MORGANTOWN – With 57 seconds to go and the game tied at 28 between University and Spring Mills on Friday night on Baker’s Ridge in Morgantown, UHS senior Kayden Coles intercepted a pass from Spring Mills quarterback Rylan Swartz that set his team up for the go-ahead touchdown late in the contest.
The Hawks punched the ball home from two yards away with senior Marcos Kniska and held on in the final 30 seconds to seal a massive 35-28 victory over the 2025 Class AAAA runner-up and generate some much-needed momentum heading into the final weeks of the regular season.
“Super proud of our guys for facing some adversity and persevering,” UHS head coach Eric Snyder said. “Kayden Coles has been out with an injury all season, just got cleared on Tuesday, and he came out tonight and played most of the game for us, and made a wonderful play on the ball during that interception. What a great moment for a senior and a clutch play to help his team win.”
UHS junior quarterback Harrison Helbig threw for 360 yards on 22 completions and four touchdowns in the game. Three different wideouts scored touchdowns for the Hawks, with junior Kaleil Lewis scoring twice. Hayden George tallied eight catches for 101 yards while Kyle Weaver secured six receptions for 66 yards.
Weaver made multiple plays for UHS down the stretch on both sides of the ball. In the third quarter, with the Hawks desperate for points, he extended a drive on third down with a spectacular catch. That drive eventually ended in a touchdown that tied the game at 21.
On the ensuing Spring Mills drive, Weaver picked off a deep pass at his own 10-yard line that gave UHS the ball back and flipped the momentum in favor of the hosts.
“Kyle is a guy we can trust to go out and give 100 percent effort every single time,” Snyder said. “He’s not going to falter from that. He may only mess up once or twice a season. You know what you’re going to get from a player like Kyle, and that’s all we can ask for.”
The Hawks drove the length of the field before being forced to attempt a 24-yard field goal to open the fourth, which was missed.
The Cardinals capitalized, scoring from the goal line and retaking the lead, 28-21.
It only took UHS two plays to answer, as Helbig hit Braden Custer for a 38-yard strike to tie the game again with eight minutes left on the clock.
Spring Mills managed to drive the ball to the red zone and take nearly five minutes off the clock while doing so, but came up empty after a missed field goal, and the game remained knotted at 28 with the UHS offense coming back on the field.
Despite a few positive plays, Spring Mills forced the Hawks to punt the ball away with 60 seconds to go. That’s when Coles stepped up and made his game-altering interception.
Swartz rolled out to his left and seemed to have an open receiver crossing the field, but Coles snuck onto the scene after lurking behind the receiver, and cut the pass at the right moment to make the catch.
The interception gave UHS the ball back in Cardinals territory with less than one minute to go. Helbig found George for a massive gain to the two-yard line, allowing Kniska to score the game-winning touchdown on the next play with 30 seconds to go.
Spring Mills had a final possession but had a pass intercepted at the horn on a Hail Mary attempt that was cut off by George.
The victory over the fifth-ranked Cardinals will help propel UHS in the Class AAAA playoff rankings next week.
“This win just lets us know that we belong in the conversation with the top teams in the state,” Snyder said. “We feel like we haven’t even played one complete game this season. We’re making the plays and doing the right things, so it’s great to see our guys rise up and be able to get a signature win, and we know the hardest days are still in front of us.”
Box score
University 35, Spring Mills 28
SCORING SUMMARY
UHS – Lewis 14 pass/Helbig (Goodenow PAT)
UHS – Brown 50 pass/Helbig (Goodenow PAT)
SM – Wipf 27 pass/Swartz (Jenkins PAT)
SM – Sanders 2 run (Jenkins PAT)
SM – Wipf 24 INT return (Jenkins PAT)
UHS – Lewis 29 pass/Helbig (Goodenow PAT)
SM – Sanders 1 run (Jenkins PAT)
UHS – Custer 38 pass/Helbig (Goodenow PAT)
UHS – Kniska 2 run (Goodenow PAT)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
PASSING: Spring Mills – Swartz 26/46 350 1TD 3INT. University – Helbig 22/35 360 4TD 1INT.
RUSHING: Spring Mills – Sanders 14-52-2TD, Swartz 9-8, Jones 2-4, Butts 1-(-2), Curry 1-(-4). University – Kniska 20-81-1TD.
RECEIVING: Spring Mills – Wipf 8-114-1TD, Anderson 7-72, Bokwe 2-48, Long 1-43, Curry 5-40, Wang 1-17, Wals 1-9, Jones 1-7. University – George 8-101, Brown 3-88-1TD, Weaver 6-66, Lewis 3-58-2TD, Custer 1-38-1TD, Kniska 1-9.
