SHORT GAP, W.Va. — It was sloppy. It was penalty-filled. And it was missing its biggest star.
It was also a win — the kind that keeps a state-best win streak alive.
Frankfort overcame a slow start, a blocked extra point, and the absence of star player Braydn Tyler, who did not dress, to pull away from a scrappy Moorefield team 34-12 Friday night at home.
The win extends the Falcons’ West Virginia-best winning streak to 29 games and their dominance over the Yellow Jackets to nine straight.
In a game that saw momentum swing wildly in a 35-second span in the fourth quarter, it was senior fullback Cole Shanholtz who put the game away the way Frankfort fullbacks always do — by running hard, hitting hard, and making the big play when it mattered.
Shanholtz finished with 19 carries for 98 yards and a touchdown, but that stat line only tells part of the story. He added a 52-yard kickoff return for a score, off an onsides kick attempt, just six seconds after Moorefield had cut the lead to 20-12.
His contributions didn’t stop there. He also had three solo tackles, four assisted tackles, two fumble recoveries and a pass deflection on defense, and a successful two-point conversion rush, contributing greatly in all three phases of the game.
“Cole Shanholtz is a tough, hard-nosed, typical Wing-T fullback. He could play Wing-T fullback for any team in the country. He’s what you want in a Wing-T fullback,” Frankfort head coach Kevin Whiteman said after the game.
The Falcons now lead the all-time series 30-7 and have not lost to Moorefield since 2016. But this one didn’t come easy.
Frankfort struck first late in the first quarter. With 6:54 to go in the opening frame, quarterback Austin Twigg capped a long drive with a one-yard touchdown run. Jesus Perdew’s extra point was blocked, leaving it 6-0.
The Falcons extended the lead early in the second quarter when Carson McBee, splitting time at quarterback, hit Antonio Ottaviani on a 21-yard touchdown pass with 8:00 to go in the second quarter. On the try, Shanholtz powered in for the two-point conversion rush, making it 14-0 Frankfort.
Moorefield, a young team that Whiteman said “is going to win a lot of games,” answered right back. With 4:11 left in the half, quarterback Matthew Iman found Bill Lewis on a 20-yard touchdown pass. The two-point rush failed, cutting Frankfort’s lead to 14-6 heading into halftime.
The third quarter was scoreless — a defensive slugfest filled with the week one penalties Whiteman would later lament — before the fourth quarter turned into a track meet.
Frankfort finally broke through again with 8:34 to play when Shanholtz plunged in from a yard out. Perdew’s extra point was no good, but the Falcons led 20-6.
Moorefield refused to fold. With 4:55 left, Iman kept it himself and scored from 6 yards out. The two-point pass failed, but suddenly it was a one-score game at 20-12, and the visiting crowd was back in it.
It lasted all of six seconds.
On the ensuing kickoff, Shanholtz fielded it clean and went 52 yards untouched to the house.
Perdew’s extra point was good this time, and just like that, with 4:49 left, Frankfort was back up 27-12. The swing from a potential 20-14 game to 27-12 took the air out of Moorefield.
Frankfort wasn’t done. After the defense forced a stop, Peyton Brittingham closed the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run with 4:24 left. Perdew added the PAT to set the final at 34-12.
“We were resilient, and we kept battling,” Whiteman said. “It was a little sloppy, but we got the win. It’s week one, you can expect that.”
According to Whiteman, “You know, it’s hard to come out week one and be flawless. And I give Moorefield a lot of credit. They’re going to win a lot of games.”
“But I’m proud of our kids, they were resilient, they kept battling. I thought they were physical and aggressive, and even though they made mistakes, they kept playing hard.”
Frankfort ran the ball 53 times for 251 yards as a team, averaging 4.7 yards per carry, with three rushing touchdowns. That number — 53 carries — is Frankfort football.
The Falcons attempted just five passes all night, completing four for 82 yards and another score. Moorefield, by contrast, was held to 31 offensive plays for 284 yards, but Frankfort’s defense made the yards hard to turn into points.
