Gallery by Heather Belcher
Gardner – The 2024 edition of The Battle for The Bluestone went late into the night Thursday.
Those that waited out the rain and thunderstorms were treated to an old-school ground and pound classic.
The difference in the game rested mainly on the shoulders of Summers County senior tailback Tyson Adkins.
Rushing for 174 yards on 27 carries, Adkins found the end zone twice and tallied a two-point conversion to lead the Bobcats to a 15-7 win over PikeView.
“This is huge and with this group of kids it is really special,” first-year Summers County head coach Justin Pugh said. “I get to be here with my dad and these kids that I have watched grow up. I had them in middle school and now here at the high school. I am elated.”
Both teams exchanged punts to open the game before the home team started to find some footing with its ground game.
Starting at its own 23 yard line, PikeView secured a pair first downs, moving the ball just shy of midfield. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the positive momentum was quickly halted by a weather delay with 3:33 left on the first quarter clock.
Following a nearly three-hour break, it was the Bobcats who seemed to benefit most by the stoppage.
“These kids will surprise you. They kind of felt like they let me down. They came out flat, but in that break, or whatever you want to call it, we were able to look at some things,” Pugh said. “We were lining up wrong against their offense. We were able to correct some things. It was like a halftime in the first quarter more or less.”
When play resumed, Summers County forced a PikeView punt on the first series and quickly grabbed the momentum to take the lead.
“I thought we had some momentum and all of a sudden the game stopped,” first year PikeView head coach Jack Turner said. “Then our youth showed and their seniors showed once we got back playing again.”
A 33-yard punt return from Adkins pushed the ball across the midfield stripe before Summers went into “Wild Bobcat” mode.
Snapping the ball mainly to their senior workhorse, the Bobcats moved 47 yards in six plays to take a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter. The go-ahead score came on a four yard run from Adkins, who had a 31-yard scamper on the final play of the first period.
“Our quarterback is a junior, but he is still young in the sport,” Pugh said. “He had one day to prepare to be a starter. It was a lot of pressure and at times he was overwhelmed, but he kept fighting back.”
“Eli (Franklin) said lets keep this going,” Pugh went on to say. “You are not going to offend me. We rode the horse that was getting us there. The line and the lead backs were great. Isaiah Lott made a great block down here and took out three guys.”
Franklin was tossed into the fire at quarterback due to an abrupt roster change on Wednesday.
“Yesterday we got some bad news that Ryan Oliveros, with his health and all, decided to hang it up a day before the game,” Pugh said. “That was our starting quarterback and they came in here and overcame the adversity. They adapted to what we were doing and it was fantastic. I can’t say enough how proud I am of them for fighting through all of this.”
PikeView responded quickly and tied the game on a 55-yard jaunt by junior Peyton Mounts who made a nice cutback to outrun the defenders.
The decisive drive came just before the half when Summers County marched 72 yards in 11 plays capped by a five-yard dive from Atkins.
Adkins had eight carries on the drive and also added the two-point conversion for the 15-7 lead at halftime.
Although the Bobcats did not score in the second half, the success on the ground chewed up the clock and kept the ball out of the hands of the Panthers defense who only had two possessions.
However, in those limited possessions, PikeView had its chances to even the game.
One drive ended in a fumble, while the final drive was hindered by a holding penalty inside the red zone.
“I am very proud of the kids. They had many, many chances to belly up and they didn’t,” Turner said. “We had a chance at the end. We had a guy open twice, but you have to make plays. It was a great ball game for us and I thought our kids battled. We have a lot to build on.”
SC: 0 15 0 0 – 15
PV: 0 7 0 0 – 7
Second quarter
SC: Tyson Adkins 4 run (Joshua Okes kick)
PV: Peyton Mounts 55 run (Adam Jones kick)
SC: Adkins 5 run (Adkins rush)
Stats:
Rushing: (SC): Adkins 26-174-2, Franklin McClaugherty 4-17, Isaiah Lott 7-38; (PV): Mounts 6-98-1, Kyle Williams 20-80, Josh Hedrick 1-7
Passing: (PV): Braiden Mullins 1-5-2
Receiving (PV): Mounts 2
