By Bill Nestor
With just a few weeks remaining in the regular season, all of the Harrison County football teams are still alive and moving towards postseason play. It has been a long road, but through hard work and perseverance, Bridgeport, South Harrison, Robert C. Byrd, and Lincoln have put themselves in position for a playoff push.
Bridgeport remained undefeated after a 49 to nothing blanking of Grafton this past Friday. It was the renewal of an old series and the Indians were not very hospitable hosts, amassing over 400 yards of offense while pitching their first shutout of the campaign. Gavin Williams led all rushers with 124 yards on just eight attempts. He would score on three of those attempts on runs of 29, 12, and 50 yards respectively, and for good measure, he threw a 20-yard scoring strike to Eli Knight. Knight also found pay dirt on a 24-yard run.
The Tribe takes the week off before a huge clash with Class AAA power Fairmont Senior at Wayne Jamison Field.
South Harrison found themselves with their backs against the wall. The Hawks were in the midst of a four game losing streak; they were playing without star running back Shepard Paugh, and they were on the road at Tyler Consolidated. Landon Ross stepped up and led all rushers with a workman-like effort. Ross carried the rock 26 times for 130 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Zane Harlow chipped in with 67 yards rushing on 21 carries. Quarterback Madden Maxwell was three of four passing for 49 yards, including a 20-yard TD toss to Collin Seguin in the 22 to 14 win.
The Hawks take a break before tackling Ravenswood on the road.
Robert C. Byrd lost a heartbreaker to North Marion 21 to nothing. The Flying eagles had a six-point lead on the sixth-ranked team in Class AAA with four minutes left in the game. They also had the ball in Husky territory but when the drive stalled, North Marion’s game-winning drive began. Junior Smith scored all three Flying Eagle touchdowns (one reception and a pair of rushes) in the setback.
Robert C. Byrd fell to four and five, but has a big matchup with Class AAAA Buckhannon Upshur on Nov 7.
Lincoln pushed its winning streak to three games with a 35 to 28 victory over Buckhannon Upshur in Shinnston. A balanced offensive attack was led by quarterback AJ Bart, running back Connor Rice, and receivers Jacob Bart and Colton Edwards.
Signal caller AJ Bart has been the ringleader and that trend continued last Friday. Bart was 22 of 28 for 291 yards and five touchdowns. Rice provided the boost on the ground with 105 yards on 23 attempts. Rice also hauled in a 21-yard TD toss. Jacob Bart hauled in nine passes for 117 yards. Edwards pulled in five passes for 92 yards and three touchdowns. The Cougars hit the road for the last two games of the season. This week they travel to Doddridge County before wrapping up at Phillip Barbour.
The win made veteran mentor Rob Hawkins the winningnest coach in school history. Not only is it well-deserved, but it is proof that hard work and dedication pay off and that good things happen to good people. Fans of the school and those in our area should take a moment to appreciate Coach Hawkins. He is not only a top notch coach, he is an even better person.
Congratulations on a job well done and thank you for all that you do for our youth!
That will do it for now! Until next week . . . take care and God Bless!!!