BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
NAUGATUCK, W.Va. — It was a successful Senior Night for the Tug Valley Panthers football squad. They downed the rival Tolsia Rebels 33-14 on a chilly night Oct. 23 at Bob Brewer Stadium in Naugatuck.
Coach Hady Ford’s Panthers played their last regular-season home game in front of a packed crowd.
“Any time we play Tolsia we know it’s going to be a physical game — and this one was no different,” Ford said of the hard-hitting game. “That is why it’s a huge rivalry game and we can never overlook these guys.”
The Rebels struck first early in the first quarter as Dustin Blackburn hit paydirt from 4 yards out. A 42-yard run by fullback Robert Evans set up the touchdown. Evans bulled in for the 2-point conversion to give Tolsia the 8-0 lead.
At the 8:53 mark of the opening quarter, TV senior running back Bryson Elia took a screen pass from junior quarterback Preston May and sliced his way into the end zone. The conversion pass was batted down and the Panthers trailed 8-6.
Tug Valley took the lead in the second quarter as May connected with junior WR Cam Slone for a 34-yard touchdown pass. May ran a keeper for the 2-point conversion to make it 14-8.
May then threw another TD pass, this time to Gavin Fitzpatrick for a 17-yard score with 1:07 left in the first half. The conversion pass was no good, but the Panthers led 20-8 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Fitzpatrick scored his second TD of the night. Rilee White booted the extra point to extend Tug Valley’s lead to 27-8 at the 10:46 point of the third quarter. A good kickoff return by Derek Jewell into Tolsia territory set up the offensive drive.
To put some icing on the cake, Tug Valley linebacker Cane Thompson recovered a Tolsia fumble and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown. The Panthers led 33-8 at that point.
The Rebels tacked one more TD on in the final quarter as Evans found the end zone from 6 yards out. Tug Valley stopped the extra point try to set the final score.
May passed for 140 yards, completing 8-11 passes for 3 TDs. He also rushed for 21 yards and a 2-point conversion. Elia finished with 48 yards rushing, but saw limited action in the second half. He caught one pass for his lone 9-yard TD. Slone caught three passes for 62 yards and a TD, Jarron Holyfield caught a pair of passes for 43 yards, Fitzpatrick rushed for a TD and caught one pass for a score while Derek Jewell caught one pass for 17 yards.
Evans rushed for a game-high 104 yards with one TD for Tolsia. Caleb Thompson rushed for 63 yards and Peyton Rice 41.
Defensively, Cane Thompson led TV with eight tackles and a fumble recovery. Teammates Bryson Richardson and Garrett Hensley each had seven stops and Keaton Nelson had six. Slone had four stops and an interception, while Jewell and Fitzpatrick both had four tackles. Fitzpatrick, Richardson and Elia each had a QB sack.
Elia and Fitzpatrick, along with lineman Cody Maynard, were honored at halftime during Senior Night festivities.
Elia and Spencer Workman both went out of the game with minor injuries.
“Both are sore today and a little banged up,” Coach Ford said. “Just going to get some treatment and rest this weekend and go with it from there.”
The coach was encouraged by the way players rose to the challenge.
“We had some guys step up and fill some spots for injured players,” said Ford. “That’s what it’s going to take for us to keep things going. When someone goes down the next man has to be ready to step in and get the job done.”
Tug Valley came into the game ranked No. 4 in Class A and is now 6-2. The Panthers will travel to Man this week and then hit the road to take on James Monroe in the final regular-season game of the year.
“Man’s record may not be as good as past years but you are still going to get a very physical football game with them,” Ford concluded. “We can’t take anyone for granted. They are looking to make the playoffs and this game is a huge measuring stick for them. We must be ready to play.”
Tolsia fell to 2-6 on the season and will travel to Wirt County this week and finish the season hosting River View.
Score by quarters:
Tolsia: 8 0 6 0 – 14
Tug: 6 14 13 0 – 33