By Tom Bragg, For Lootpress.com
ELKVIEW, W.Va. – Dane Hatfield has been around the block a time or two in his three seasons starting at quarterback for Herbert Hoover, and in the first game of his senior season he needed to rely on that experience to help get the Huskies a win.
With Hoover trailing Independence by 16 points at halftime, Hatfield was calm and collected as he helped lead his team all the way back and capped off the comeback with his third rushing touchdown of the game to lift the Huskies to a 37-30 win against the visiting Patriots.
For his efforts, Hatfield has been named the Lootpress Kanawha Valley Player of the Week. The award is sponsored by The Law Offices of Brandon Steele.
Hatfield scored two of his three touchdowns against Independence in the second half and went in multiple two-point conversions on designed quarterback runs. The game was originally pushed back to an 8 p.m. kickoff due to expected heat, then delayed even more due to lightning and eventually starting just after 9:30 p.m. and finishing after midnight. That didn’t slow down Hatfield, who rolled up 140 rushing yards on 30 attempts against the Patriots.
“I know it’s a cliché but I think we kind of calmed them down at halftime,” Herbert Hoover head coach Joey Fields said. “I felt like we handled it as best as we could with the [late start] circumstances, just saying ‘Hey go out there and play the play the way you know you can. Play the next play the best you can and give your best effort.’”
The senior, who holds school records for passing yards and touchdowns, will look to lead the Huskies to a 2-0 start this week when Cardinal Conference rival Winfield (1-0) visits Elkview on Friday.
“They have a bunch of bodies down there,” Fields said of Winfield. “They keep putting them out there. Every team that [Winfield coach Eddie Smolder] has features a similar build as far as the attitude, the effort and the physicality.
“They do a fantastic job. We’ve had good games with them. Every game we play against them goes into the fourth quarter and it’s who has got the ball last. They’re a good football team and I don’t see much change.”
Poca quarterback Kam McBride, who threw for 192 yards and tossed two touchdowns in the Dots’ win at Liberty last week, won the Community Choice fan vote this week with more than 66 percent of the responses coming in for him. McBride advances to the Community Choice poll at the end of the regular season, with the winner of that poll awarded a $500 scholarship by the Lootpress Foundation.
Player of the Week winners
Week 1: Dane Hatfield, Herbert Hoover
Community Choice Winners
Week 1: Kam McBride, Poca
