Two years ago, James Vincell started the season at quarterback with Colton Roberson, a talented freshman standing behind the senior. After leading the team to an upset of No. 1 Greenbrier West, Vincell, the current catcher for the Concord University baseball team, fell to injury. Against a powerful Tucker County team, Roberson performed well in a loss. That said, it was against the Tygarts Valley Bulldogs that the then-freshman got his feet under him as a lethal talent on both offense and defense.
With Roberson injured at the end of the contest against Moorefield on Sept. 18, freshman Mason Miller had to step in at quarterback against one of the top teams in Class AA in a late game pressure situation. Last Friday, he had a chance to work against a team that posed somewhat less of a threat than any of the squads faced thus far this year.
Tygarts Valley came into the game without a win and left in the same condition. They posted narrow losses to Valley, Tucker County, and Webster County before a 20-0 setback to Bath County, Virginia.
In his first varsity start, Miller posted efficient numbers, completing 10 of 15 passes for 301 yards and four touchdowns. The offense for Pendleton County served as the very definition of balanced. Against Miller’s 15 passes, the Wildcats executed 15 running plays. Braylon Willis had an excellent day on the ground with 11 rushes for 110 yards and two scores. Cayson Armstrong also rushed for a strong seven yards a carry average, gaining 35 yards on five attempts.
Miller hit on deep plays. Cameron Wyatt pulled in two receptions for 131 yards and two touchdowns. Travis Owens led in the number of catches with five, gaining 94 yards in his efforts. He also ran back a kick 92 yards for a touchdown. Britton Lough brought in two catches for 55 yards and a touchdown while Jonah See had one big catch for 21 yards and a touchdown.
One of the best signs of a solid defensive day comes when the defensive linemen rack up tackles. Spencer Hartman led all with seven solo tackles, two for loss. Sam Eason was second on the team with six stops, and Ty Heavner ranked fifth in tackles with four. Almost one third of the team’s 64 stops came from those linemen. Owens had five tackles, Wyatt and Wyatt Haynes five, Wyatt Hoyt, Rylan Tilley, Liam Simmons, and Lough with three. David Noble, Carson Alt, Ronnie Thompson, and Noah Kobetic had two, and Jayden Souza, Albert Ramos Rivera, Bryce Propst, and Jackson Wimer had one apiece.
Pendleton County had 446 total yards to the Bulldogs’ 255. Much of the yardage and their six points came late against Pendleton County reserves.
The Wildcats opened the floodgates early and poured 21 points into the first quarter, adding six in the second. Two touchdowns apiece came in the third and fourth quarters, giving the Wildcats a 54-6 win.
Friday, Tucker County comes to Franklin. In recent years, the Mountain Lions have tended to reload rather than rebuild, but come into this season’s game with a 2-3 record. They opened with a 31-16 loss against Pocahontas County, whose only other win came against Richwood. Tucker County has a narrow victory over Tygarts Valley and an overtime win versus Clay-Battelle. Blowout losses came against East Hardy and Cameron.
One virtue of a front loaded schedule comes in getting the biggest matchups against the best teams out of the way early. The schedule lightens somewhat in the second half of the season. Bath County has a 3-1 record and Pocahontas County has shown improvement. On Oct. 23 and 30, Pendleton County plays against two Virginia hero namesake high schools in Stonewall Jackson and the Thomas Jefferson Science and Technology school in Alexandria, Virginia. Neither the Clarksburg-native general nor the third president would be impressed by their records thus far on the season.
The final game of the season pits the Wildcats against a once again powerful Cameron squad.
