BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
LOGAN, W.Va. — It was the visiting Tug Valley Panthers going up against the Class AA Logan Wildcats as the Class A Panthers won a hard-fought road game on Friday night at Willis-Nesbit Stadium on Midelburg Island in Logan 32-27.
Once again, the Tug Valley offense was in full gear, putting up great numbers. They amassed 512 total yards of offense against Logan.
Senior quarterback Preston May, an All-State candidate, completed 18-of-34 passes for 277 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed 23 times for 195 yards and two more TDs. The talented May accounted for 472 total yards of offense for TVHS in the win.
Meanwhile, senior wide receiver Cam Slone, another All-State candidate, caught 12 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns.
Mattox Sartin caught four passes for 64 yards and a TD, while Jarron Holyfield caught two for 24 yards.
Bryson Richardson rushed seven times for 27 yards. Rilee Whitt booted a pair of extra points.
The Panthers led 19-13 at the half and Logan went ahead in the third quarter 20-19. Tug Valley scored a pair of TDs in the final quarter, while the Wildcats scored one.
Tug Valley scored the go-ahead touchdown with 9:07 left in the final quarter when May connected on a 59-yard strike to Slone.
The Panthers defense held strong on a furious Wildcat comeback in the final minutes.
Defensively, Richardson had nine tackles, Cane Thompson had eight and Keaton Nelson had five. Eli Whitt had two interceptions, while Holyfield had one pick.
Tug Valley head coach Kyle Runyon had formerly served as an assistant coach at Logan High before joining the staff at Naugatuck.
“We felt like the key to this game was to just understand our assignments. We knew what we were given, but we also knew what we couldn’t give up. I felt like we did a great job executing our game plan on both sides of the ball,” Runyon said.
“I felt like we were in a great rhythm from the second we received the ball. Of course there were things that needed cleaned up, but our guys made the plays that we knew they could,” Runyon added.
“It’s no secret that Logan has some of the best athletes in the state. So coming into it we knew we had to limit big explosive plays. We continue to get better every week and I couldn’t be more proud of our guys,” Runyon said. “Hats off to Logan’s coaching staff. They have a very good football team that I expect to have a great season.”
Logan quarterback Gregory Williams played for Williamson Middle School and is a Mingo County native. He has fit in well for the Logan Wildcats so far in his sophomore season.
Williams was 18-for-34 passing for 152 yards and a touchdown. He had three interceptions.
Logan All-Stater Lucas Lambert rushed for a pair of TDS, while Jake Endicott scored twice, one rushing TD and one via the pass.
Tug Valley is now 2-1 and will travel up U.S. 52 to take on Tolsia (2-1).
Logan dropped to 2-1 this season and will motor to Wayne (0-3).
Score by quarters:
Tug: 13 6 0 13 – 32
Logan: 7 6 7 7 – 27