T.T. Brooks breaks open the game, grabs three TDs in University's 42-9 win over Preston

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Seeking some revenge following last year’s disheartening loss at Preston High, the Hawks made sure not to give the Knights any wiggle room in what would end up a 42-9 blowout win on Bakers Ridge.

“It was a nice win, I thought we shot ourselves in the foot in the first quarter,” UHS coach John Kelley said. “We left a lot of points out of the first half by making dumb mistakes: Fumbles, penalties, what have you. They gambled – they brought eight and tried to cover the man, and they just don’t have the athletes we do.”

The Hawks (2-2) essentially traded punts with the visiting Knights (1-7) in the first stanza, and as time wound down a fumble on a punt return by Daminn Cunningham and subsequent recovery by Preston set the Knights up for what could be its first points of the game. That didn’t happen, and it was forced to punt once more.

This time, Cunningham ran angry, making sure not to lose the ball again and putting UHS at midfield for its first drive of the new quarter. Two plays later, quarterback Chase Edwards connected with wideout T.T. Brooks on a 30-yard catch and run for the first points of the game. It would be his first of three touchdowns – all in the second quarter – to solidify a 120-yard performance.

Make that three for Brooks in the first half. The senior takes a bullet for the 23-yard score. Eliki Barner takes the handoff for the 2-point conversion and UHS is up 28-0 with 16 seconds left in the half. #wvprepfb pic.twitter.com/aJKRFdWtV8
— Andrew Spellman (@andrewspellman_) October 24, 2020

“After the first quarter, I said, ‘We can’t go out like this, it’s our last home game. We have to turn it up, let’s just go deep and get the ball out there.,’ “Brooks said. “We know Chase can throw it and that we could beat them.

“I always try and encourage my guys, do the best I can for them. Obviously, I had a really good game tonight, but it’s not just about me it’s about the team. I felt good doing that for my team, that was for my guys.”

Before the half closed, UHS hung 28 on Preston, whose mistakes got the better of them once more.

“We lost our composure,” Preston coach Jonathan Tennant said. “We had some things go wrong and didn’t recover. They took advantage of our mistakes and we didn’t take advantage of the momentum of what he had.”

Refreshed after taking the big lead, University returned after the break and played safe while shutting out the Knights for another quarter. While Preston was unable to find room to work in the third, Edwards was able to connect with Sage Clawges for a 20-yard floater into the end zone. Then, as Preston looked to be gaining ground on the Hawks in the middle of the fourth, Noah Braham saw Trevor Thomas’ screen pass coming from a mile away, put himself in the middle of Thomas and the receiver and secured a 50-yard pick-6 to put the final nail in the coffin. The pick-6 was one of two interceptions in the second half.

After the Knights got a safety on a bad snap, they were able to find momentum against UHS’s reserves as Easton Gibbs logged his own touchdown run, a 26-yarder.

Despite the loss, a bright spot for Preston was the run game, led by sophomore Anthony Ramage who took over for senior J.J. Townsend, who’s been out since the second half of last week’s game at Washington.

“Ramage has been waiting his turn and he finally got his opportunity,” Tennant said. “He knew he was going to get an opportunity and he did well for himself.”

While the win over Preston will likely carry into next week’s rivalry game against Morgantown, Kelley notes there’s a lot to prepare for as his team will take on “the master” of the Wing-T, Sean Biser. Kelley will rely on his weapons Edwards, Brooks and senior running back Eliki Barner who rushed for 128 yards before being pulled to rest his shoulder. Further, he’ll rely on his defense to lock down Morgantown’s deep backfield that racked up 641 rushing yards Friday night against Linsly.

“I tell my kids every day we’ll beat Morgantown when we’re better than them,” Kelley said. “Right now, they are a sleeping giant. They’ve woken up, 58 points last week, 61 points [Friday night], so we’re going to have to play a really good football team and both of us have a lot on the line as far as playoffs. We’re both 2-2 and it should be an interesting game.

“The Wing-T is difficult to defend and he [Sean Biser] is the master at coaching that. I think it took them a couple of weeks to get them in the way he wants it and they just pound on you, move the chains and then break one. They’re bigger than we are, have big strong backs and they wear you out. We’re going to have to score with them, that’s for sure.”

Preston’s interesting third-down punt

Early in the third quarter, Tennant sent his punt crew out on third down. While a confusing call to non-Preston folk, Tennant cleared the air after the game about his call.

It wasn’t a communication error nor a message to his offense, but rather something he’s deployed a few times already this season.

“That’s a quick kick. We’ve done that three times this year,” he said. “We do that when it’s third and the odds of making a first down are not that good. Usually, we get it inside the 5-yard link. This is the first time we didn’t. It’s been effective for us. Sometimes you just have to know when to fold them.”