— By Greg Carey & Joe Brocato
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Capital, Spring Valley and Huntington remained unbeaten, while Hurricane earned a big win over Cabell Midland.
Keyser came from 26 points down in the second half to stun Weir, while Philip Barbour earned its first win over Liberty Harrison and Williamstown stayed hot.
Capital holds off Parkersburg
After allowing the Big Reds to score the game’s opening touchdown, the Class AAA No. 2 Cougars got it in gear for a 35-22 road win.
Kerry Martin Jr. threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Deshawn Harper to get Capital on the board and tie the game at 7. Martin’s 5-yard TD run allowed the Cougars to take a 14-7 lead, but Dylan Shaver hauled in a 23-yard touchdown pass from Jake Johnson to pull No. 16 Parkersburg (1-3) to within 14-13.
However, Capital (4-0) had an answer, getting a 78-yard TD pass from Martin to Chance Knox to enter halftime with a 21-13 lead.
Deshaun James broke free for a 73-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second half, allowing the Cougars to create separation.
Spring Valley overcomes slow start to beat South Charleston
The Class AAA No. 5 Timberwolves trailed early before getting a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs from Isaac Howard to take the lead for good in a 42-14 win over the Black Eagles.
Luke Christopher’s 3-yard TD run with 8 minutes left in the third quarter allowed Spring Valley (4-0) to take a 21-7 lead.
Jayden Johnson scored both touchdowns for South Charleston (0-4).
Huntington eases past Woodrow Wilson
By the end of the first quarter, the Class AAA No. 5 Highlanders held a 21-point lead and they never looked back in a 47-14 win.
Huntington (4-0) got a strong showing from quarterback Tajhan Blackwell, who threw three touchdown passes including a 24-yarder to Kris Brown to open the game’s scoring.
Blackwell helped set up a 1-yard TD run by Ty Wilcoxon that made it 14-0, before throwing his second TD of the game — a 33-yard pass to Jahronimo Mitchell.
At halftime, Huntington led 34-0 and was well on its way to improving to 4-0.
Blackwell finished with 176 passing yards and 77 more on the ground and a fourth TD.
Hurricane rolls past Cabell Midland to stop 2-game skid
The Redskins built a 33-3 halftime lead in a 40-10 win over Class AAA No. 8 Cabell Midland.
Hurricane (2-2) led early on Timothy McCutchen’s 44-yard field goal, then increased the advantage to 10-0 when Nathan Roy threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Moses.
Roy’s 25-yard touchdown pass to RJ Engel gave Hurricane a 16-0 lead, and Christian Hill scored on a 14-yard run in the second quarter that upped the Hurricane advantage to 23-3.
A 43-yard field goal by McCutchen, along with Roy’s 22-yard TD pass to Chase Hager, made it 33-3 at halftime and meant the Redskins were well on their way to their first win since week 1.
Golden Tornado complete improbable rally
Trailing 40-14 against Class AA No. 6 Weir, Keyser scored 27 unanswered points to end the game and pull out a 41-40 victory.
The Golden Tornado (2-1) got a 10-yard touchdown run by Caden Biser with 4:48 left, and Seth Earest made the point-after kick to break a 40-all tie.
The last of Donavan Kirby’s five touchdowns gave Weir (3-1) a 40-14 lead with 9:17 left in the third quarter, but the Golden Tornado began to chip away soon after.
After cutting the deficit to 40-28, Keyser recovered an onside kick and got a 5-yard TD run by Biser to face just a 40-34 deficit after three quarters.
Ryan Shoemaker had two fourth quarter interceptions to help Keyser prevail.
Colts pick up first win over Liberty Harrison
Chase Collier rushed for 224 yards and four touchdowns to help Philip Barbour pull off an upset with a 27-21 win over Class AA No. 16 Liberty Harrison.
Collier’s final touchdown came on a 7-yard run and gave the Colts (1-3) a 27-14 lead with 8:15 remaining.
Liberty (2-2) got a 2-yard TD run by Sayveon Beafore to pull to within 27-21 at the 6:25 mark, but the Mountaineers could get no closer.
Williamstown rolls by Ravenswood
After losing their season opener, the Class A No. 11 Yellow Jackets won for the third straight week, putting together a dominant performance in a 55-19 win against No. 8 Ravenswood.
Carter Haynes threw two early touchdown passes to Eric Brown of 67 and 49 yards allowing Williamstown to hold a 14-0 lead.
Donathan Taylor’s 1-yard TD run made it 21-0, before Haynes threw two more touchdown passes.
Williamstown took a 48-7 lead into halftime to hand the Red Devils (2-1) their first loss.
Defending champs unchallenged in Week 4
Class AAA No. 7 Martinsburg claimed its 32nd consecutive victory in shutout fashion Thursday night, blanking Spring Mills 56-0.
The Bulldogs (4-0) jumped out to a 42-0 halftime lead. Dewayne Grantham scored three times and Grant Harman tossed a pair of touchdown passes.
Martinsburg will face perhaps its toughest test of the regular season next Friday when it visits Academy Park from Philadelphia.
Spring Mills fell to 2-2.
Bluefield cruises 62-7
After a bye week, Class AA defending champion Bluefield cruised to its 17th straight win, rolling over Greenbrier East 62-7 at Mitchell Stadium.
Juice Edwards scored on a 75-yard run on Bluefield’s first play from scrimmage. He would score two more touchdowns in the first half before the Beavers began to pull their starters from the game.
The Beavers (3-0) will visit Tazewell, Va. next Friday. The Spartans dropped to 2-2.
Class A champion Wheeling Central Catholic (3-0) had its bye week.
Class A No. 1 Mount View rallies past Summers County
Elijah Barner scored 2 touchdowns on 17 carries for 160 yards, as Mount View rallied past Summers County 34-13 Thursday night in Hinton. The Golden Knights scored 23 unanswered points to erase an early deficit and improve to 4-0.
Saturday games on tap
Four matchups are slated for Saturday. Class AAA No. 1 John Marshall will visit Bellaire, Oh. Both teams are 3-0. Other matchups include: Hundred at Hannan, Beallsville, Oh. at Madonna and Paden City at Bridgeport, Oh.
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Ravenswood receives MVB Champions Cup
At their home game vs. Williamstown, Ravenswood High School was presented with the MVB Champions Cup for the top boys athletic and academic program in Class A.
