By Bill Nestor
Week two of the football season kept a pair of Harrison County teams undefeated. Lincoln and Liberty moved to 2-0 with big wins, while Bridgeport, Robert C. Byrd, and South Harrison had setbacks.
The Cougars, playing at home for a second consecutive game to start the campaign, blanked Elkins 41-0. The passing attack spearheaded the offense with A. J. Bart running the show. The signal caller had a career night with 252 yards on 17 of 22 passing. Bart also threw four touchdown passes.
Lincoln put points on the board when David Burdette found pay dirt on a nine yard run. Bart threw his first touchdown to Maddox Perine from seven yards out to provide a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Bart hit Noah Sears on a nine yard scoring toss to open up the scoring in the second stanza. Aiden Rice scored on a three yard plunge to push the lead to 27-0 at the halftime break.
Rice was the Cougars’ leading receiver, hauling in five balls for 105 yards. He also accounted for the last two touchdowns on plays of 11 and 64 yards, respectively. Burdette was the game’s lone century rusher with 106 yards on a mere 11 rushes.
Lincoln’s defense continues to impress, allowing just 118 yards while pitching the shutout. The Tigers’ passing game was near non-existent, contributing just a pair of yards in the match-up.
The Cougar defense has yet to allow a point in 2023.
This week, Lincoln will hit the road, traveling to Grafton for a Big 10 battle with the Bearcats.
The Mountaineers garnered a hard fought 28-6 win over county rival South Harrison to remain unblemished. Liberty had the lone first period score when quarterback Brock Benedum found Jensen Dodd on a 39 yard connection. Liberty earned a pair of second quarter touchdowns on two Quentin Hilliard rushing scores of 69 and 22 yards, respectively.
The Hawks responded with a 12 yard run from Lucas Rush for their only points in the affair, making it 21-6 heading into halftime. Rush gained 117 yards on 36 attempts and threw for 76 more to pass South Harrison.
Hilliard added a third touchdown in the third period to conclude the scoring for both teams. Hilliard had a career best 162 yards on 13 carries to lead the Mountaineers.
West Virginia University’s football team opened up play with the renewal of their most rival, Penn State, this past Saturday. The Mountaineers went to Happy Valley for a battle and came home with a loss. The 38-15 setback put WVU behind the eight ball and below .500. The Eers have a chance to even their record at home this Saturday when they host Duquesne. Kickoff is set for 6 PM, which means that a normally rowdy crowd will have several more hours of tailgating to get focused on this big contest.
WVU looked coached up in the first half of the Penn State game. However, as the game progressed, WVU lost momentum and the host pulled away. If they can duplicate the first half and improve as expected, don’t be surprised if they go bowling this season!
