By Carl Holcomb
Moorefield Examiner
Constant chants of ‘J-E-B’ resonated throughout the Hive as the Yellow Jackets faithful showed their love and support for senior Jeb Wagner, who nailed a 3-pointer in the final stanza igniting the crowd and bench into a frenzy for a 77-40 domination over Pocahontas County.
Moorefield Boys Basketball senior Jeb Wagner has become an inspiration with his dedication to the team; coming to every practice, having the willingness to step up as a water boy providing liquid refreshment and encouragement on the bench to putting on the game jersey to compete on the hardwood showing his charisma and leadership in full spectacle.
Wagner may have taken the heart and spirit of the fans as the rest of the team complemented that passion with a dynamic scoring regiment.
“Jeb deserved that moment. He has been with us for four years and has been to every practice, every game and every trip. He deserved that moment. To make the three and for the crowd and our bench to go crazy, he deserved that. He is a big part of the team,” Moorefield coach Scott Stutler remarked.
Yellow Jacket juniors Jackson Helmick and Cyrus Kump swarmed around Pocahontas County leading the attack with 20 points apiece, followed by senior Shawn Reed with 10 points.
“It was a good game to bounce back from last night. Our kids came out with energy and they were ready to play from the jump today. It was good to see. We have a big game on Friday. We have had good defense all year, but we just need to learn to score the basketball like tonight. Jackson has been shooting well and Cyrus had a great game for us,” Coach Stutler noted.
Unleashing the Hive mind, the Yellow Jackets mesmerized the Warriors buzzing out to a 23-4 lead entering the second period and put on the automatic pilot sign flying to a 47-20 halftime edge with a coast to the victory landing zone 77-40.
Pocahontas County was paced by Carter Vandevender with 12 points.
Helmick guided Moorefield with seven points in the opening frame which included one of his three perimeter shots of the night, followed by Reed with 6 points, Kump and freshman Edison Metheny with four markers each and junior Kail Greenwalt added a field goal.
A minute elapsed into the second stanza before Helmick nailed a second trifecta sparking a 14-0 run.
Reed snatched a defensive rebound carom and netted a layup on the other end.
Both teams hit the rim, then a star by Helmick led to a basket from Kump.
Reed swiped the ball and dished to Metheny for a layup.
The Warriors had shots go awry on the next two series, while Moorefield recorded jumpers by Helmick and senior Law Sherman on a putback.
Moorefield freshman Matthew Iman grabbed a rebound and dished to Metheny to cap the run for a 39-6 lead at 3:54.
Pocahontas County stopped that run with a 3-pointer from Dylan Keller and a jumper by Cash Beers.
The Yellow Jackets buzzed back with six more points in a span of a minute by Kump (2) and Greenwalt.
Beers added a trey for the Warriors at 1:27, then the Yellow Jackets answered with a layup from Sherman off an assist by Greenwalt.
Pocahontas County closed the half with a 6-0 run aided by Vandevender’s two field goals to cut the deficit to 47-20.
The Yellow Jackets maintained altitude and tempo by outscoring Pocahontas County 20-10 in the third period to build a 67-30 lead entering the fourth period.
Kump garnered 10 points (4 FT) for Moorefield in the third frame, while Helmick contributed a pair of 3-pointers along with a layup and Reed calmly sank two technical foul shots.
The Yellow Jackets kept on buzzing in the final period with Wagner putting the finishing touch on the game from the perimeter, 77-40.
