POCA, W.Va. — The prowess of Poca junior Ethan Payne on the gridiron is well known across West Virginia.
Payne, a tailback and linebacker for the Dots, is a returning Class AA first-team all-state selection likely headed for more notable accolades at the end of this season.
But with a few more performances like the one delivered Friday from Payne’s younger brother, Toby Payne, and Ethan Payne may not be the only one in the family regarded as one of the state’s better players.
Toby Payne hauled in three touchdown passes to go with two interceptions — one of which he returned for a TD — and a fumble recovery, keying the Class AA No. 4 Dots to a 69-24 victory over No. 10 Sissonville at O.O. White Stadium.
“Little brother can play. He has some ball player in him,” Poca head coach Seth Ramsey said. “He had a great game. He’s been there all year long, but it just sort of happened that it all came together for him tonight.”
Poca (6-0) traveled 50 yards in six plays on the game’s opening drive to take an early 7-0 lead on quarterback Jay Cook’s 1-yard touchdown run. Prior to Cook reaching the end zone, he threw a 41-yard pass to Toby Payne to set up the game’s first score, which came with 9:06 to play in the first quarter.
Joseph Starcher, who finished 9-of-10 on point-after attempts, made his first one to give PHS a 7-0 lead.
The Indians (4-2) prevented the Dots from scoring on their second series and cut the deficit to four points 9:45 before halftime on a Wyatt Ervin 28-yard field goal.
Ethan Payne answered with a 3-yard TD run just 1:34 later, giving the Dots a 14-3 advantage.
On the second play of Sissonville’s ensuing series, Payne stepped in front of a Jackson Foster pass, picked it off and returned it 35 yards to the end zone to give Poca a 21-3 advantage.
“We had a tough second quarter. I think we had three turnovers and one of those resulted in a touchdown,” Sissonville head coach Marc Wilson said. “It’s really hard to recover from that, especially against a good football team. I’m going to give (Poca) credit. They play hard.”
The Indians never recovered and Toby Payne came up with his second interception at the 5:43 mark of the second quarter.
Cook then connected with Toby Payne for a 34-yard TD pass on fourth-and-7, giving PHS a 28-3 advantage.
“We feel confident that if guys are stacking the box and trying to take the run away, we can get the ball to the outside and let those guys make plays, too,” Ramsey said.
The Dots’ Ethan Miller recovered a Foster fumble on the first play from scrimmage of Sissonville’s next series. Poca immediately followed with a 15-yard TD pass from Cook to Ethan Payne, giving the younger Payne three touchdowns in just over 3 minutes of game action.
Poca blocked a punt late in the first half to set up Ethan Payne’s 10-yard TD run, allowing the Dots to take a 41-3 lead into halftime.
“We struggled tackling tonight. We’re a better tackling team than how we played,” Wilson said. “But we had a tough week of practice and preparation really comes into play.”
Dylan Griffith’s 1-yard run at the 8:18 mark of the third quarter accounted for Sissonville’s first touchdown, but the Dots quickly answered with a 68-yard drive that Ethan Payne capped off with a 1-yard run.
Cole Hughart hauled in a 69-yard touchdown pass for the Indians in the third quarter, before Cook connected with Toby Payne for a third touchdown toss — this one from 26 yards to make it 55-17 at the 4:55 mark of the third.
Landon Easter’s 50-yard interception return accounted for the Dots’ next touchdown, and Ethan Payne capped the scoring for Poca with a 1-yard run 32 seconds before the start of the fourth quarter.
Sissonville’s Cameron Arbogast scored the game’s final touchdown on a 4-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Toby Payne finished with six receptions for 135 yards, while Ethan Payne rushed for 165 yards in the win. The brothers also combined for eight touchdowns.
One week after Poca hung on for a 21-14 win at Mingo Central, Ramsey was impressed with his team’s ability to focus on the task at hand.
“I thought we may have a little hangover this week coming off the big win last week and playing a really tough team here,” Ramsey said. “But the guys answered the ball, settled in and started making big plays on both sides of the ball. I’m really proud of their effort.”