BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
RED JACKET, W.Va. — The Mingo Central Miners defeated the Tug Valley Panthers 37-6 on a beautiful, warm, late summer Thursday night, in the season opener for both teams at Buck Harless Stadium on Miner Mountain.
The rivalry and bragging rights between the two Mingo County high schools went to Coach David Jones and his Miners squad for this season. The Miners improved to 4-1 all-time against Tug Valley in the local rivalry.
Meanwhile, it was not the debut that first-year head coach Kyle Runyon wanted for Tug Valley.
The Miners led 13-0 after one quarter and 21-0 heading into the dressing room at halftime, high atop Miner Mountain.
Tug Valley took the opening kickoff, but shot themselves in the foot with several penalties and were forced to punt.
Mingo took the lead after senior quarterback Jemere Knuckles scored from one yard out, finishing a nice Miner’s offensive drive. The kick was wide, but MC led 6-0 at the 6:16 mark of the first quarter.
The Miners scored again when Knuckles hit Evan Marcum with a touchdown pass. Noah Newsome booted the extra point to make it 13-0 at the 1:10 mark of the opening quarter.
Tug Valley got deep into Miner territory early in the second quarter on a great hook-and-ladder play as Mattox Sartin picked up good yardage. But then a sack and a fumble stopped the Panthers drive.
With 1:10 left in the first quarter, once again Knuckles connected with Marcum for a TD pass. Coleman rumbled in for the 2-point conversion to make it 21-0.
On Mingo’s first offensive play in the second half, Knuckles hit Terrindez Bryant on a screen pass. He got into the open field and raced for a 75-yard TD. Newsome’s kick made it 28-0.
Mingo Central’s next defensive stand was a tackle of Tug Valley’s quarterback in the end zone for a safety, making it 30-0.
Davion Joplin rounded out the Miners scoring on the ensuing offensive drive with a rushing TD. Newsome’s extra-point kick made it 37-0.
Going into the final quarter, there was a running clock.
Panthers backup QB Jarron Holyfield hit Cam Slone for a 19-yard TD pass with 0:00 left on the game clock for their only score.
Statistically, it was not the best night for the Panthers.
Penalties hurt Tug Valley as the Panthers were flagged 15 times for 117 yards. Mingo Central was also flagged for several penalties, which is common in season-opening games.
Slone was a bright spot on offense for the Tug Valley staff. He had a pair of catches in heavy traffic. He caught 10 passes for 175 yards and one TD.
Preston May, who was under heavy pressure most of the game, completed 17-of-28 for 215 yards. Holyfield completed 2-of-6 passes for 23 yards and a TD.
The Tug Valley rushing attack was held in check with May grinding out 32 to lead the way.
On defense, Richardson and Keaton Nelson had eight tackles, while Ben Gillman had five.
“Those penalties really got us,” Coach Runyon said. “We weren’t able to get everyone on the same page tempo-wise… The great thing is it’s week 1, and we have time to fix it.
Tug Valley was playing without senior linebacker-running back Cane Thompson, who was out with an injury. Thompson led TV in tackles last season.
“It always hurts not having someone able to play, but it’s no excuse,” said Runyon. “It’s the next guy up.”
Mingo head coach Jones was pleased with his team’s performance.
“I felt we played a great game with a lot to clean up. I was proud of our O-Line for dominating the game from the start until the finish,” Jones said. “Hats off to Tug Valley – they came in with a couple of starters out and they are a good team. I feel, when they get them back, they will be back to normal again.”
For the most part, Jones was pleased with his team’s defensive play.
Knuckles finished 10-of-11 passing for 216 yards and three TDs.
Mingo had a balanced rushing attack led by Coleman with 64 yards on 10 carries. Knuckles had 47 on seven carries, Davion Joplin had five tries for 32 yards and Lavante Kenney had 30 yards on three carries.
In the receiving department, Bryant caught a pair of passes for 117 yards and a TD, while Marcum brought in three catches for 48 yards and a pair of TDs.
The Miners had 216 passing yards and 173 on the ground for a total of 389 production on offense.
Taegan Hackney led Mingo’s defense with 13 tackles, three for loss of yards, two sacks and a forced fumble. Peyton Parker had 11 tackles, four for loss of yards and a pair of sacks, while Kenny had 10 stops, Joplin had eight, Newsome eight and Bo Hatfield seven. Drake Kennedy had an interception.
The Class AA No. 6-ranked Miners (1-0) travel to Westside on Sept. 4, while the Class A No. 9-ranked Panthers (0-1) go to Wyoming East next week.
Score by quarters:
Tug: 0 0 0 6 – 6
Mingo: 13 8 16 0 – 37