By Stephen Smoot
Pendleton County has played hot all season, especially at the quarterback position where James Vincell, then Colton Roberson, have used a fleet and focused group of receivers to gash defenses and rack up wins.
For the first time this season, though, the passing attack faced a new foe in cold hands and a fast falling Fahrenheit temperature scale. Pendleton County also suited up, both in their uniforms and in their center of the field logo, in National Guard style camouflage – very appropriate for an area protected by the sacrifice of county militia from the frontier through the Civil War eras.
Justin Hemsley sang the national anthem, then performed a selection of patriotic and other country songs during halftime.
Pendleton County took the ball first, running the kickoff to their own 17. At first, for an instant, it looked like the cold air and correspondingly numb fingers might slow down the Wildcat passing attack when a ball glanced off a receiver’s hands downfield on the second play of the game.
If the visiting team had any hopes of this, the third down play dashed them completely. Roberson wound up and lofted a ball to midfield where it settled into the hands of Chase Owens, who outraced the double coverage to the catch, and then the 83-yard scoring strike 51 seconds into the contest. Gabe Harvey’s kick put the score at 7-0.
This represented the first of six touchdowns for Roberson. He completed 19 of 27 for 352 yards.
The Warriors took the ball and started at their own 44 yard line, but lost two on the first play when Bradey Bowers dragged down the running back from behind. William Smith met the running back on the next play and allowed no gain. Owens dropped the ballcarrier on third down with a loss of one, one of three tackles for loss on the day for him.
After a perfect defensive sequence for the Wildcats, Pocahontas County returned the ball to the home team via a punt to the Wildcat 33. After no gain on first down, Roberson drew the defense offsides for a five-yard penalty, but then an illegal block set the offense back at second down and 20 from their own 23.
On that down, Roberson rolled right and found Josiah Kimble over the middle. Kimble’s catch and run took the ball out to the Wildcat 46 and a first down. After Nick Rhodes squeezed four tough yards from the defense on a run, Roberson accelerated through a seam in the pocket and drove the ball to the Warrior 37. Rhodes had 10 attempts on the day for 43 yards.
The Warriors seemed to stop the Wildcats when Pendleton County faced fourth and four at the 30, but a Roberson quarterback run picked up five and a first down. He then launched a 25-yard scoring strike to Travis Owens. The Harvey kick put the score at 14-0.
After Pocahontas County again ran three plays and punted, Roberson lined up the offense near midfield. Rhodes took a first down reception for a strong six yards, but only a desperate lunge at his ankle kept him from taking it all the way in for a score. Five plays later at the Warrior 32 and just seconds into the second stanza, Roberson lofted a pass to Kimble at the 10 and he ran in yet another score, which Harvey made 21-0.
The Warriors punted on their next possession, then forced Pendleton County into its first punt of the game at the 9:14 mark in the second quarter. The Warrior quarterback on the first – and only – play of the drive had the ball stripped from him. Pendleton County recovered at the Warrior 23. Two plays later, Corbin Dove hauled in a Roberson pass and galloped to the endzone. This time, the visitors blocked the Harvey kick and the score remained 27-0.
With 6:50 remaining in the first half, the Warriors recovered a fumble and set to work at their own 35. Their quarterback ran the ball outside and escaped a number of Wildcat defenders, but saw Chase Owens tracking him down. The Warrior quarterback seemingly tried every shake and shimmy in his repertoire, but could not elude Chase Owens who turned a potential big play into a mere single yard gain.
On the next play, the unfortunate quarterback found another potential big play upset by another Owens as Travis picked off a pass at the Wildcat 17.
Pendleton County then ran 10 plays in three minutes, stalling out on the Warrior 23. Roberson bowled over a defender while trying to stretch for a first down, but fell short.
Pocahontas County’s quarterback tossed a pass that ended up a 20-yard gain for his squad, but only because a streaking defender mistimed the play by a second and missed the interception. Later in the drive, Rhodes dropped a receiver in the backfield for a four-yard loss.
The Warriors lost yardage and punted from their own 40 to their own 45 where Pendleton County took possession with 1:20 left in the first half. Roberson on first down arced a pass on a timing pattern play to Kimble at the 10. From there he ran the ball in for one of his two scores. On the point after, Kimble took the ball on a designed fake, rolled right, and tossed the ball to Rhodes, who sprinted across the goal line to put the score at 35-0.
Pocahontas County moved the ball well to open the second half. They took the ball from their own 31 and ran nine plays to advance the ball just across midfield. On fourth down, the punter rolled right, appearing to fake the kick, but punted the ball out of bounds as Wildcat defenders closed in on him.
On first and 10 at his own 28, Roberson opened the series with a short pass to Dove that he took for seven yards. Increasingly, Pendleton County has used short passes around the line of scrimmage almost as extended handoffs. That first play set the tone for a sustained drive that lasted seven plays and ate more than two minutes of time. Roberson capped it off by rolling right on first and goal at the seven and placing the ball in Rhodes’ hands for the team’s last score of the day.
On their next possession, luck finally smiled on the visiting Warriors. On first down, the Warrior quarterback fired a pass to the left. Two Wildcat defenders closing on the receiver collided and took each other out of the play, allowing the Pocahontas County pass catcher to sprint untouched for a touchdown. Pendleton County blocked the point after and the score remained 42-6.
In the fourth quarter, with both sides retiring their starters, Connor Hartman completed a pass to Britton Lough. The latter player also pulled in an interception with time ticking away in the game.
The Wildcats take their seventh place ranking (according to Max Preps and West Virginia Metro News) on the road this week to Stonewall Jackson High School. The Virginia team has compiled a two and six record.
