MORGANTOWN – After each loss taken by the University High School football team this season, the Hawks have returned the following week to earn an impressive victory at home against a formidable opponent.
Two weeks ago, UHS (5-2) defeated Fairmont Senior after suffering its first loss to Wheeling Park the week prior. This week, after dropping a game to Butler (Pa.) 35-27 last Friday, the Hawks responded with a dominant performance against Connellsville (Pa.) that resulted in a 52-12 victory on Homecoming atop Baker’s Ridge.
UHS senior tailback Marcos Kniska found the end zone three times on the ground, rushing for 77 yards on 17 attempts.
Junior quarterback Harrison Helbig threw for 296 yards on 19 completions and two touchdowns with one interception. He completed passes to five different receivers, led by junior Hayden George, who caught nine passes for 87 yards and a score. Kyle Weaver and Kaleil Lewis each caught four passes for 101 and 88 yards. Lewis joined George with a touchdown catch.
Jayden Mickens led Connellsville (1-7) with 15 carries for 52 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Caden Matthews completed 11 of his 22 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown to wideout Christian Thomas, who caught six passes for 90 yards, including the score.
“It’s always great to play at home in front of our crowd and on Homecoming (the 100th for UHS),” UHS head coach Eric Snyder said. “We’ve faced some adversity this season with injuries and things that have come up unexpectedly, but seeing these guys persevere and rise to the challenges being thrown at them is wonderful to see. We still have plenty to clean up and work on, but that’s the joy of coaching.”
The Hawks picked up their fifth win of 2025 on Friday night, surpassing their win total from 2024, a season that ended in a 4-7 record.
UHS came out hot early against the Falcons on the way to its fifth win, scoring four touchdowns in the opening quarter of the contest.
Lewis caught his touchdown to open the scoring as he and Helbig connected for a 25-yard strike to the corner of the endzone. George then went 46 yards to the house on the next drive to double the lead. Kniska added two of his three touchdowns to cap the scoring in the first for his team, as UHS led 28-0 after 12 minutes of play.
The second quarter was the exact opposite of the first, as neither team generated a point until UHS kicker Brady Goodenow connected on a 25-yard field goal that ended the half.
The Hawks opened the second half with the ball, but the offense came to a screeching halt on the first play of the third, as Helbig was stripped of the ball and the Falcons recovered at the UHS 23-yard line. Connellsville punched the ball into the endzone to avoid a shutout, then forced a three-and-out from UHS to get the ball back again.
“I think our youth shows sometimes, and that was one time it did,” Snyder said of the stalling offense. “Our guys got a little comfortable with the lead we had, and we saw what happened out there. We have some tougher teams down the stretch that will require a full four quarters on both sides of the ball. We need to play like we did in the first quarter for the entire game.”
Although the Falcons were also forced to kick the ball away, the punt was muffed and rolled all the way to the UHS 2 before a Falcons player recovered it. That made way for the visitors to double their total as Mickens found paydirt.
But that’s all the momentum that Connellsville would generate, because on the ensuing kickoff, a short pooch kick traveling about 20 yards, UHS’ Jack Byrer snatched the ball out of the air and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown.
The Hawks used that moment to flip the momentum back in their favor and close the game out in the fourth.
“We got some things corrected tonight from the last week or two, and that was nice to see,” Snyder said. “Getting a few takeaways when they had the chance to flip momentum on us was huge. Our defense and special teams picked our offense up when we started to lag, and that’s what winning football games is about.”
University will return home next week to host Spring Mills for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff.
BOX SCORE
CHS 0 0 12 0 – 12
UHS 28 3 7 14 – 52
SCORING SUMMARY
UHS – Lewis 25 pass/Helbig (Goodenow PAT)
UHS – George 46 pass/Helbig (Goodenow PAT)
UHS – Kniska 1 run (Goodenow PAT)
UHS – Kniska 17 run (Goodenow PAT)
UHS – Goodenow 25 FG
CHS – Thomas 8 pass/Matthews (PAT missed)
CHS – Mickens 2 run (PAT missed)
UHS – Byrer 60 kick return (Goodenow PAT)
UHS – Kniska 1 run (Goodenow PAT)
UHS – Byrer 18 run (Goodenow PAT)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Connellsville – Mickens 15-52 TD, Keller 6-20, Nicholson 1-1, Matthews 11-(-4), Team 2-13. University – Kniska 17-77 3TD, Byrer 1-18 TD, Katchur 3-12, Helbig 8-(-3).
RECEIVING: Connellsville – Thomas 6-90 TD, Lembo 2-14, Keller 1-7, Mickens 2-1. University – George 9-87 TD, Weaver 4-101, Lewis 4-88 TD, Custer 1-12, Kniska 1-8.
PASSING: Connellsville – Matthews 11/22 112 TD, Mickens 0-1 INT. University – Helbig 19/36 296 2TD INT.
