ONA, W.Va. — Cabell Midland found the end zone with 48 seconds left in the first half and in the first 90 seconds of the second half to break open a close contest in a 35-14 win over Huntington in the battle for “The Shield”. It is Midland’s first victory in the series since 2023.
“I am kind of speechless right now. They took care of their business. The kids did everything we asked of them,” said Cabell Midland head coach Eric Fetty. “We told them it wasn’t going to be pretty. We knew it wasn’t. Coach [Billy] Seals is one of the best defensive coaches in the state, if not the best. We just had to keep coming back with answers.”
Junior quarterback Logan Shull tossed three touchdown passes while freshman running back Rajan Thompson reeled in one of Shull’s scoring strikes and he rushed for two scores.
“They took Logan away from us in the run game. They did a pretty good job of that. He made them pay with his arm. That’s one thing about it, he doesn’t get a lot of attention. We’ve talked about that before. But I think I’ve got the best quarterback in the State of West Virginia right here at Cabell Midland.”
Thompson opened the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown tote just three minutes into the game. The Knights doubled their lead in the second quarter when Shull and Thompson combined on a 60-yard touchdown pass.
A Donte Newsome 1-yard scoring run cut Huntington’s deficit in half at 14-7. However, the Knights answered that score in the final minute the first half when Shull and Carson Christian teamed up on a 48-yard touchdown reception. CMHS led 21-7 at halftime.
Just over a minute into the second half, Shull and Christian connected on a 72-yard touchdown toss, giving Midland a 28-7 lead.
“Anytime you can put a couple touchdowns up between a team like that, they are so explosive. One score is never safe. You get a couple scores and you feel a little bit better about it.”
Huntington responded late in the third quarter when Marek Midkiff found Johnny Garrett for a 16-yard touchdown reception. However, that’s all the scoring the Midland defense would allow. Eli Thompson and Keian Shelton collected interceptions for the Knights.
“I thought we did a really good job of kind of stymieing their RPO game. We did a pretty good job stopping the run. They hit a few big ones on us when they guessed right and we blitzed wrong. That’s going to happen in these games. I thought we did a really good job of limiting the explosives.”
No. 6 Huntington (6-3) will conclude their regular season against Class AAA No. 1 Herbert Hoover (8-0). The No. 5 Knights (8-1) are in position to possibly climb into the Top 4 in the WVSSAC ratings.
“If you coach or play here, this is the game. It is the game. It is your Ohio State-Michigan. It is the game. There’s bragging rights on the line and playoff seeding on the line. It was a big game for us.”