BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
NAUGATUCK, W.Va. — The Tug Valley Panthers, ranked No. 1 in Class A in West Virginia, defeated No. 5 River View 41-6 Friday night at Bob Brewer Stadium in Naugatuck.
With the convincing win, Tug Valley remained undefeated and is now 6-0 on the season.
The Panthers celebrated homecoming with the first home game of the season as Jaylyn Adkins was crowned queen at halftime for TVHS. It was also Hall of Fame night for the school. (See separate story.)
The Panthers took an early lead as Adam Slone hit paydirt at the 9:54 mark of the first quarter. He ran it in from 7 yards out. Aiden Bosserman’s extra point kick was good to make it 7-0.
After a bad snap by River View, now 4-2, they were forced to punt from deep inside their own territory. The punt was shanked, which gave Tug Valley excellent field position.
With 6:27 left in the first quarter, Preston May hit Ashton Davis for a 27-yard TD pass. Bosserman’s kick was good to make it 14-0.
Tug’s defense continued to play solid and they took over the football again early in the second quarter. After two TDs were called back because of penalties, May connected with Cameron Slone for an 18-yard touchdown. The kick was good and the Panthers led 21-0 with 8:34 remaining in the first half.
Starting the third quarter, River View took the kickoff and put together a nice, long offensive drive that ended up with their first and only TD. Chanton Davis got into the end zone from 14 yards away. The conversion failed and Tug led 21-6 at halftime.
Tug Valley continued its balanced offense attack with another score to answer River View’s TD with another score. May finished a good drive with a 3-yard TD run. Bosserman’s kick was good to make it 28-6.
The Panthers scored two more TDs in the final quarter. It was all-stater Bryson Elia who scored a pair of touchdowns on runs of 8 yards and 5 yards. Riley White booted one of the extra points to give TVHS their final margin of victory.
Elia led the TV rushing attack, gaining 119 yards on 14 carries and a pair of TDs. May had 37 yards on four totes and a TD, Adam Slone had three carries for 15 yards and a score and Derek Jewell had three carries for 16 yards.
May completed 15-20 passes for 216 yards and two TDs. That put him over 1,000 yards for the season in just the sixth game.
Defensively, Cane Thompson had 13 tackles, Adam Slone 10, Marshall Jarvis 7, while Austin Smith and Davis each had five stops. Elia and Cam Slone both had interceptions.
Head coach Hady Ford was pleased with the win. “We have six or seven guys that can make plays so that helps us to be able to move the ball around and get everyone involved,” Ford said.
The Tug defense was solid all night. “Our defense continues to make big plays and big hits. Their intensity sets the tone for the whole team. When they make big plays and fly around then our offense takes on the mindset and wants to match their intensity,” Ford added.
Tug Valley did have a few penalties.
“I think a lot of that is just self-discipline and continuing to get better each week. Our penalties were not as bad as previous weeks, but still not where we want it to be,” Ford said.
This Friday, Tug Valley will play host to Mount View out of McDowell County, West Virginia. They had played their first five games on the road.
“To be able to play at the house felt great this week. We haven’t played at home since 7-on-7 this summer, so it’s definitely nice to play in front of our home crowd. And to get to 6-0 made it that much sweeter,” Ford concluded.
Score by quarters:
River View: 0 0 6 0 – 6
Tug Valley: 14 7 7 13 – 41