By Stephen Smoot
Coaches hate the term “good losses” and would prefer that their program see no loss as “good.” Objectively speaking, however, when young teams contend with opponents with more size, strength, and experience, one can reflect on lessons learned and challenges well met within what otherwise, was a loss on the field.
“That’s a great football team,” Zac Smith, Pendleton County head coach, told West Virginia Metro News. He added, “They’re well-coached and they have plenty of talent. That’s hard to compete against in Single A.”
With a number of young players up front on both sides of the ball, the Wildcats have found the laws of physics as their opponent often this year. Younger players with less size, less time clocked in the weight room during their high school career, and less experience have had to find a way to overcome those deficits, make key plays, and take advantage of luck as they crafted a brilliant 10 and 2 season.
Though a 43-20 loss on the final scoreboard, neither side would say that the game was a blowout.
Pendleton County opened play in conditions much colder than they had experienced for most of the year. The kickoff popped high in the air, came down at the 30, but Wheeling Catholic brought it to the 50.
The Maroon Knights have a capable passing game, but rely heavily on their workhorse Kade Koroneos, who amassed more than1,500 yards rushing this year. Not a back with blazing speed or overwhelming size, Koroneos finds holes well, blows through arm tackles, and keeps his legs churning.
Tony Caridi, Voice of the Mountaineers, once described such a runner as like “trying to tackle a rolling bowling ball.”
He is one of those backs that a defense has to hit as he runs laterally because, like Mountaineer legend Adrian Murrell, once he turns up field, his strength and shiftiness make it tough for a single tackler to bring him down.
On second and five near midfield, Colton Roberson came up from his safety position and made just such a stop to force third and long. After Cameron Wyatt tracked down and defended a deep pass attempt, the Knights punted. This served as yet another weapon for the home team as their punter proved adept at putting the Wildcats deep in their own territory over and over again.
Wheeling Catholic opted to open the game with a man-to-man pass defense and Pendleton County made them pay. Roberson from his own five launched a precise strike to Travis Owens out at the Wildcat 35 and he took the ball to midfield. On third and nine, Roberson rolled right and lofted a pass to Owens at the Knights’ 11 where he pulled in the pass and fell out of bounds.
Roberson ended the drive by running off the right end and finding the endzone. The kick gave Pendleton County the lead, 7-0.
Quickly, however, Wheeling Catholic got their first touchdown on the board with a 55-yard touchdown run.
The kickoff pinned Pendleton County deep again. Roberson on first down connected with Owens at the 34 for an 18-yard pass play. Three plays later on third down and 10, Owens elevated at midfield and caught a pass as he fell backwards. At midfield, the drive stalled and the Wildcats had to punt with about 4:45 remaining in the first quarter.
Wheeling Catholic went to work on the ground, every run a solid surge behind a big line, systematically rattling off runs on power plays, gaining yardage and making their way downfield. They crossed the goal line after a drive of 10 plays covering 78 yards, all but one play a run.
Wheeling Catholic had seen enough of Wildcat receivers making big plays with precision and athleticism against their man-to-man coverage and moved to a zone. There, they could take full advantage of their 6’7 defensive back and try to take some of the speed and leaping ability of Chase Owens, Travis Owens, Britton Lough, and Wyatt off the table.
The Maroon Knights also used delayed blitzes to harass Roberson on passing plays, often timed to strike as he made a move in the backfield to run or pass. On the opening drive of the second quarter they forced an interception on a tipped ball. This time, Wildcat adjustments seemed to disrupt Wheeling Catholic. They punted on fourth and 20 and once again, backed the Wildcats to their own 10.
After a strong Braylon Willis run gave his team a first down, the Maroon Knights’ height got the better of Roberson as he jumped over the receiver to take a clean interception. Three plays later, Wheeling Catholic scored again and took a 21-7 lead.
For the young Wildcats, gut check time came at five minutes remaining in the half. Could this team respond?
Travis Owens took the kickoff to the Wildcat 43 to set up the offense in the best field position they had seen in some time. Willis ran quickly, but with shiftiness, on the first play to midfield to set up second and three. Then, Roberson ripped off a powerful run of his own to the opponents’ 40.
On second and three, Roberson rolled out with Willis picking up a block in front. He found Wyatt on a nine-yard pass. Next, on first and 10 at the 25, Roberson appeared to use a scramble on a pass play to not find a receiver, but to set up a run, which he took to the seven. After throwing the ball away in the face of suffocating coverage, on the next chance, Chase Owens took a short toss for a touchdown. The kick put the score at 21-14 with under a minute left.
The Wildcats got the ball back to open the third and went right to work on their best drive of the game in many ways. Wheeling Catholic had halftime to rest and adjust, seeing that Pendleton County seemed poised to take momentum despite having a difficult first half.
From his own 25 on third and 10, Roberson found a receiver at the 34. Typically against zones, Roberson plays with patience, finding receivers cutting or angling in front of the zone or scrambling one way or the other to try and confuse the defense. Instead of taking the whole yardage at once, the quarterback turns into a slicing and dicing surgeon.
Willis took the ball on first and 10 and galloped to the 47 on one of his timeliest runs of the year. Roberson then followed Willis off the left side and scampered down the sideline to the 34. Seven plays later, Roberson threaded the needle over the middle from the opposing 27 to the one-yard line. Lough made the big catch in traffic.
Though pushed back to the 11 by solid defensive plays on the quarterback, Roberson fired a pass on second down to Travis Owens in the endzone. Wheeling Catholic preserved a slender lead, 21-20, by blocking the kick.
Those covering the game on the broadcast pounced on the block as a key point in the game and a momentum shifter, but it mattered very little. Wheeling Catholic’s size and experience up front, which included multiple starters returning to the team for the first time in several games, continued to ram against Wildcat resilience.
Wheeling Catholic scored on their next possession, tacked on a two-point conversion, and took a commanding nine-point lead without looking back. Pendleton County gave it everything they had from top to bottom. Within this loss, they rebounded over and over until the experience, size, and strength of the other side took over.
Pendleton County came just as far last year and also saw their dreams end with a big loss on the road. That said, the loss to Wheeling Catholic looks much different than the 2024 setback to Tucker County. The Wildcats threw their best punches and connected often enough to make a solid impression in 2025 against a more complete opponent in the Maroon Knights.
