— Story by Ethan Collins
MORGANTOWN W.Va. — University collected another solid early-season victory, defeating Fairmont Senior 35-6. University heads into their bye week undefeated (5-0) as a top contender in Class AAA. The Polar Bears fell to 2-3 with Wheeling Park and Spring Valley up next for the Polar Bears.
“I know my kids think they are for real, and I think we are for real. The bottom line is we are 5-0,” said head coach John Kelley. “If you put all the classes together, Fairmont would be in the top five. They have had tremendous success. They have great staff and athletes.”
On the opening drive, University had a six play, 71-yard drive. Chase Edwards felt pressure coming from his blind side left, rolled right, and threw it up to complete a 46-yard touchdown pass to Sage Clawges.
The rest of the first half was very defensive. Four drives on both sides resulted in a punt or a turnover on downs. This was due to the pressure that both defenses brought upon the quarterback. With about five minutes left to go in the half, University started in opponent territory, giving them their best opportunity to run a balanced attack of run and pass. The Hawks scored their second touchdown by a way of a 1-yard rush from running back Colin McBee on fourth-and-goal. UHS led 14-0 at halftime.
The Polar Bears had a chance to get themselves back into the game early in the second half. However, Brody Whitehair threw the first interception of the game that ended up being pick-six from Elija Jackson that brought the score to 21-0.
After another interception in the red zone by the Polar Bears, University outscored Fairmont Sr. 14-6 in the final quarter of game.
“In the first half they pressured me well, but I’m used to it we all just had to stay composed,” said Edwards after the win. “I just really trusted my offensive line. At halftime we made really good adjustments and dominated them on both sides of the ball.” When asked how confident he and his team are after the great start he responded, “We still have a lot of work to do. We are still going to get better, and we still have not peaked yet.”
Edwards went 18-of-26 passing for 210 yards and three touchdowns. His top two targets were Hammack and Clawges. Hammack caught four passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. Clawges caught six passes 80 yards and a touchdown as well. McBee led the way in rushing with 16 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown.
Whitehair completed 6-of-14 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown but had two interceptions. Leading the way in rushing for the Polar Bears was Germaine Lewis, who had ten carries for 60 yards.