KINGWOOD – In football, coaches sometimes refer to the “Middle 8” when it comes to the most crucial moments of a game. The last four minutes of the first half and the opening four minutes of the second make up eight minutes that some believe can determine the outcome of a contest.
That’s precisely what visiting Robert C. Byrd did to overrun Preston High on Friday night in Kingwood, scoring a touchdown on the final possession of the second quarter and opening the third with six more points to pull away.
Trailing 14-7 with less than four minutes to go in the first half, the Knights drove the ball inside the red zone but were stopped on fourth-and-seven, giving the ball back to the Eagles, who then drove the ball the length of the field and found the end zone with less than 30 seconds until the half. RCB returned in the third, received the opening kickoff, and scored another touchdown to extend a 27-7 lead.
The Preston offense hadn’t touched the field after trailing 14-7 and turning the ball over, then found itself trailing 27-7 before running another play.
The Eagles (2-2) rushed for 227 yards on 42 carries. Isaac Barkdale and Isaiah Heflin found the endzone on the ground for the visitors. Heflin added four more scores through the air on only five completed passes, finishing 5 of 7 with 135 yards and the four touchdowns.
Slaton Manko led Preston (0-4) with 70 yards on 16 attempts and a touchdown. He was 17 of 30 through the air with 129 yards and a touchdown to Aidan Schmidl, who finished with eight catches for 80 yards and the touchdown grab as PHS dropped its fourth straight game to open 2025.
“We’re disappointed, but simply put, we have to come together as one and continue to fight,” PHS head coach Mark Deep said. “The only thing that’s going to take care of the problems that we face right now is showing up on Monday to punch the clock and get back to work.”
The Knights may be only focusing on pass coverage in practice in Week 5. While Heflin only completed five passes, four went for touchdowns, and each pass seemed to find a receiver who was standing completely uncovered.
“We have some new guys in the secondary and have dealt with some injuries, so we have to live with that and get better,” Deep said. “We have to get better every week, and like I said, it starts Monday.”
The Knights will travel back to Marion County next week to visit East Fairmont on Friday night, looking for their first win of the 2025 campaign.
BOX SCORE
Robert C. Byrd 14 7 13 7 – 41
Preston 7 0 0 7 – 14
SCORING SUMMARY
RCB – Hilliard 60 pass/Heflin (Heflin PAT)
PHS – Manko 1 run (Taylor PAT)
RCB – Barkdale 13 run (Heflin PAT)
RCB – Hilliard 14 pass/Heflin (Heflin PAT)
RCB – Heflin 3 run (PAT missed)
RCB – Hiiliard 15 pass/Heflin (Heflin PAT)
PHS – Schmidl 18 pass/Manko (Taylor PAT)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Robert C. Byrd – Barkdale 16-95 TD, Calvert 10-64, Hilliard 4-46, Heflin 7-22 TD, Holmes 1-1, Barnett 2-(-4). Preston – Manko 16-70 TD, Strawser 5-16, Stone 2-11.
PASSING: Robert C. Byrd – Heflin 5-7 135 4TD. Preston – Manko 17-30 129 TD
RECEIVING: Robert C. Byrd – Hilliard 3-89 3TD, Dodd 1-32 TD, Montero 1-14.
