon Good swatted a Pocahontas County attempt and moments later Trevor Roof intercepted a pass leading to a bucket by Good for a 5-0 edge at 6:35.
Mason Hamilton swiped the ball for the Eagles, prior to two shots going awry.
Cash Beers drained a 3-pointer putting the Warriors on the board at 5:55.
The Eagles responded with a jumper by Joseph Price, then forced a turnover and Good added a free throw.
Mathias took an 11-5 lead on a 3-pointer from Evan Hamilton with 3:58 left in the first frame.
Pocahontas County’s Dylan Keller made an interception which resulted in a layup by Ben Workman.
Mathias netted three field goals in a span of a minute and a half from Joseph Price, Aubrey McCullough and Evan Hamilton, in addition to snatching the ball away from the Warriors four times in that span (Joseph Price, McCullough, Good and Evan Hamilton) building an 18-7.
The Warriors added a layup to close out the period.
Commencing the second period, Mathias’ Levi Price swiped the ball thrice in the span of one minute leading to layups by Joseph Price and McCullough (2).
The Eagles created a 12-2 run as McCullough and Evan Hamilton sandwiched a pair of perimeter shots around Warriors free throws for a 30-11 lead.
Roof notched a free throw and scored a layup off a rebound by Good to build a 33-13 advantage with 2:43 remaining in the first half.
Good swiped the ball, then hauled in an offensive rebound and tried for a dunk that went askew.
Moments later, Good connected for the dunk and drew a foul in the process, but also remained hanging on the rim to prevent landing on the Warriors defender below.
An irate Pocahontas County fan was tossed from the game, demanding an infraction for the rim dance.
Good completed the dynamic three-point play for a 36-13 lead.
The Mathias defense forced four turnovers in the final two minutes on two steals apiece by Mason Hamilton and Roof. The Eagles missed a few shots before a rebound by Joseph Price drew contact and one marker was added on the charity stripe.
Roof’s next steal resulted in his own jumper in the paint giving the Eagles a 39-13 lead going into halftime.
The Warriors began the third period on a 7-0 run covering two minutes boosted by five points from Beers, while Mathias hit the rim five times.
A steal by Mason Hamilton led to an errant layup with Good hauling in the carom and dishing back out to Hamilton knocking down a trifecta, 42-20.
Roof forced a turnover for the Eagles and nailed a jumper in the paint.
Shifflett scored the next five points for Pocahontas County in a span of 40 seconds sandwiching an Eagles miss to cut the deficit to 44-25 with 3:30 left in the third frame.
Mathias’ Aubrey McCullough recorded a steal and drew a foul leading to two free throws.
The Warriors hit the rim twice before a huge crash resulting in a foul by them.
Mason Hamilton drilled a 3-pointer for a 49-25 lead with 1:47 to go.
Pocahontas County responded in 11 seconds with a jumper by Dylan Keller.
McCullough notched a putback, then Good collected a defensive carom which led to a buzzer-beating jumper by Levi Price elevating the Eagles to a 53-27 lead entering the final stanza.
After that evenly matched third frame, Mathias outscored the Warriors 21-6 in the final frame.
The Eagles’ talons slashed from beyond-the-arc thrice in the initial two minutes of the fourth period coming off the hands of McCullough and the Hamilton twins.
The Warriors broke the ice with one free throw a minute later.
Mason Hamilton dropped a trifecta with four minutes and change remaining for a 65-27 lead.
The Eagles coasted to a 74-33 victory as Marshall Wilkins came off the bench adding two field goals in the final minute.
This was the fourth consecutive victory for the 6th ranked Cougars, improving to 9-4 overall.
In JV action, the Cougars secured a 64-28 win over Pocahontas County with Gage Dove leading the charge netting 10 points.
East Hardy walloped 80-54 in Mt. Storm earlier in the week as Mason Hamilton was on fire nailing 8 3-pointers for a game-high 37 points and Gideon Good added 20 points.
The Tigers were guided by Braylon Ward with 26 points.
East Hardy turned into the Wardensville Warriors on Monday against Paw Paw.
The Cougars next game is on Friday at Tygarts Valley.
in their honor. Mathias High School consolidated into East Hardy High School in 1979.
rim for the safety of the Pocahontas County defender below.
Warriors.
