BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
NAUGATUCK, W.Va. — The Tug Valley Panthers remain undefeated and are now 9-0 on the season. They subdued the visiting Man Hillbillies 28-19 Friday night at Bob Brewer Stadium in Naugatuck.
Tug Valley has been ranked No. 1 for several weeks in the WVSSAC, the poll that determines seeding for the postseason playoffs. The Panthers are rated No. 2 in Class A in the MetroNews Power Index behind Wahama, while Tucker County is rated No. 3 in the Power Index. Both Wahama and Tucker are behind the Panthers in the more important WVSSAC poll.
It was Senior Night for the 12th graders playing their last regular season home game at Naugatuck.
Tug Valley led 7-0 after the first quarter. Sophomore quarterback Preston May hit tight end Brady Brewer for a 30-yard touchdown strike. Aiden Bosserman booted the extra point to give the Panthers the early advantage.
In the second quarter, May connected with Cam Slone for his second TD pass of the night. Bosserman’s kick made it 14-0.
Devon Sanders scored on a 5-yard run for the Hillbillies to give them their first score to cut the lead to 14-7.
Later in the second quarter, May threw another scoring pass – this time to Bryson Elia for 5 yards. The extra point kick made it 21-7.
May, who had another outstanding performance, had his fourth TD pass of the night, hitting Cam Slone again on a 45-yard score. The kick by Bosserman made it 28-7.
Man High scored two more TDs in the second half, but Tug Valley came away with a solid Senior Night victory.
May ended the evening with 294 passing yards, completing 17-34 for four touchdowns. He also gained 106 yards on the ground on 12 carries.
Elia had another good night rushing for 69 yards on 15 totes. He picked up 66 yards via the pass on six catches.
Cam Slone hauled in eight receptions for 189 yards and two TDs, Brewer had one catch for a 32-yard TD and Ashton Davis had one reception for 11 yards.
Cane Thompson, an outstanding linebacker for Coach Hady Ford’s squad, led the Panthers with 14 tackles. Senior Austin Smith had eight stops, Dakoda Walker and Elia both had five tackles and Derek Jewell and Gavin Fitzpatrick each added four tackles for TVHS.
Tug Valley, which already has broken the school record for the best regular season mark in school history, will try to finish the regular season at 10-0 as they travel to Boone County to take on the always-tough Van Bulldogs this Friday.
Score by quarters:
Man: 0 7 6 6 – 19
Tug: 7 21 0 0 – 28