CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — Trailing Fairmont Senior by one point with 30 seconds remaining, Robert C. Byrd was faced with fourth-and-5 from the Polar Bears’ 35-yard line.
The Eagles elected to call one of their two remaining timeouts to go over their plan for a trick play on what was the most pivotal play of the night.
RCB coach Austin Scott wanted quarterback Isaiah Heflin to get the ball to receiver Junior Smith behind the line of scrimmage, with Smith then in position to either run or survey the defense and pass.
Scott, however, did not see Heflin as a viable option as a pass-catcher.
“We practice that play all the time from a bunch of different formations and usually he does leak out and I told him not to,” Scott said. “I don’t even know why I said that. I just thought it would be open.”
As it turned out, the primary option in wideout Sean Adams was covered.
No matter here, however, as Smith reversed field, and upon doing so, spotted Heflin open downfield. In a reversal of roles, Smith, a former quarterback, connected with an open Heflin at the 17-yard line, and the quarterback-turned-receiver handled the rest, breaking a tackle and racing to the end zone for the winning touchdown in the Eagles’ 26-21 triumph over the Polar Bears.
“They make the magic. We just have to get the ball in their hands,” Scott said. “Those two are special.”
Smith to Heflin for game-winning 35-yard touchdown pass on fourth and 5 to lift Robert C. Byrd to a 26-21 win against Fairmont Senior. #wvprepfb pic.twitter.com/WzGBp9gDwU
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) September 4, 2026
It capped a thrilling victory for Class AAA No. 10 RCB, which improved to 2-0 and defeated the Polar Bears for a second straight time in the series after pulling off a first-round postseason upset to eliminate FSHS in 2025.
This time around, the Eagles faced a couple of their former players that have since transferred to Fairmont Senior, and the memorable win came after a 2-hour delay for lightning and heavy rain that came about with the Polar Bears leading 21-20 with 8:17 to play.
“These guys wanted this game,” Scott said. “Even last week, it was hard to get them to focus on Lewis County. They wanted to play these guys again, because they were tired of the talk and all that.”
Heflin, who threw for 256 yards and one touchdown and rushed for an additional 81 yards and two scores, made an instinctive decision to become an option for Smith to throw to — one that paid off in a major way.
“It’s designed to go to Sean, the back side receiver. I saw Junior turn his hips and come back the other way, so I took off to the left, knowing that I was going to be wide open,” Heflin said. “He threw it up and we both connected. We both have offseason timing. Last year, he came in late. We eat every Wednesday and eat every weekend together. We’re like best friends and we have that connection.”
Having taken the lead with 17 seconds left, the Eagles hadn’t quite sealed the win, but did exactly that on the ensuing kickoff, which they intentionally squibbed off a Fairmont Senior (0-2) upman and recovered to wrap up the result.
“We were ready for a trick play and knew it could be something of that sort,” Polar Bears’ coach Mark Sampson said. “We guarded their primary option and when he reversed field, it kind of became backyard ball at that point and they made a good play. That was kind of the story of the night. Both teams played extremely hard and they capitalized more in some big moments.”
It was perhaps a fitting ending to a back-and-forth affair that began with the Eagles marching 66 yards on the game’s opening series, which they capped with Heflin’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Smith on third-and-goal. A failed point-after try left the home team with a 6-0 lead at the 5:21 mark of the opening quarter.
Robert C. Byrd 6, Fairmont Senior 0, 5:21 1Q
Heflin 6-yard touchdown pass to Smith to cap game’s opening drive. #wvprepfb pic.twitter.com/JEI056U8eS
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) September 3, 2026
A 23-yard punt return by Elijah Holmes, combined with an Eagles’ personal foul penalty, enabled Fairmont Senior to start its second series at the RCB 14-yard line, and the Polar Bears paid that off in the form of quarterback Anthony Smith’s 3-yard TD run. The first of three point-after kicks from Ben Smith allowed the visitors to lead 7-6 with 3:19 left in the opening frame.
Isaac Barksdale’s interception of a Heflin pass with 2:20 to play in the first quarter put FSHS in position to add to its lead, and the Polar Bears did exactly that when Smith got to the edge and scored on a 15-yard run to make it 14-6.
But RCB answered back immediately, getting a 60-yard pass from Heflin to Lukas Moore to help setup Heflin’s 2-yard touchdown run. Heflin then found Smith on the 2-point pass to knot the contest at 14 with 10:27 left in the first half.
The Eagles gained the advantage 5:26 before halftime on Heflin’s 10-yard touchdown run that made it 20-14, though they failed to add to it when their next series stalled on downs in the red zone.
“In the first half, we let them off the hook a lot,” Scott said. “I thought we were the better team and we knew that coming in. We just had to go execute and prove it.”
Junior Smith recovered an Anthony Smith fumble on Fairmont Senior’s second series of the second half, but the Polar Bear defense answered the call and got Ryder Moran’s 72-yard interception return for a go-ahead touchdown on the ensuing Eagles’ series. The defensive score gave the visitors a 21-20 lead with 3:49 to play in the third.
RCB came up empty on each of its next two series, the second of which ended with a punt and the Polar Bears taking over at their 31-yard line with 8:17 remaining in the fourth.
But before Fairmont Senior could get its offense back on the field, the contest came to a halt for lightning.
“It’s just like a longer halftime. We relaxed, went over some things and kept that belief in them,” Scott said.
Two hours later, it resumed, and the Polar Bears picked up three first downs, before a 6-yard loss on first down, combined with a false start before third down, forced them to punt.
Smith fielded that punt at the RCB 5 and returned it 39 yards, allowing the Eagles to start at their 44 with 1:51 remaining.
Five plays later came the winning score.
Heflin completed 12-of-27 passes, and Smith led all receivers with five catches for 114 yards.
“He’s a game-changer. He’s insane,” Heflin said of Smith. “One of the most athletic kids I’ve ever seen play football.”
The Eagles had 65 plays for 400 yards to Fairmont Senior’s 37 plays for 176 yards.
“Give credit to Robert C. Byrd,” Sampson said. “Their coaching staff is really good and they have a lot of good players, but we had a lot of self-induced penalties and too many turnovers. We have to take better care of the ball.”