By Stephen Smoot
Two years ago, Moorefield looked to wrap up a difficult season with a win over adversarial rival Pendleton County. The Wildcats had grit, toughness, and determination, but that had not translated into a record that would get the team into the postseason.
For both teams, senior night in Moorefield represented the closest to a playoff atmosphere either team would see all year. The Wildcats silenced the crowd, overcame a mountain of a lead in the fourth quarter, and stole a win that served as a “best moment” for many of their entire playing careers.
Last Friday night, the conditions returned. A chilly Halloween night at Yellow Jacket Field would watch another battle between heated rivals. This time, Pendleton County and their fourth place rank in Class A would be favored over the home team. Moorefield won a single solitary game so far this season, which was a huge triumph over Tucker County.
How would the spirits and ghosts of Moorefield games past affect the relentless drive of the 2025 Wildcats as they faced a highly motivated and deceptively talented Moorefield Yellow Jackets team?
The first quarter showed the level of fight in both teams with each squad probably amped up too much. Both sides struggled to hold onto the ball. The Wildcats would see turnovers end drives quickly, while the Yellow Jackets would hold onto the ball far longer before turning it over.
The Yellow Jackets probed the Wildcat defense often with the run early. At the 2:34 mark in the first quarter, on third and six, they crossed the goal line first. With the kick successful, Moorefield took an early 7-0 lead.
For those whose favorite play in football is the onside kick, this game would have been highly entertaining. Moorefield threatens an onside kick at every opportunity. They will line up in a bunch formation behind the ball and will softly boot the ball directly forward, anticipating that the receiving team will feel intimidated by 11 screaming football players converging quickly on the ball.
If they do not onside kick, then they will shift into a traditional kickoff, and either kick it deep or execute an onside kick. Pendleton County, when receiving, executed their own set of shifts to get the right personnel in the right place.
Zac Smith, Pendleton County head coach, and his assistants worked the various kickoff options, as well as a package of different plays and defensive formations, into the game.
Moorefield tried to cap off their score with an onside kick, but the Wildcats came up with the ball. On third down, quarterback Colton Roberson rolled right, then tucked the ball under his arm and streaked for the sticks.
At first, officials called him inches shy of a first down. Then, to the intense displeasure of the home side, the call was reversed, recognizing that the Wildcats had picked up a first down. A personal foul by the Yellow Jackets on a subsequent play pushed Pendleton County closer. Though they got second and goal at the seven, a holding call pushed the Wildcats back to the 15.
The call was of little consequence as Roberson’s pass found Cameron Wyatt’s hands, letting him take the ball in for a touchdown. Kam Redman’s kick tied the contest at seven.
Pendleton County then mimicked Moorefield’s onside kick routine and successfully popped one up that landed in the control of Chase Owens. Typical of the first half of the game, as soon as the Wildcats seemed to find a rhythm, hard luck dealt a blow.
With first and 10 at midfield, a Roberson pass caromed off a receiver’s hands at an odd angle. A Moorefield defensive back wound up with the ball deflected right at him and did not fail to secure the interception.
The Yellow Jackets took the ball to the Wildcat 46 and opened up shop there. A personal foul called on them pushed the team back to their own 36-yard line. Four plays later, they launched a punt that drove the Wildcats back to their own 27.
Pushed back to the 14 by a penalty call, Roberson on second and 24 faked a short pass to Owens and delivered a midrange ball to Britton Lough over the middle, who worked his way to the team’s own 34. Facing third and four, Roberson drew the defense offside with a hard call and picked up a first down.
At midfield on third and three, Roberson again showed the Yellow Jackets a short fake, then fired the ball downfield to Owens, who took the ball to the Moorefield 30. Five plays later, with 3:33 left in the second quarter, Roberson flipped a pass to Travis Owens for a Wildcat touchdown. The kick was no good and the score was set at 13-7.
