By Stephen Smoot
In so many ways, Pendleton County versus East Hardy posed a classic confrontation. Cross-county rivals who have traded victories during the years, East Hardy’s “four yards and a cloud of dust” running attack versus the Wildcats’ “air raid” offense have been the game play.
On this day, however, the defenses of both teams dictated the game.
After Alyssa Swain and Caylee Harper provided an angelic harmony while performing the National Anthem, the game got underway with Pendleton County booting the ball to East Hardy. After an initial kick out of bounds, the Wildcats backed up and kicked it again. The Cougars took up the ball and sprinted up field to the Pendleton County 25.
From there, the Wildcat defense held them to three yards on as many plays. East Hardy’s field goal attempt went errant and the Wildcats claimed the ball on their own. Pendleton County gave the ball right back on a fumble two plays later. East Hardy converted the turnover into points running left. This time the kick went true and the Cougars took the 7-0 lead.
Pendleton County took the kickoff at their own 20 about 8:45 into the first quarter. East Hardy’s pass defense contested the deep ball well, pushing Wildcat quarterback Colton Roberson into short and midrange throws. On first down, he rolled right and found Britton Lough near the 30. The receiver took the ball up field for a first down at the Pendleton County 43.
Two plays later, Braylon Willis took a pitch and drove ahead five yards to pick up the first down inside East Hardy territory. A series of opposing team penalties helped advance the Wildcats to near the 30. There, Roberson lofted a pass high to Travis Owens. He leapt over the defensive back, got his hands on the ball, and held on as he got shoved into the endzone for a Wildcat touchdown.
Kamron Redman, who has been walking wounded as a kicker much of the year, gutted the ball through to tie the score.
East Hardy had a simple game plan. Run left, run right, run straight, and let their massive offensive line try to punch the Wildcats in the mouth on every play. On the kickoff, once again East Hardy ended up with a short field on which to work. From the Wildcat 42, the Cougars ran six plays, passing only once, and scored on a 20-yard run.
With 3:28 left in the first and, again down a touchdown, the Wildcats started, again, on their own 20 after a touchback. Roberson drifted right and fired a pass to Chase Owens at the 30, who shot ahead from there to the 43. Three plays later on third down, Roberson fired the ball over the middle to Travis Owens, who made it to the Cougar 40 before being dragged down.
East Hardy forced the Wildcats into third and three at the 35, but Willis sidestepped a would-be tackler and edged ahead for a first down. A few seconds into the second quarter from the six, Roberson ran off the right side. Zac Smith, head coach, called up the two-point conversion, which was converted after Chase Owens dove to catch the pass.
At the 10 minute mark, the Wildcat defense, now up 15-14, forced an East Hardy punt from their own 30. Travis Owens made the first man miss and drove up field. He got inside the East Hardy 45 where he was helped by a five-yard minor face mask penalty.
That and a subsequent penalty put the Wildcats at the 27. Cameron Wyatt’s reception advanced the offense to the 18, but one yard shy of the first down. Pendleton County tried three times to drive the massive defensive line back to pick up the first. On fourth and one, Roberson followed the block of Willis to get the inches needed to keep the ball.
Two plays later Roberson drove across the goal line, but the kick fell short, leaving the score at 21-14.
East Hardy took a deep kickoff and advanced the ball 20 yards to their own 44 and punted. At the 2:15 mark with the Wildcats driving on the East Hardy 45, Roberson rolled right, escaped the grasp of a defender, tossed the ball to Chase Owens, then saw him accelerate deep in the Cougar end of the field. A penalty on the tackle put the ball at the 12.
Pendleton County took the ball as far as the two, but could not get the touchdown. The Cougars started deep on their side of the field with 22 seconds left, but used two passes to get to the Wildcat 45 with three seconds. A heave to the goal line was broken up by Roberson as the half ended.
The Wildcats sought to take control as the third quarter opened with them receiving the kickoff, but East Hardy had a different agenda. The Cougars spent the third forcing two turnovers on two Wildcat possessions, which led to two East Hardy touchdowns and a 27-21 advantage as the third quarter wound down.
At this point, the Wildcats looked like the young team they truly are. East Hardy’s defense posed questions the offense had difficulty in answering. Roberson even took a rare coverage sack. Momentum found itself in the hands of the side wearing white and green.
Roberson lined up his team at his own 20 after yet another booming Cougar kickoff. He threw a pass to the right sideline on a bubble screen. Chase Owens surged to the 29 and the first down came on the next play. Shortly after, Roberson faced third and five from his own 35 and ran left up field. A timely block by Jared Greathouse screened the defense away long enough for the quarterback to convert the down.
As he had all day, Roberson on the next play broke an arm tackle, leapt past another defender, and took the ball to the opposing 40. In this drive, he willed the team back to the East Hardy 12, where the team had struggled at the close of the first half. This time, Roberson ran off right tackle and found Bryce Basagic plowing the road for him. Roberson followed the block and tied the game at 27.
East Hardy opened the next drive at their own 42 with about 9:30 remaining in the game. Slowly they ground down the Pendleton County defense, taking bits and pieces of yardage with each run. Six minutes later, they had first and goal at the six and seemed poised to grab the lead.
On the third down, the runner fumbled the ball, which scooted out of the endzone to put the Wildcats at their own 20 with 2:34 left, plenty of time for this offense to get upfield and score. Deep in Cougar territory, the East Hardy defense sacked Roberson on his last chance to win the game in regulation.
The Wildcats took the ball first in overtime and ran a screen pass to Chase Owens that took the ball to the 10. On the next play, Roberson surged toward the goal line, but the Cougars spun him around at the three. He followed Chase Owens into the endzone on the next play. Roberson then picked up two more for his team by running headlong into the endzone like a bull.
Up 35-27, the Wildcats had to get a stop. On second down and seven, Ty Heavner engaged his man and slid down the line of scrimmage, tracking down the runner and pulling him off his feet for no gain.
Third and seven at the 17, the Cougar quarterback rolled left under pressure and tried to connect with his receiver in the back corner. Lough got enough of a hand on the ball to dislodge it from the Cougar receiver’s hands as he fell to the ground.
On the fourth down the East Hardy quarterback worked his way to the left, found an open man close to the goal line. As he fired the pass, Travis Owens and Wyatt converged on the receiver and foiled what, for the second play in a row, would have been a sure catch but for that last extra bit of effort.
Directly after the game, coach Smith reminded his squad that “you never know what’s going to happen. That’s why you play all the way, every play.”
Those extra effort plays, getting a hand in on a receiver to break up a pass, playing disciplined football within their roles yet giving top effort every down, setting critical blocks to create big plays, and believing in the team even when the breaks go against them is why they Wildcats advance to the semifinals. They will travel Friday to take on Wheeling Central Catholic at 7 p.m. for the right to represent their school in the state title game.
