No. 1. ranked Panthers improve to 5-0
BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
GLEN HAYES, W.Va. — In a Class A battle of ranked teams, it was the Tug Valley Panthers defeating regional rival Tolsia 24-16 Friday night on the Rebels home field.
The Panthers came into the game ranked No. 1 in the Mountain State, while Tolsia was ranked No. 14. Tug Valley is now 5-0 on the season, while Tolsia dropped to 3-2. This is the first time in school history that the Panthers have been 5-0.
Tolsia took the opening kickoff but fumbled and Tug Valley recovered near midfield. After driving the ball down into the red zone, they took a 3-0 lead on an Aiden Bosserman 26-yard field goal from the 16-yard line. The field goal was set up on a nice reception by Cam Slone.
After another good defensive stand, the Rebels were forced to punt. Tug Valley’s Bryson Elia fielded the kick and weaved his way through the Tolsia special teams to hit paydirt for a 55-yard TD. Bosserman’s extra point made it 10-0.
Early in the second quarter, the home team cut into the TV lead. Quarterback Robert Evans connected with wide receiver Zach Ratliff for a short TD. Evans then rolled out and scored the 2-point conversion to make it 10-8.
The Panthers answered back as quarterback Preston May hit wideout Cameron Slone on a nice 12-yard touchdown pass play. Bosserman’s kick made it 17-8 and that was the score as the two single A powers headed into the halftime break.
In the third quarter, May dropped back and hit wide receiver Ashton Davis on a 61-yard TD. The extra point kick by Bosserman was good to make it 24-8.
Tolsia did not give up as they hit paydirt again in the third quarter.
Luke Williamson completed a pass to Braydon Mollette for a short touchdown. Dakota Blackburn bulled in for the 2-point conversion to cut the lead to 24-16.
That was the final score by either team and from that point in the game the defense took over.
On defense, Adam Slone had 15 tackles for Tug Valley to lead the way, 6 of those solo stops. Cane Thompson had 12 tackles and an interception, Davis had eight stops, Brady Brewer, Jacob Jones and Elia each had five tackles, Austin Smith and Gavin Fitzpatrick both had four, with Fitzpatrick hauling in an interception.
Evans led the Tolsia offense passing for 80 yards and rushing for 122.
“We knew going into Tolsia that it was going to be a battle but our guys rose up to the challenge and came home with the win,” Tug Valley head coach Hady Ford said of the hard-fought victory. “I can’t talk enough about the fight and tenacity that our guys have shown to start the season with five games on the road and be able to be 5-0 at this point.
“We were able to score with our kicking game, punt returns as well as our offensive. It was good to see us score with more than just offense. Our defense continued to rise to the occasion and make plays and create turnovers,” Ford added.
Tug Valley has played its first five games on the road. They will finally host a home game Friday as they entertain highly ranked River View at Bob Brewer Stadium. River View went into its last game ranked No. 2 but was beaten 35-6 by Sherman.
“It’s going to be a top 5 match-up so we can’t get relaxed. The good thing is we finally get to play at the house. Our players and fans are excited to get to cheer us on at Bob Brewer Stadium this week. We made it through a gauntlet to start the season and now we just need to finish strong,” Ford said about this week’s game.
It will be Hall of Fame Night for TVHS on Friday.
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
Tug: 10 7 7 0 – 24
Tolsia: 0 8 8 0 – 16