By Stephen Smoot
The casual fan may look at the 21-point win by Pendleton County over rival East Hardy and assume that the home team had little trouble dispatching the visitors from Baker.
Those who attended will vouch that this, in fact, was a close contest that tested the surging Wildcats.
Pendleton County came off a win that looks more like a major upset in week two. The Keyser Golden Tornadoes, who lost handily in Franklin, dominated Lewis County Friday. Perennial power East Hardy dropped a loss to perennial power Wahama last week 79-40.
With Tucker County coming up in week three, the Cougars’ trip to Franklin served as a very motivating early season “must win” and their effort reflected that.
Once again, a person could not have programmed better game time weather. Players enjoyed mid-70s temperatures, little breeze, and skies as clear as the new sound system installed last week.
East Hardy opted to take the opening kickoff. Kamron Redman kicked it short and to the left, putting the receiving team on their own 30. They rely heavily on their strong and mobile line blocking for two shifty runners and one who charges downfield like a raging bull.
All night, that offense would test the heart of the Wildcat defense.
Five plays took East Hardy 16 yards, and they punted. Quarterback Colton Roberson picked up where he left off against Keyser. From his own 25, he rolled left and found Chase Owens cutting across the field at about the 35. He threw across his body, hit the receiver in stride and watched him streak up the left sideline to the opposing 12-yard line.
Three running plays got the Wildcats across the goal line with 9:15 left to go in the first. East Hardy could do little with their second possession and a punt put the Wildcat offense back in business with seven minutes left in the quarter.
Overall, the game plan changed against East Hardy. Pendleton County mercilessly picked on Keyser’s defensive backs for big chunks of yardage, but the more athletic Cougar defenders contained that more.
Zac Smith, head coach, called on his running back Redman much more in this contest as his offensive line could create more creases against the Cougars than the Keyser Golden Tornadoes.
On second down with second and 10 at their own 36, Redman looked for room in the middle, quick-hopped right, evaded a would-be tackler, then surged ahead to the East Hardy 46 where the defense nudged him out of bounds.
Four plays later on third and three, Redman picked up eight yards and the first down. Later on second and 15 at the Cougar 40, Redman took a left sweep 17 yards to continue the drive. Roberson himself served as the other part of the Wildcat running one-two punch all night long. His legs gave his team the second touchdown and Redman’s leg hit its second extra point for a 14-0 lead early after a 14-play 64-yard drive that ate almost four minutes of clock.
Pendleton County would dominate the game in time of possession with these long and sustained drives.
Down 14 did not discourage the visitors and the Cougars roared to life, stunned by the quick deficit. With two runs and three passes, they found the endzone in a relatively quick 2:14 that got them on the board but gave their defense little rest.
The Wildcats had the ball for one play but fumbled and gave it up at the East Hardy 31. The Cougars moved a total of one yard and punted.
Roberson took the running duties in this drive. From his own 10, he ran right and gained seven, then later on third and three, number 22 gained 22 yards to the Wildcat 39. Four plays later on second and nine at the East Hardy 39, Roberson lofted a pass to a leaping Travis Owens. He pulled in and hung onto the pass as a defender drove his pads into the thighs of the elevated receiver.
The quarterback closed the drive with a seven-yard run. Though not apparent at the time, when Smith called on Travis Owens to take the snap for the kick and run in a successful two-point conversion it played a major factor in East Hardy strategy late in the game.
Once again, the Wildcats looked poised to put the game away, but East Hardy does not give up. The kickoff put them at their own six, but the run-oriented squad made the gutsy call to attack through the air. On first down, a pass glanced off a receiver’s hands at the 30. He had sneaked past the defender and had open field before them. That play failed, but then on third and six, the same approach brought the Cougars a big passing score and once again pulled their team within a touchdown, 22-14.
Punch, counterpunch. Punch, counterpunch. Like Muhammed Ali battling Joe Frazier, the teams stood toe to toe and pounded each other. Pendleton County started at their own 20. In two plays, Roberson’s legs had his team at their own 40. The Wildcats moved the ball well but help from East Hardy in the form of two personal fouls helped them to move it even better. Roberson bowled over two defenders at the goal line to cap off an 11-play 80-yard drive to put his team up 29 to 14.
