NEWTOWN – Mingo Central is riding a wave of momentum into Friday night’s contest with Class AA No. 2 Herbert Hoover.
The Miners, winners of two straight, are coming off a 45-12 upset of No. 17 Shady Spring last week. Miners got an all-state worthy performance from senior running Norman Kennedy, who accounted for 288 yards of total offense and four touchdowns, in the upset victory.
“Offensively we did a great job at executing drives and not turning the ball over,” coach Chase Moore said. “Defensively we’ve been consistent with our play, so it was glad to see that carry over into each game.”
Kennedy accounted for 194 rushing yards on 20 carries and caught three balls for 94 yards. Quarterback Caden Porter passed for 204 yards and three touchdowns.
The Miners will be faced with the tough task of slowing down a Herbert Hoover offense that has scored 357 points in seven games this season while only giving up 36 points.
The high-powered Huskies can score in several ways. Two weeks ago, against Wayne, they scored 53 points despite only having 252 yards of total offense thanks in part to short fields set up by three blocked punts.
Against Chapmanville, the Huskies needed just 28 plays to score 55 points. Twice they have put up 70 points in wins over Sissonville and Wyoming East, where they scored 70 first half points in a 70-6 victory over the Warriors.
“They’re a very good team and have been able to score in every facet of the game,” Moore said. “They have athletes at the skill positions and good-sized players up front.”
Scott, who was able to limit the Huskies to just 36 plays and five possessions, was able to play keep away keeping the Husky offense on the sideline for much of the Huskies season opening 24-9 victory on Aug. 27.
It is a strategy that most have tried to prefect, a strategy that most have succeeded, but a strategy that has yet to result in a victory for the opposition.
Despite the offensive numbers, high point totals and lack of points for the opposition, Moore and his Miners will be up to the task.
“Even the best of the best teams has weaknesses,” Moore said. “It’s up to us to find that weakness this week.”
Dual threat quarterback Dane Hatfield leads the Hoover offense. Hatfield, a 6’3’’ freshman signal caller, has rushed for 634 yards and nine touchdowns on 66 carries and has completed 55-of-81 passes for 856 yards and nine touchdowns.
Hatfield can beat you with his arm, or he can beat you with his legs as he proved against Winfield when he rushed for 240 yards and four touchdowns in a 37-14 win over the Generals on Sept. 3. He also threw for 140 yards and one touchdown in that contest.
Senior running back Hunter Bartley has rushed for 574 yards on 84 carries and leads the team with 15 touchdowns. Jacob Burns has 16 receptions for 310 yards and three touchdowns while Devin Hatfield has caught 17 balls for 301 yards and four touchdowns. Kicker Levi Paxton has booted four field goals and has been successful on 36 extra point attempts this season.
“Defensively we want to be able to minimize the big plays,” Moore said. “On the offensive side, we have to continue to take care of the ball and finish drives and play our responsibilities on special teams.”
The game marks the return of Herbert Hoover coach Joey Fields. Fields got his start in coaching as an assistant in 2011 at Mingo Central. Following the 2016 season, Fields was named as head coaching replacing Yogi Kinder in 2017 and led the Miners to 12-1 record and berth in the Class AA semifinals.
Moore, who has a lot of respect for Fields, said the two have a good friendship and would like to focus on the game and not the distractions of Fields returning to his old stomping grounds.
“We try to keep our players focused on competing and not dwell on any distractions,” Moore said. “No matter where he has been, he has done a good job, and he has a really good football team that we’ll play on Friday night.
Herbert Hoover is winless in nine tries against Mingo Central and will look to crack the win column for the first time when the two schools meet for the 10th time in school history. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at James H. “Buck” Harless Stadium on Miner Mountain.
Tug Valley travels to Westside
Tug Valley will look to get back into the win column Friday night as they travel to Clear Fork to face the Westside Renegades.
The Panthers have never beat the Renegades in four meetings and will be looking to take advantage of a Renegade team, which has not played since losing 38-0 at home to Liberty (Raleigh) on Oct. 8.
Westside was scheduled to travel to Nicholas County last week, but due to COVID restrictions, the Renegades were forced to forfeit that contest after neither team could find a common date to reschedule the contest.
It was the latest of many troubles for the Renegades this season, who have dealt with COVID regulations and eligibility guidelines at the start of the season, but the Renegades have kept battling and will do the same against Tug Valley Friday night.
One of the season highlights for the Renegades was a 34-20 victory over Class AA No. 20 Shady Spring, however, it was determined that a number of players were ruled ineligible after not meeting proper eligibility requirements.
The West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission ruled that Westside must forfeit the game and granted Shady Spring the winner.
Westside head coach Tyler Dunigon said the situation stemmed from the West Virginia State Department of Education ruling regarding students and extracurricular activities. The ruling was interpreted to Dunigon and the Westside administration that those who failed to achieve a 2.00 grade point average would have six weeks to gain eligibility.
The Shady game marked the sixth week of school, however, because Westside had started on a Thursday the school had been in session for 27 days and not the required 30 days to meet eligibility.
Tug Valley saw its two-game winning streak snapped last week at Mount View. The Class A No. 4 Knights had little troubles with the Panthers in a 41-6 victory.
Tug Valley played without the services of leading rusher Tanner Kirk, who was ejected in the Panthers win over Tolsia on Oct. 1. Krik will return to the lineup Friday night as the Panthers look to build momentum heading into the final three weeks of the season.