Panthers finish with school record 12-1 season
BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
NAUGATUCK, W.Va. — Tug Valley’s drive to win a state championship in football came to a screeching halt on a cold December Friday night as they lost to Cameron 36-0.
The Panthers came into the playoffs ranked No. 1 in Class A and went into the game with a perfect 12-0 record. Cameron (now 12-1), ranked No. 4, made the long drive down to Mingo County from northern West Virginia.
The Dragons used a methodical ball control running game and had the edge in time of possession. The first half went by very quickly.
“They were just able to keep their drives going and that just ate up the clock. With them controlling the clock, that kept our offense off the field and we didn’t get many opportunities to score,” Tug Valley coach Hady Ford said.
The early part of the game was a defensive battle as both teams had good stops and took over on downs as the first quarter ended in a 0-0 tie.
The Dragons landed in the end zone first, early in the second quarter as stocky running back Klypsan Wallace scored the first touchdown from 2 yards out. The conversion pass failed, but Cameron led 6-0.
After another good defensive stand by the visitors, Tug Valley turned the ball over on downs. Cameron then mounted a long drive with quarterback Kason Angel and Wallace running the football and getting first downs. A defensive holding penalty in the TV secondary helped the Cameron drive.
Angel capped the drive, running the ball in from the 11-yard line. Wallace bulled in for the 2-point conversion to give Cameron a 14-0 lead.
After Cameron got the football back, and with just 0:03 second left in the first half, the Dragons got a back-breaking TD as Angel dropped back and completed a 32-yard TD pass to Mason Scott. Angel squeezed in for the 2-point conversion to give the Dragons a 22-0 lead heading into the dressing room at halftime.
“The touchdown right before the half definitely hurt. If you’re down by 14 going into the half, it’s a little more manageable in the second half,” Coach Ford stressed.
Cameron continued its ball-control offense in the third quarter. After another long drive, Wallace ran the ball from the 4-yard line for another TD. Angel scored the 2-point conversion with 5:55 left in the third quarter to make it 30-0.
The Panthers threatened to score late in the third quarter, but a fumble in the red zone halted that drive.
Slaton Pettit scored Cameron’s final TD of the night as he scored from 2 yards out. The conversion kick was wide of the goalposts, but the Dragons led 36-0 with 6:52 left in the game.
Although Tug Valley lost, they still had a record-breaking season finishing with a 12-1 school record and ranked No. 1 in the state.
“Even though we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, we still had a great season. This team will forever be in the record books of Tug Valley football history,” Ford added.
“We’re losing a lot of seniors but we have some good pieces coming back. We just have to get in the weight room in the offseason and outwork everybody else. If we do that, then we can be right in the mix of things again next year,” Ford concluded.
Wallace, who was like a bowling ball running the football all night, had 223 rushing yards on 33 carries and a pair of TDs. Angel had six keepers for 55 yards, and Petit had 14 totes for 60 yards. Angel completed the one pass for a TD.
Preston May was 8-15 passing for only 60 yards for Tug Valley, which was way under the season average per game.
Elia rushed for 39 yards on five carries and caught one pass for 8 yards. May carried four times for a net yardage of 10 yards.
Cam Slone caught three passes for 21 yards, Brady Brewer two for 9 yards and Gavin Fitzpatrick one for 22 yards.
Adam Slone led the Panthers on defense with 16 tackles, while Dakoda Walker had 11, Elia nine, and Cam Slone and Brewer seven each.
Several Tug Valley seniors played their last game for the Panthers. They include Brewer, Walker, Ashton Davis, Adam Slone, Austin Smith, Aiden Bosserman, Dylan Meade, Max Hatfield and Jacob Jones.
Cameron will now play in the Class A state championship on Friday at Laidley Field in Charleston.
Score by quarters:
Cameron: 0 22 8 6 – 36
Tug Valley: 0 0 0 0 – 0