BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
WAYNE, W.Va. — Tug Valley’s long road game stretch continued Friday night as they traveled to Wayne to take on the Class AA Pioneers.
The Panthers earned the hard-fought 25-20 victory which should help them in the playoff rankings this week.
“Tonight was a playoff-type atmosphere and we rose up to the occasion. We were able to go on the road and beat a very physical Wayne football team. I am proud of our team for digging in and making plays when we needed to,” said TVHS Coach Hady Ford.
Tug Valley took a 6-0 lead against Wayne as junior quarterback Preston May’s 19-yard TD pass to Cameron Slone at 9:22 left in the first quarter hit its mark. The extra point kick by Rilee White was good to make it 7-0.
Wayne’s Kaiden Hayton scored on a 1-yard TD run. The 2-point conversion failed and the Panthers led 7-6.
Tug Valley increased the lead at 13-6 after May fired a strike to Slone covering 45 yards with 9:50 left in the second quarter. That was the score as the two teams headed into the dressing room at halftime.
The Panthers led 19-14 at the end of the third quarter.
The Panthers made a big defensive stand in the final minutes to keep Wayne from scoring and taking the lead.
Bryson Elia, a senior all-purpose back, scored two rushing TDs in the second half, one in the third quarter and one in the fourth. His third-quarter score was on a 65-yard run, while the final TD was a 10-yard scamper. That touchdown proved to be a big score and the game-winning points against a tough Wayne team.
May passed for 181 yards completing 10-20 passes, but he did have three interceptions.
Slone hauled in seven passes for 162 yards and two TDs.
Elia just missed a 200-yard rushing game with 23 carries for 199 yards and two touchdowns.
“We just try to take what the other team gives us. It makes it easier as a coach when you have the players to be able to run and pass when you need to,” Ford said of his team’s balanced offense.
“We had some guys that stepped up and made some big plays when we needed it. Bryson is close to 100% and he ran like it tonight. Preston made some good adjustments and was able to hit Cam on a couple of big plays and Cam just made a couple of big plays on his own.”
Building on that momentum, the coach turned his attention to the players whose work often goes unseen but is just as vital to the team’s success.
“I don’t want to leave out Gavin (Fitzpatrick), Derek (Jewell) and Jarron (Holyfield). Those guys may not have the numbers that the other three had, but man did they ever make a huge difference in us being able to move the ball. A lot of times those guys are making the blocks that break it open. I can’t thank those guys enough for sticking in there for our team.”
Ford also gave props to the linemen.
“These guys have busted their hind end and fought to get better every week and I believe we’re seeing the product of that now,” he said. “We always say work to get better every day and our offensive and defensive lines have done just that. You may not hear their names getting called out, but because those played assignment football, we were able to get the win.”
Defensively, Cane Thompson once again led the way with 12 tackles and a sack, while Elia had eight stops and Keaton Nelson seven for TVHS.
“Cane is the leader of our defense. Without him, it would have been tough to win the ballgame. He stepped up and made big-time plays. Time and time again, he’s right there in the thick of things making things happen,” Coach Ford said about Thompson.
For Wayne, Hayton finished with 86 yards, while Jayden Waymon led the Pioneers with 104 yards on the ground.
Tug Valley went into the game ranked No. 5 in the WVSSAC Class A playoff rankings. The Panthers were also 5th in the MetroNew Sports Power Index this past week. They are now 4-2 and will hit the road again Friday heading back down to McDowell County to take on Mount View.
Wayne is now 3-4 and came into the week ranked No. 16 in Class AA. The Pioneers take on undefeated AAA Chapmanville this week.
The top 8 teams in each classification in the final points ratings host a first-round game in the postseason.
Score by quarters:
Tug: 7 6 6 6 – 25
Wayne: 0 7 7 6 – 20