By Sean McNamara
RACHEL – Thanks to six touchdowns of 20 yards or more and two recovered onside kicks, the North Marion Huskies earned their sixth win of the season by defeating the Robert C. Byrd Flying Eagles, 47-16.
The win saw the Huskies bounce back for a loss to Lewis County a week prior, and marks North Marion’s second victory all-time over the Flying Eagles from Robert C. Byrd, bringing the all-time series to 18-2 in favor of RCB.
In Friday’s contest, North Marion outgained RCB 394-203 in total yards, with quarterback Toby Michael rushing for 86 yards and two scores while passing for 93 yards and three touchdowns.
Throughout the 2024 season, Michael has split time at QB with Cole Morris, who was less than 100 percent Friday, allowing Michael to take the bulk of the snaps against RCB.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the way (Morris) and Toby both respond to that,” NM coach Daran Hays said of his QB duo. “Both of them are going to be great players for us. Both of them are only juniors, and that’s a great thing to have.
For the Flying Eagles (3-6), penalties and special teams plagued the visitors throughout the game as RCB committed 10 penalties for 105 yards and allowed North Marion to recover a pair of onside kicks.
“I feel like the story of our season has just been us hurting ourselves,” RCB coach Austin Scott said. “Credit to North Marion, they’re a really good team and a really good program, but I feel like we beat ourselves this week. Many of our losses have been because of us, not the other team.”
For the second consecutive week the Huskies got off to a slow start as their first two drives ended with punts with a key penalty and miscues hurting the home team early.
“We just felt everything out too much early,” Hays said. “Penalties were pretty critical early. They set up behind the sticks, ended our drives and extended their drives.”
In between those two possessions, the Flying Eagles got on the board as Junior Smith took a 19-yard swing pass from Kobe Duarte to put the visitors up, 6-0, with a key pass interference penalty on third down extending the drive.
Now down 6-0 and on their third possession of the game, the Huskies offense took advantage of an RCB error as a pass interference penalty on third down helped extend a second-quarter drive that ended with a Brian Poindexter 45-yard TD run.
Consecutive three-and-out drives by the Eagles set the table for a pair of Toby Michael TD runs of 23 and 51 yards, respectively, putting the Huskies up, 20-6 late in the second quarter.
To close out the first half, Stratten Wooddell connected on a 44-yard field, bringing the halftime score to 20-9, North Marion.
To open the second half, the Huskies snatched all the momentum in the building, recovering an onside kick, setting the table for a 29-yard TD pass from Michael to Cyrus Collins, giving NMHS a 27-9 lead.
That momentum built for North Marion, which forced an RCB turnover on downs on the ensuing possession and proceeded to score one play later on a Noah Hess 31-yard TD run, putting the Huskies up 33-9 midway through the third quarter.
Following another RCB turnover on downs, the Huskies struck again as Michael connected with Poindexter on a 25-yard TD pass on fourth down, brining the score to 40-9 after Brady Anderson’s PAT.
North Marion wasn’t done, however, as the Huskies recovered a second onside kick following the touchdown, which set up the team’s fourth TD of the quarter, which came on a 12-yard pass from Michael to Landyn Stemple.
Robert C. Byrd added an early fourth-quarter touchdown as Smith scored his second of the game, this one coming on a 10-yard run to bring the score to the final score of 47-16.
Smith posted 39 yards and a touchdown on the ground while posting three catches for 49 yards and a score. Elijah Chipps pitched in 59 receiving yards while Latrell Jones ran for 44 yards on 10 carries.
The Flying Eagles will close their regular season on the road next week at Elkins, with the final week of the year being the team’s bye.
“We just have to try and get better every day and every week,” Scott said. “We’re one game away from making the playoffs. That’s what we have to do. We have to eliminate the mistakes and win one more game.”
For the Huskies, alongside Michael’s offensive output, Poindexter rushed for 79 yards and caught a pass for 25 yards with two combined touchdowns.
Senior Trevor Mullett returned from injury to rush for 51 yards in the win.
Next up for the Huskies will be a tough test against Roane County, a team they handed their first loss of the season two years in a row, and Hays hopes his team can build of Friday’s win.
“We said from the beginning of the year, that and Fairmont Senior are going to be the two games we were underdogs in,” Hays said. “We felt like there was a multitude of teams that could nip us in the heels if we didn’t play well, and Lewis County did that.”
NORTH MARION 47 ROBERT C BYRD 16
NM;RCB
First Downs;;22;9
Rushing Yards;;296;95
Passing Yards;;98;108
Total Yards;;394;203
Passing;;8-12-0;8-12-0
Fumbles;;2;3
Fumbles Lost;;0;0
Penalties;;6-60;10-105
Individual Stats
Rushing – NM: Toby Michael 6-86 1 TD, Brian Poindexter 8-79 1 TD, Trevor Mullett 9-51, Noah Hess 3-36 1 TD, Isaiah Carpenter 3-32, Jacob Kusich 1-32, Blake Edgell 1-8, Karter Parson 2-6, Cyrus Collins 1-3, Colby VanGilder 1-0, Cole Morris 2-(-2), TEAM 3-(-37). Totals 42-296. RCB: Latrell Jones 10-44, Junior Smith 7-39 1 TD, Kobe Duarte 7-19, TEAM 1-(-7). Totals 25-95.
Passing – NM: Toby Michael 7-10-0 93 yards 3 TD. Cole Morris 1-1-0 5 yards. RCB: Kobe Duarte 7-9-0 69 yards 1 TD. Junior Smith 1-3-0 39 yards.
Receiving – NM: Cyrus Collins 3-52 1 TD, Brian Poindexter 1-25 1 TD, Landyn Stemple 1-12 1 TD, Trevor Mullet 1-5, Noah Hess 2-4. RCB: Junior Smith 3-49 1 TD, Elijah Chipps 4-59, Issac Barksdale 1-0.
NM;;0;20;27;0;;47
RCB;;6;3;0;7;;16
Scoring Plays
First Quarter
RCB – Junior Smith 19-yard pass from Kobe Duarte (run failed)
Second Quarter
NM – Brian Poindexter 45-yard run (Brady Anderson kick)
NM – Toby Michael 23-yard run (run failed)
NM – Michael 51-yard run (Anderson kick)
RCB – Stratten Wooddell 44-yard FG
Third Quarter
NM – Cyrus Collins 29-yard pass from Toby Michael (Anderson kick)
NM – Noah Hess 31-yard run (kick failed)
NM – Poindexter 25-yard pass from Michael (Anderson kick)
NM – Landyn Stemple 12-yard pass from Michael (Anderson kick)
Fourth Quarter
RCB – Smith 10-yard run (Wooddall kick)
