Parkersburg South’s Dedrick Riggs (14) and Kaydin Johnson (10) take down Woodrow Wilson ball carrier Jacob Reeves (17) during Friday’s game in Beckley. (Photo by Rick Barbero)
BECKLEY — A heartbreaking 10 seconds late in the first half defined coach Woodrow Wilson’s first home game of the season.
That’s how long it took Parkersburg South to score two touchdowns and take a 14-0 lead as the Patriots defeated the Flying Eagles 35-19 on Friday at Van Meter Stadium.
The Patriots’ first two attempts went in favor of the Flying Eagles. The first attempt ended with AJ Thomas diving for an interception (his third interception of the season) after South quarterback Collin Hayes was hit as he released the ball. The second attempt ended with South punting after a South player touched the ball as it bounced downfield, giving the ball to Woodrow at the 46-yard line.
The result was a long drive and some tough plays from which Woodrow (2-1) could never recover.
The Eagles got a first down on fourth down and one yard line, but a foul block on the next play pushed them back to the South 40. A screen from sophomore quarterback Gage Price to Thomas went for 16 yards, but Woodrow again faced fourth down and one yard line, but they managed to lure the Patriots offsides and get another first down.
Woodrow got the ball inside South’s 20-yard line, but Price was sacked for a seven-yard loss on third down and then intercepted by Kinjin Latchmansing, who returned the ball to the South 43-yard line to get the offense going.
A facemask foul on Woodrow and a 23-yard gain by Hayes set up a first-and-goal for Sastas at the 6. Hayes carried the ball from the 2-yard line for a 7-0 lead with 4:41 left in the first half.
The ensuing kickoff was not secured and South’s Dedrick Riggs fell on it at the Woodrow 31. Hayes promptly threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Taj Joyce with 4:31 to play, putting the Patriots up 14 points in a 10-second span after going scoreless.
“That was a really big thing. I think it changed the momentum.” “It’s a big part of what we’ve been doing,” said Nate Tanner, former Summers County head coach and now head coach at Parkersburg South. “What we teach our special teams kids before the game is you’re either going to make an explosive play or you’re going to lose the ball. We got the ball out on the kickoff and had good field position. … That play, Taj hit the jump ball. Two points in 10 seconds. It’s depressing for the other guy.”
“It’s just boom, boom, big play.” Woodrow coach Street Surrett said. “And we got into a bind offensively with some stupid penalties and mistakes, we lost the ball too many times, but those are just mistakes and everybody makes mistakes. We’re going to bounce back from that and move forward.”
Woodrow got the ball at the 33-yard line and moved the ball well, but had to be content with a 23-yard field goal by Vince Umberger as time expired for a 14-3 halftime lead.
The Patriots (2-1) came out strong on their first drive of the third quarter, when Riggs carried the ball from their own 32 to Woodrow’s 26 for a 42-yard gain. The drive ended with just under three minutes and a 2-yard TD run by Riggs for a 21-3 lead.
“We talked about it at halftime.” Tanner said. “I told the kids, ‘Look, the first six minutes of the second half are going to set the tone,’ and I met with the offensive line and I said, ‘Guys, let’s go out on the first drive and execute. Let’s run the ball.’ And they came out, played at pad level and just ran the ball. And credit to the kids, they came out and executed really well in the second half.”
Woodrow went on a drive, scoring on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Price to Christian Stewart and a two-point run by Bryce Ford to make it 21 to 11. They recovered an onside kick, but the drive ended with a punt that the Patriots converted into a Hayes 3-yard touchdown to start the fourth quarter.
Four minutes later, he ran 23 yards to make the score 35-11.
Another pass from Price to Stewart came from 26 yards out to put the Eagles within two with 5:27 left in the half.
Hayes completed 12 of 16 passes for 176 yards and a touchdown, and also added 17 carries for 111 yards and three touchdowns.
Price completed 20 of 31 passes for 179 yards and two scores but was sacked five times.
“Gage Price made a great pass.” Sarrett said.
The Flying Eagles gave up just 10 points to Washington and Greenbriar East, a disappointing performance.
“It’s unfortunate to make mistakes like that but that’s football and mistakes are made on Friday nights.” Sarrett said. “We’re going to learn from this experience and get better. The kids played tough. They’re a good team. Big things are going to happen to this team and this is really a lesson for us.”
Woodrow will host Bluefield next Friday at 7:30 p.m., while Parkersburg South will host rival Parkersburg, also at 7:30 p.m.
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