BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
BRADSHAW, W.Va. — After a bye week, Tug Valley made the trip down into rural McDowell County on Friday night and handled business as they defeated River View 48-6.
The Panthers entered the game rated No. 10 in the WVSSAC playoff rankings.
“The bye week definitely came at a good time for us,” Tug Valley coach Hady Ford said. “It allowed us to regroup a little and get healthy. We’re not completely healthy but having the extra time helped.”
The Panthers led 21-6 after the first quarter and 28-6 at the half. They reeled out 20 more points in the third quarter to pull away with the victory.
“River View is no slouch. They have some big physical kids and some good athletes, but I feel like we may have played our best game so far,” Ford added.
Once again, Tug Valley’s coaching staff had a good balance on offense. Junior quarterback Preston May completed 15-26 passes for 216 yards and a touchdown.
Senior tailback Bryson Elia rushed for 148 yards on 16 carries and four TDs. Elia returned after missing a couple of games with a pulled hamstring. May also rushed for 58 yards and a score, while Elia caught four passes for 36 yards.
Junior wideout Cam Slone hauled in seven passes for 90 yards and a touchdown. Derek Jewell caught a pair of passes for 64 yards, while Ben Gilman hauled in a catch for 35 yards.
“We have several guys who can have a big game on any Friday night. It definitely makes it easier when you have different players to be able to lean on,” Ford said.
On defense, linebacker Cane Thompson led the defense with 16 tackles. Braxton Jones had seven stops, May had six, while Elia and Gavin Fitzpatrick both had five tackles. Slone and Fitzpatrick each had an interception, with Fitzpatrick’s being a pick-6 for a score.
“Last night may have been our best defensive effort this season so far. We moved a few guys around and they were able to make some plays. Hopefully we can continue to improve on that,” said Ford.
Ethan Christian led the Warriors with 48 rushing yards and scored his team’s lone touchdown.
Tug Valley is now 3-2 on the season and will hit the road Friday, traveling to Wayne to take on the Class AA Pioneers.
“I am just proud of the overall team effort and attitude that we had this week. We definitely got better but now we have to turn our focus on a very physical Wayne team,” Ford concluded.
River View came into the game ranked No. 22 in Class AA and is now 2-3 on the season.
Score by quarters:
Tug Valley: 21 7 20 0 – 48
River View: 6 0 0 0 – 6