Local Sports, Sports

Clay-Battelle heads to Cameron following emotional week

BLACKSVILLE, W.Va. — It’s been a rough week for Clay-Battelle off the gridiron.

The Cee-Bee community was rocked last Thursday after unexpectedly losing friend and classmate, Rylee Burnette, and less than 24 hours later the football team had to travel to Paden City with a lot weighing on them. And after saying their final goodbyes at the services on Wednesday and Thursday, the team embarks on another Friday  road game.

“These kids grew up together, and with Rylee being an athlete, she played a lot of ball with my guys in her younger years,” Clay-Battelle coach Ryan Wilson said. “Her older brother was my quarterback a few years ago, too. It’s been a tough time, but our community has been very supportive. I thought our kids responded well last week after hearing about it on Thursday and then playing on Friday night. (Tonight’s) going to be tough, too, but our kids are resilient and strong. We had a lot of togetherness last week, and I’m sure this week will be the same.” 

Like the Cee-Bees (4-2), the Cameron Dragons (4-3) are riding a two-game win streak and could tack on their third straight  should the defense play the same tune of holding visiting teams to 45 total points. Two of the three teams, Hundred and Paden City, were both held to 6 points. The third team, Frontier (Ohio), defeated Cameron 33-20.  

With Wilson giving his team Wednesday off to attend the viewing, Tuesday was a long practice that dealt with  the normal week-to-week tweaks. Those tweaks focused on containing the Dragons’ explosive offense led by quarterback Jessop Broughton and running back Noah Neely. 

Neely, who’s only started the last two games, has 198 yards on 48 carries. Broughton, on the other hand, has started all seven games and most recently led the Dragons to a 16-14 win over Conotton Valley (Ohio), completing 14 of 15 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Overall, Broughton is 78 of 134 for 1,032 yards and 17 touchdowns. He’s also thrown five interceptions.

“(Cameron’s) defense is fast and aggressive,” Wilson said. “Defensively we have to contain the big plays and offensively we need to stay with our blocks longer.”

Wilson’s weapon of choice in his attempt to slay the Dragons is what he’s used all year, his 5-foot-10, 210-pound fullback Sean Hays.

Hays has 883 yards under his belt, currently one of the best total rushing yardages in the state, and will continue to play a pivotal role this week.

“Sean is a tough runner,” Wilson said. “He’s an old-time fullback. The oldtimers would love him. He (has) great leg strength and doesn’t go down easy  to pound away yards, and has the possibility of  breakaways (after getting faster in the offseason). It’s a nice mix.”

Although C-B keeps defenses on their toes like any good team, Hays’ yardage is mainly due to the Wildcat formation Wilson likes to run. The formation gives Hays a direct snap while the quarterback sits out the play. It’s  hard to read as a  defense and gives a more even matchup for, typically, an attempt at big-yardage run plays.

Clay-Battelle is 1-2 on the road, with its first win coming last week over Paden City, 43-33. This is the second in a three-game road series for the Cee-Bees, and they finish up with Conotton Valley next week before returning home to play Massanutten (Va.). 

University at Buckhannon-Upshur

After a loss on homecoming to visiting Mountain Ridge (Md.), No. 19 University (2-5) looks to snap back against No. 25 Buckhannon-Upshur (1-5). Both teams will be fighting to break their respective losing streaks, with the Buccaneers on a three-game downer and the Hawks a four-game skid.

Neither team has managed to score more than 20 points in their respective losses either. UHS has 39 points through 16 quarters and B-U has 40 in 12 quarters. The Hawks have the defensive advantage this week, even after giving up 228 yards on the ground to MRHS, as B-U allows 41.6 points per game.

UHS’ offense, which manages roughly 16 points per game (15.7) will need to take advantage of that,  trust in Logan Raber’s running prowess and let  Chase Edwards air it out should he get the start at quarterback once more.          

Morgantown vs. No. 3 Parkersburg South

Morgantown (1-6) has had a tough three weeks. After facing two top-10 teams in Musselman and Wheeling Park, it’s now time to take on No. 3 Parkersburg South (6-0). The Patriots have outscored opponents 280-105 so far, and are entering the contest out of a bye.

Quarterback Brandon Penn is having a great year averaging 152.5 yards per game, which after facing Park’s Alex Dunlevy last week — who threw for 353 yards and 3 touchdowns — could sting the Mohigans, especially with receivers Dylan Day and Levi Rice who each average over 15 yards per reception.

The Mohigans are dealing with injuries across the board, but Preston Fox was magnificent with the tweaked offense that now essentially revolves around him. Fox had 123 yards and two scores on the ground last week among a running corps that totaled 274 yards.

Preston vs. No. 18 Washington

After losing to Class AA powerhouse Bridgeport 49-14 last week, Preston (1-5) looks to rebound against No. 18 Washington (2-4). The Eastern Panhandle team is in a sort of revival year after going winless in 2018.

Junior Frankie Amore has exploded into a rushing threat for the Patriots, totaling 540 yards on the ground. And he’s not alone in the backfield. Jace Bradbury (375 yards) and Tommy Wogan (230) also tear up the dirt, averaging around 5 and 6 yards per carry, respectively. The three combine for 193 carries. Washington’s downside, however, is the passing game. Amore has only thrown the ball 35 times for 158 yards and two touchdowns.

That being said, Preston gave up 352 yards on the ground last week, which puts them at a major disadvantage if things have not gotten better.     

Trinity Christian at Steubenville Catholic Central (Ohio)

Trinity (2-4) had everything going for it last week against the winless Bridgeport Bulldogs (Ohio), but gave up 16-unanswered points in the second half.

Another week without quarterback Drew Boczek, the freshman-laden team travels to Steubenville Catholic Central (Ohio) on Saturday. The Crusaders (2-4) are on a two-game skid only putting up 14 points, but the losses have come against powerful Ohio teams. Take away those losses and SCC averages nearly 22 points a game and holds opponents to 23.8 points.

The Warriors will look to  Davon Eldridge once more to fill in for  Boczek, as well as receiver Levi Teets and running back Calvin Blunt Jr. Eldridge, who took a majority direct snaps, had 62 yards rushing and went 3 of 6 for 36 passing yards. Teets and Blunt accounted for 84 more rushing yards.   

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