TENNERTON – Harrison Helbig threw for 250 yards and three touchdowns and added a rushing TD from 2-yards out to lead University High to a dominating 62-12 over Buckhannon-Upshur on Friday night, at Freal “Red” Crites Memorial Stadium.
It was the most points the Hawks (3-0) have scored under head coach Eric Snyder, who is in his second season.
“Yeah, most points and we’re 3-0,” Snyder said. “It feels pretty good.”
It should after UHS accounted for 448 yards of offense, with 302 coming through the air.
Helbig hooked up with Kyle Weaver for a 13-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and then connected with Weaver again and then Hayden George on a 32-yard scoring pass in the second quarter to help UHS take a 48-6 halftime lead.
Brody Kehler added two touchdown runs that went for six and 23 yards and finished with 77 yards rushing on 14 carries.
Through all of that offense, Snyder said the highlight was kicker Brady Goodenow, who began the game with a squib kick the Hawks recovered, which turned into a quick 3-0 lead after Goodenow’s 39-yard field goal.
“It was like he kicked that thing with a remote control or something,” Snyder said of the squib kick. “Our special teams, overall, were very good tonight. Brady had a heck of a game. The way he kicked off really kept them off balance.”
Goodenow finished with two field goals and narrowly missed a third late in the game. He was a perfect 7 of 7 on extra-point attempts and finished with 13 points.
Meanwhile, Buckhannon-Upshur (0-3) was held to just 112 total yards and turned the ball over five times. Three of those turnovers were fumbles and two were interceptions. None of those interceptions came from UHS linebacker Marcos Kniska, who had three over the Hawks’ first two games of the season.
“He’s slacking,” Snyder joked. “I’m going to have to have a talk with him.
“Overall, the defense played very well. Our linebackers and front four really dominated. (Buckhannon) did have one drive late in the first half, but we were able to keep them from getting past midfield for most of the game. Our man-to-man defense gave them fits in the secondary and we were able to break up a lot of passes.”
George caught six passes for 115 yards and a TD for the Hawks, who travel to Wheeling Park next week. Weaver had 52 yards receiving on three catches to go with his two scores, while Brandon Custer also caught a 52-yard touchdown pass from Jack Byrer in the second half for UHS.
Box score
University 17 31 7 7—62
Buckhannon-Upshur 0 6 0 6—12
SCORING SUMMARY
UHS – Brady Goodenow 39 field goal
UHS – Brody Kehler 6 run (Goodenow kick)
UHS – Kyle Weaver 13 pass from Harrison Helbig (Goodenow kick)
UHS – Helbig 2 run (Goodenow kick)
UHS – Weaver 30 pass from Helbig (Goodenow kick)
BU – Dawson Tenney 49 run (kick blocked)
UHS – Hayden George 32 pass from Helbig (Goodenow kick)
UHS – Kehler 23 run (Goodenow kick)
UHS – Goodenow 33 field goal
UHS – Brandon Custer 52 pass from Jack Byrer (Goodenow kick)
BU – Casen Warner 5 run (kick failed)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: BU – Dawson Tenney 10-32 TD, Alex Wamsley 3-7, Chance Morgan 9-16, Jacob Frye 1-1, Cooper Antolini 3-5, Xavier Robinette 1-5 TD. University – Helbig 2-15 TD, Kehler 14-77 2TD, Glenn Brown 1-8, Jack Byrer 1 (-14), Nico Maisel 4-34 TD, Logan Johannsen 1-3, Colton Lawless 1-23, Lincoln Stuart 1 (-1).
PASSING: BU – Tenney 0-4-2 0, Xavier Robinette 1-4, 46 yards. University – Helbig 16-21-1, 250 3TD, Byrer 1-3 52 yards TD, Maisel 0-1 0.
RECEIVING: BU – Cooper Antolini 1-46. University – George 6-115 TD, Brown 4-51, Kehler 1-(-5), Weaver 3-52 2TD, Kaleil Lewis 2-27, Branden Custer 1-52 TD.