The run game was balanced as always.
Behind Shanholtz’s 19 for 98, Austin Twigg carried 11 times for 64 yards and a touchdown, Peyton Brittingham carried nine times for 49 yards and a touchdown, and Gunnar Bradshaw added eight carries for 38 yards. That’s four players with at least eight carries, keeping fresh legs on the field all night.
The passing game was a two-quarterback system that Whiteman said will be evaluated on film.
Carson McBee completed 1 of 2 passes for a 21-yard touchdown, while Austin Twigg was a perfect 3-for-3 for 61 yards. Twigg’s ability to stay fresh while McBee was on defense was a factor in the second half rotation, Whiteman explained.
“For the quarterback position, we’ll see. We have to watch the film, break it down. I thought they both did some good things, so we just have to wait and see,” Whiteman said.
“In the second half there, you know, Austin, we left Austin in there for a while because McBee was on defense and Austin was fresh. And we wanted Austin’s run the ball some, and, you know, we’re trying to win the football game.”
Ottaviani was the top target, catching 2 passes for 55 yards and a touchdown, including that 21-yarder from McBee. Brittingham added a 24-yard reception and Brady Twigg caught a 3-yard pass.
Special teams saw some ups and downs. But, the play of the night on special teams was Shanholtz’s 52-yard kickoff return for a touchdown with 4:49 left — the answer to Moorefield’s rally that sealed the win.
Defensively, Frankfort didn’t record a sack but created havoc with takeaways and tackles for loss. Frankfort forced two fumbles and recovered both, both by Shanholtz, and picked off a pass.
Co-leaders in total tackles were Shanholtz and senior Anthony Smith, each with seven total.
Smith had three solo and four assisted stops, while Shanholtz added three solo and four assisted to go with his two recoveries.
Right behind them were Carson McBee and Gunnar Bradshaw with six tackles apiece. McBee had two solo, four assisted and led the team with two tackles for loss. Bradshaw had four solo and two assisted, with one TFL and a forced fumble.
Other impact players included Ottaviani with two solo, one assisted, the game’s only interception and a pass breakup; Chase Opel with two solo, one assisted and one TFL; Brady Eirich with two solo, one TFL and a forced fumble; and Jed Evans with two solo and a TFL.
Finally, Austin Twigg added a solo and an assist, Knox Kelly had two assisted tackles and a pass breakup, Knox Kimble added two assisted tackles, and Brady Twigg had one solo stop.
Now the attention turns to a rivalry week.
Frankfort (1-0) will travel to Hampshire (1-0) on Friday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. Hampshire opened its season with a 24-19 win over Preston.
“Yeah, we’ll get back to work tomorrow morning watching film to get ready for Hampshire,”
Whiteman said. “It’s exciting. We consider Hampshire a rival. They aren’t that far away. I’m friends with the coaches up there and it’ll be a fun week chatting back and forth.”
According to Whiteman, “We’ve just got to keep improving. Like I said, our kids will be locked in and ready to have a productive week. I have no doubt about that.”
For Frankfort, the formula stays the same: run the ball 53 times, win the turnover battle 3-0, get a special teams touchdown, just do whatever it takes to keep the streak alive — even when it’s ugly.
Editor’s note: Moorefield Football coach Eric Linville provided the following statement about the season opener against Frankfort: “The score definitely didn’t reflect the game we played. The guys battled all night. It was a one score game going into the fourth quarter. Our kicker Levi Davis was questionable going into the game with an injury and during warmups was upgraded to OUT. That hurt us a little and we gave up a big special teams play late in the fourth quarter that ultimately put us in an all or nothing situation. Like any game, we made some fundamental mistakes but most of them were due to being young in a big game moment. Very fixable. To hang with back to back state champs on a 28 game winning streak is definitely something to [No change — inside direct quotation]. Matthew Iman had an outstanding game offensively and defensively. Caleb Flinn and Bill Lewis ran hard as well. The pieces are there, and we will continue to improve.”
