Photos by Greg Barnett
Bluefield – All Fred Simon wanted for his team was a shot at the playoffs.
Turns out the Bluefield head coach may get it, albeit in a way he’s unaccustomed to.
Senior quarterback Ryker Brown threw four touchdown passes to four different receivers as the Beavers defeated Mingo Central 55-6 Friday night at Mitchell Stadium.
Coming into the game rated No. 17 in Class AA, projections had the Beavers slipping into the playoffs should they pick up the win against the Miners Friday.
“I am pleased after how our situation started out and how we’ve ended,” Simon said. “I’m proud of our players for what’s gone on and how they’ve handled it. I’m very happy for them and hopefully we can make the most of it. You take whichever route you’re given and you make the most of it and that’s what we’re going to try and do.”
With much to play for the Beavers wasted little time flexing their muscles.
Senior Jacorian Green was first up, returning a punt 80 yards for a score less than two minutes into the game. Touchdown passes of five and 12 yards from Brown to receivers Chance Johnson and Jaeon Flack made it a 21-0 game after a quarter.
The Miners found some momentum of their own, opening the second quarter with an eight-play 54-yard drive that saw them reach the Bluefield 17 but an incompletion on fourth-and-6 ended the threat. Three plays later it was Brown and Green again as the former dropped back on second-and-14 and hit the latter in stride for a 54-yard scoring strike.
Ryker Brown uncorks a 54-yard bomb to Jacorian Green. It’s 28-0 Bluefield.#wvprepfb pic.twitter.com/JrfaK40EU2
— Tyler Jackson (@TJack94) November 6, 2021
Brown was true again once more before the break, finding freshman running back Jamel Floyd on a screen pass. Floyd did the rest, scampering 52 yards for the final score of the half.
On the evening Brown completed eight of his 13 passing attempts for 176 yards and four touchdowns.
“He’s finally getting some rhythm and we didn’t have that chance early,” Simon said of Brown. “He just keeps getting better and improving. He’s getting coached up. My son (Fritz Simon) has done a nice job coaching him up and I think he’s got the character and the perseverance to get better.”
Meanwhile Mingo struggled to move the ball, rushing for 49 yards at the break and coming away with only 23 through the air. It was even worse when considering 46 of those yards came on one carry – a third-and-16 rush from Norman Kennedy that flipped the field midway through the second quarter.
On the other side the Beavers had little trouble replicating their first-half effort but took to the ground in doing so. Floyd and fellow running back Amir Hairston scored the next two Beavers touchdowns before the backups relieved the starters in the fourth quarter.
Hairston led the Beavers in rushing with 20 carries for 105 yards.
As a team Bluefield piled up 394 yards of total offense – 194 on the ground and 198 through the air.
While the Miners struggled to score all evening, Kennedy was a bright spot for the visitors, carrying the ball 26 times for 117 yards, scoring Mingo’s only touchdown of the game.
With Poca and Lincoln, the No. 3 and 4 teams in Class AA, losing Friday evening, the Beavers now await Saturday’s final playoff ratings to determine whether or not they’re in the playoff field and if so, who they’ll play.
“It’s different but I’m just glad we get a shot,” Simon said. “That’s all we asked for. We’re going to see what happens and hope we get in.”
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94
MC: 0 0 0 6 – 6
B: 21 13 14 7 – 55
Scoring Plays
Q1
B: Green 80-yard punt return (Jackson Wills PAT), 10:16
B: Johnson 5-yard pass from Brown (Wills PAT), 5:45
B: Flack 12-yard pass from Brown (Wills PAT), :46
Q2
B: Green 54-yard pass from Brown (Wills PAT)
B: Floyd 52-yard pass from Brown (PAT missed), 3:42
Q3
B: Hairston 10 rush (Wills PAT), 9:22
B: Floyd 12 rush (Wills PAT), 0:55
Q4
MC: Kennedy 3 rush (Conversion fails), 8:16
B: Patton 9 rush (Wills PAT), 2:19
Individual Stats
Rushing – MC: Norm Kennedy 26-117, Kaedon Bolding 3-24, Donovan Johnson 1-10, Chris Ross 4-(minus-3), Caden Potter 4-(minus-26); B: Amir Hairston 20-105, Gage Sick 1-32, Jamel Floyd 2-15, Braden Fong 1-15, Chris Patton 4-14, Sencere Fields 1-14, Japon Flack 1-(minus-1)
Passing – MC: Caden Porter 7-16-62-0-0; B: Ryker Brown 8-13-176-4 TDs, Caleb Fuller 2-4-22-0-0
Receiving – MC: Norm Kennedy 3-32, Preston Smith 1-13, Hunter Blankenship 1-8, Hunter Nicholas 1-7, Ryan Conley 1-2; B: Jacorian Green 1-55-1, Floyd 1-52-1, Sisk 3-51, Fong 2-22, Flack 2-13, Johnson 1-5.
