By Stephen Smoot
Pendleton County faced a tall order in the opening third of its season. The Wildcats met a trio of top 10 teams, defeating number one Greenbrier West and number nine East Hardy. Last Friday, however, they fell to a Petersburg Viking squad that may be better than both.
The Vikings, whose school population alone would put them in class AA, but was reassigned back to single A due to other factors, dominated two class AA squads, Berkeley Springs and Wyoming East, in its first two weeks of competition.
The last time Pendleton County traveled to Petersburg, torrential rains pounded the field throughout the game. This contest fared better weather-wise, with their animated public address announcer saying “God blessed us with a beautiful evening.”
The Vikings, under first year head coach Shane Shockey, received and started at their own 42. After gaining only eight yards, they punted to the Wildcats who also punted on their first possession.
Petersburg ended up in solid field position at the Wildcat 40, taking 13 plays to cross into the endzone and score the first points of the contest.
The Vikings bottled up the Wildcats deep in their own territory for the first three plays of the series. Then, on third and nine at his own 18, James Vincell fired the ball out to receiver Corbin Dove at about the 40. Dove accelerated past defenders and sprinted into the endzone. A Gabe Harvey kick put Pendleton County up 7-6 early.
The ensuing kickoff and personal foul called on Pendleton County gave the Vikings the ball at midfield. On second and 11, the Petersburg receiver held on to a nine-yard catch despite getting an old-fashioned “bell ringer” hit from the Wildcat defender. Two plays later, the Petersburg quarterback found his man in the right back corner of the endzone. Another failed kick left the score 12-7 with only a handful of seconds left in the first quarter.
Wildcat fans may as well get used to hearing the name Payton Metheny. The freshman quarterback has stunned Viking opponents similar to how Pendleton County has shocked opponents with the electricity of Colton Roberson. Metheny brings both tremendous athleticism and accuracy in the passing game. Time and time again, Wildcat defenders got into position on receivers only to see passes fly just over or past their outstretched hands.
The freshman quarterback for Petersburg played with the poise of a freshman in college.
Pendleton County ran six plays before having to punt the ball back to Petersburg. The Vikings set to work, once again attacking with the pass. On second and 10 from the Wildcat 31, Metheny struck again, arcing a pass just over the fingertips of the defender to the receiver for another touchdown.
The defender was there, but the pass was nearly impossible to defend.
With just over seven minutes left in the first half, the Vikings got the ball again. Metheny made one of his few mistakes on third and four at his own 43. He tossed the ball over the middle, but found the Wildcats’ Roberson. Roberson pulled in the pass in the middle of the field, ran all the way to the right sideline, cut left, then took the ball almost to the opposing sideline, then spun around tacklers in an effort to gain a score. They stopped him short and a penalty flag pushed Pendleton County back to the Petersburg 37.
Chase Owens helped his team power forward as the Wildcats sought to close the gap before halftime. On third and one at the Viking 35, he battled for eight yards. Later from the 12, Roberson took a direct snap in. The Harvey kick made the score 19-14 with 1:59 on the clock.
Petersburg refused to settle. They returned Harvey’s kickoff back into Wildcat territory, where the kicker himself made a big touchdown saving tackle. On second and 10 from the Pendleton County 12, Josiah Kimble timed his hit to the receiver’s arm perfectly to dislodge a potential touchdown catch, but Petersburg scored on the next play to push the score to 25-14.
In the third quarter, the Vikings forced the Wildcats to punt on their initial possession. Their quick strike offense took six plays to score their final touchdown at the 6:23 mark in the third, giving them a 31-14 advantage.
But the Wildcats were not through. This group never stops fighting and kept pushing for a comeback. Petersburg drove the ball to the Wildcat 44 and went for a first down on fourth and four with 7:55 in the game. Wildcat defenders beat their blockers and threw Metheny to the ground to get the offense back the ball.
Vincell smartly threw a pass away on second down to set up a third and 10 on the Viking 34. He threw right and found Kimble, who shortly thereafter found the endzone. The Wildcats then cut the lead to 31 to 20. Pendelton County forced Petersburg to punt with 5:38 left to play, but the Viking defense stymied efforts to score.
The final score was 31-20.
Friday, Pendleton County takes a break from playing the very best that West Virginia class A has to offer. They travel to Richwood, who has lost two games this season by a total score of 105-8.
