By Bill Nestor
The opening round of the high school football playoffs took place this past weekend with three of the four Harrison County teams playing on Friday. Lincoln, Robert C. Byrd, and South Harrison locked up in traditional tilts under Friday night lights while Bridgeport’s opponent, Pike View, opted for a Saturday afternoon start.
The Cougars, ranked 13th in Class AA, traveled to number four Independence and jumped to an early three to nothing lead on a 26-yard field goal by Cade Riley. Lincoln would also find the scoreboard on a two yard pass play when A. J. Bart connected with Jacob Bart. The Cougars found themselves down 14 to 10 at the halftime break with the Patriots set to get the ball first in the second half.
A strong defensive stand gave momentum to the Cougars, but after a couple of first downs, disaster struck. A fumble was returned for a touchdown that had the makings of a potential 14-point swing.
Independence would break open the tight affair with a 21 to seven fourth quarter scoring advantage in a game where Lincoln had its opportunities, but fell just short. The 42 to 17 setback ended the Cougar season with a four and seven mark.
A quartet of players added impressive statistics for Lincoln. Quarterback A. J. Bart was 34 of 47 for 346 yards and two scores. Jacob Barr hauled in 16 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown. Colton Edwards pulled in seven passes for 100 yards and Rilly snagged seven balls for 71 yards and a touchdown.
South Harrison went into the Class AA playoffs ranked number 14 and visited Phillippi to battle third ranked Phillip Barbour.
The Hawks would give the Colts all they could handle in the first half and in the third period would find themselves trailing 21 to eight after their first score. Signal caller Madden Maxwell would score on a one-yard run and then add the two-point conversion himself to provide a spark for the visitors. P. B. would score the final 15 points to garner a 36 to eight victory.
The Flying Eagles entered Class AAA playoffs as the number 14 seed and had to travel to number three Fairmont Senior. RCB was looking to avenge a 26-point regular season loss and get their first win over the Polar Bears since 2014. They achieved their goal with a 36 to 28 come-from-behind win.
Training by eight points heading into the fourth quarter, the Flying Eagles would outscore the home team 16 to nil in the final frame to secure the biggest upset in the opening round of the playoffs. RCB’s defense made key stops on the last two Fairmont Senior possessions while earning one takeaway on an interception.
Flying Eagle quarterback Isiah Heflin threw for 112 yards and a score and rushed for 101 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Junior Smith would haul in a 41-yard touchdown pass and would also score on a one-yard run.
RCB will travel to Spring Valley this weekend for a second round contest.
The Indians played without their top two running backs, Gavin Williams and Gabe martin, but still rolled over Pike View 56 to six. Bridgeport, the top seed in Class AAA, jumped out to a 35 to nothing halftime lead and never looked back.
The Tribe was paced by Graham Vincent. Vincent was in on four scores, including a 23-yard pass, a 55-yard punt return, a 40-yard run, and a 57-yard run. The Indians earned 390 rushing yards in the victory. The Tribe will host undefeated Chapmanville in the second round of the second season.
That will do it for now! Until next week . . . take care and God Bless!!!
