By Tom Bragg, For Lootpress.com
Poca was pesky in 2023, but that did not translate to many wins for the Dots. Last season, the former Putnam County powerhouse was a tough out, but ultimately stumbled to a 2-8 record.
The lessons learned during a tough season are paying off now, however, as Poca has stormed out of the gates to a 3-0 record with a well-rounded attack and a defense that has not yet allowed double-digit points in wins against Liberty (Raleigh), Midland Trail and Buffalo.
“I told someone in April, I can’t remember who it was, that I thought we were about a year away from competing,” Poca head coach Seth Ramsey said. “So far, the guys have done a good job each week of getting ready, and we’ve been playing a lot harder and more physical. We’ve got a pretty good sophomore group, and I thought it would take a little bit of time for them to get their feet under them but so far they’ve been able to play well enough where we can have some success.”
The Dots will aim to keep their unbeaten season intact this week with a trip to take on Logan (1-2) on Friday. Junior quarterback Kam McBride has played a big part in Poca’s fast start, completing 20 of 29 pass attempts for 474 yards with seven touchdowns, but perhaps more importantly zero interceptions.
“[McBride] does a really good job of running the offense and getting everybody where they need to be,” Ramsey said. “So far he has done a great job of taking care of the football and that has been huge for us. This year we have the threat of a vertical pass, which we didn’t have a whole lot of last year. We were one-dimensional, and Kam allows us to open things up a little bit.”
Senior Preston Bonnett and Spencer Jones have split the bulk of the carries for Poca so far in 2024, with Bonnett missing last week’s game with injury but expected back in the lineup Friday at Logan.
The pair of standout Dots’ running backs have combined for 70 carries for 486 yards and five touchdowns.
“Spencer is just a hard-nosed, wrestler-type kid,” Ramsey said of the sophomore. “Everything he does, he does it 100 miles per hour. He’s one of those guys that’s the first in the weight room and last to leave the weight room.”
Poca, which made the move from the Cardinal Conference to the Little Kanawha Conference this season, could be one of the surprise teams in its new league this season. The next two weeks will be tough, with a road game at currently unbeaten Williamstown next week and a home game on Oct. 4 against currently 3-0 Roane County before a week off. The Dots close their 2024 slate with away games at Scott and Clay County before returning home to take on PikeView on Nov. 1 and Sherman on Nov. 8.
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Capital (1-1) picked up its first win of the Cougars’ second Jon Carpenter era, pulling away late from Riverside for a 38-14 victory.
Carpenter’s squad will look to keep that momentum rolling into Week 4 when Capital visits St. Albans (0-3) on Friday at Crawford Field. There were some hard years for the Cougars after Carpenter left the program following the 2020 season, but with a win under their belt the vibes certainly improved.
“The kids are walking around a little bit different,” Carpenter said. “They’re practicing different. It seems like it’s going that way.”
Capital’s offense shined against the Warriors last week, with sophomore running back David Robinson leading the attack with 172 rushing yards on 13 carries and three touchdowns on the ground. Robinson also had an interception on defense in the third quarter as the Cougars held Riverside scoreless in the second half last week.
Carpenter said he doesn’t think anyone on his defense stands out because everyone stands out. That group epitomizes the “team” concept, and the fruits of their labor were on display in the final two quarters against Riverside.
“It would be hard to point one of them out,” Carpenter said. “That was the cool thing about it and the thing you’re most proud of. [The defensive players] really don’t care who gets the credit. It’s a team effort.”
St. Albans, meanwhile, will be playing its first home game of the season on the banks of the Kanawha River after a tough slate to open the season featuring road games at 2023 state playoff participants George Washington and rival Nitro before a trip to Huntington last week.
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Other Kanawha, Putnam and Boone games on the Week 4 schedule:
Nitro (2-1) at Chapmanville (1-2)
George Washington (3-0) at South Charleston (0-3)
Huntington (2-1) at Riverside (0-3)
Van (0-3) at Buffalo (1-2)
Winfield (2-1) at Wayne (2-1)
Hurricane (2-1) at Dewitt, MI (3-0)
Scott (1-1) at Independence (2-1)
OFF: Herbert Hoover (3-0), Sissonville (0-3), Sherman (2-1)