With 1:54 left in the half, East Hardy drove 80 yards on five plays in only 54 seconds to once again score a touchdown. They failed on the two-point conversion, leaving themselves down by nine going into the half.
Pendleton County received the ball to start the second half and resumed their war of attrition via the run. On first and 10 from the 42, Roberson faked a handoff and surged ahead to the East Hardy 43, carrying defenders with him the last several yards. Redman followed with a strong five-yard push inside the Cougar 40.
Three plays later on a critical fourth down and six at the opposing 38, Roberson ran it himself to the left sideline, turned the corner on the defense, and gave his team the first down at the 27. Almost a minute and a half later, the Wildcats faced another fourth and long, but the quarterback fired a pass to Chase Owens on the left side of the endzone.
That put a scoring exclamation point on an 11-play drive that covered 70 yards in about five minutes. Counting the two fourth down conversions, this drive cemented the ideal that Pendleton County can play quick-strike offense as it did against Keyser or grind down the opposing defense with long and punishing ground focused drives.
With Redman’s kick, the Wildcats had a 36-20 advantage with, as far as the home crowd was likely concerned, way too much time left, seven minutes in the third. The Cougars took a kick in the teeth and a punch in the gut on the previous drive that might have broken the back of most teams, but East Hardy had a lot of life left in them. They drove right down the field, keyed by a 45-yard run by their big back up the middle. They closed the scoring gap to 10 at the 3:39 mark.
Pendleton County started at their own 20 and wasted little time in response. On the third play of the drive at their own 36, Roberson stood in and delivered a pass 15 yards downfield to Travis Owens. The receiver ran past defenders and accelerated upfield until caught from behind inside the Cougar 10. With 1:21 left, Roberson got behind the right guard and dove into the endzone.
Reliable Redman nailed another extra point and Pendleton County momentarily had a commanding 43-27 lead.
Momentarily because East Hardy once again used its speedy skilled players and excellent offensive line to push to about the Wildcat 20. David Noble and Roberson had key tackles to stall out the offense at the 30. On fourth and goal, they kicked a field goal and sat at a 13-point disadvantage with 10:50 left in the game, closing to within striking distance.
The Wildcats took the kickoff at their own 20, but had to punt with 8:29 left and put the visitors at their own 28. Relentless, they put together a long and sustained drive, mostly on the ground, that gave them a touchdown with about 4:20 remaining in the game and only behind by six.
If no one on either sideline had thoughts of the remarkable comeback two seasons ago by Pendleton County against Moorefield, perhaps memories of that game resurfaced. Pendleton County’s offense met stiff resistance from East Hardy, who forced a punt with about 3:08 left.
East Hardy had enjoyed the benefit of hard work, effort, and luck to keep pace with the home team, but the third attribute ran out on them at the very end as the Wildcat defense imposed its will on the conclusion.
On first and 10 near midfield, East Hardy completed a midrange pass, but a bone-jarring hit by Chase Owens popped the ball loose and in the vicinity of a fast-closing Travis Owens. He scooped the ball and sprinted past chasing Cougars to the endzone to finally close the door on the Cougars.
As celebratory songs poured through the sparking clear sound system, East Hardy tried to put on points for pride. They once again ground out yards and got in position to score until Spencer Hartman stepped in and intercepted a pass. The defensive lineman showed his speed as he accelerated past East Hardy and closed the game with a bang, the final score 57-36.
For the second week in a row, Pendleton County battled a team strong up front. Like last week, the Wildcats capably opened holes for Redman and Roberson to pick up enough yards on the ground to keep the defense honest. Roberson also had time to find receivers for midrange passes. East Hardy did a great job of keeping Pendleton County’s playmakers at receiver in front of them, but mainly that served to extend drives and keep their defense on the field longer.
Pendleton County’s defense made very good offensive team work for their points and gave up almost nothing easy. East Hardy may very well start the season zero and three after Tucker County next week, but still score their way into the post season.
On Friday, the Wildcats host a Class AA Petersburg Vikings squad that has played lights out in its first two contests against Wyoming East and Berkeley Springs.