Moorefield, fueled by flags, quickly got back up the field into Wildcat territory. On first and 10 at the visiting team’s 36, Wyatt shut down a sweep left with a massive hit. On the very next play, Moorefield ran a sweep again, but the running back lofted a pass over the aggressive Wildcat defense, hit a target, scored a touchdown, and with the kick, regained the lead 14-13.
Pendleton County received the kickoff at the 2:35 mark. They took over at the Moorefield 47. Roberson arced a pass deep over the middle that allowed Travis Owens to sprint under it, then continue on to a touchdown. Redman’s kick made the score 20-14.
Though the Wildcats did not attempt an onside kick, the Moorefield player to whom it went extended high in the air to catch, but muffed the play. Pendleton County pounced at the Moorefield 26 and took over there at the 2:26 mark.
A bubble screen to Travis Owens on the right sideline went to the 17. Next, Roberson hit Chase Owens and moved the team to the 10. From there, the quarterback faked a handoff and wove his way through defenders to grab another score. The kick set the score at 27-14.
Regardless of record, the Yellow Jackets play with pride. Despite the disastrous turn of events, they took the kickoff to field goal range and missed with no time remaining in the first half.
Moorefield kicked off, booting an onside kick off of a Wildcat player and taking over to start the half. Three plays into the drive, a big Wildcat hit dislodged the ball, allowing the defense to gather up the fumble. Roberson with first and 10 at midfield found a crease and ran through it to the home team 30.
Two plays later with 9:13 left in the third, Roberson ran right. As he crossed the line of scrimmage and drew the defense, he pitched the ball outside to Chase Owens, who pushed up the right sideline 13 yards to the Yellow Jacket 14.
It allowed all there a sighting of the now endangered and nearly extinct, but once flourishing, quarterback option play.
On second and five, Roberson threw left and hit Wyatt at the goal line for a touchdown. The kick by Redman made the score 34-14.
The specter of two straight years of double overtime improbable comebacks prevented anyone from thinking the game over. Coach Smith dialed up an onside kick to try and keep momentum in the hands of his offense, but the Yellow Jackets got the ball at midfield.
Their run oriented offense ground out 32 yards on 10 plays, erasing seven minutes off the clock. The Wildcats stood strong at their own 24, shutting down the offense on fourth down and taking the ball back. Moorefield’s defense held and forced a punt with 10:38 left in the game.
Despite the one win record, Moorefield brought in talented runners, an aggressive defense, and a decent offensive line. They had the talent to sting the Wildcats and did so early in the final quarter.
A Wyatt punt to midfield set up Moorefield with 10:30 left. The first play broke into the open field and looked to be going far, but Albert Ramos-Rivera sprinted in and rolled the runner to the turf, perhaps preventing a touchdown.
That touchdown came three minutes later, but Ramos-Rivera’s big play meant that Moorefield had to spend precious time to get it as the game wound down. Pendleton County expected the onside kick, but the attempt bounced off a Yellow Jacket too early, giving the Wildcats possession with 7:26 left in the game.
One side would look at that and say “plenty of time.” Those on the west side of the field thought “way too much time.”
The difference between a good team and a great team lies in the shifting of the gears. Great teams can find that higher gear at the right moment, elevating their performance to shut down the other side’s chances and even hope.
Pendleton County’s offensive line set its face to the opposing side, knowing that it and the skilled players who relied on them simply needed to do one of two things, either run out the clock, or score. The Wildcat offensive line forgot about “either” and aspired to do both.
Braylon Willis and Roberson relentlessly ran at and attacked holes made by the Wildcat linemen. Six yards here, three yards there, steadily closing in on the goal line while chomping on the clock. With just under two minutes left, Willis rewarded the line by cutting through a hole, running six yards, and putting an exclamation point on the conclusion of it.
Coach Smith gave “credit to Moorefield” who battled the whole game without quit. He also praised his kicker Redman who connected on most of his attempts of the day.
“After the team finally settled in in the second quarter,” Smith stated, “we definitely played well, I’m really proud.”
