MORGANTOWN — As the University High football team boarded the bus home after last week’s road loss in Fairmont, the consensus was clear — changes needed to be made.
“Preparing for this game, we wanted to right the ship after losing so bad to Fairmont,” said senior Amir Richardson. “Changes in about every aspect of the defense were made.”
Whatever the Hawks chose to alter, it worked. They held St. Albans to just 154 offensive yards Friday night at Mylan Pharmaceuticals Stadium and scored three defensive touchdowns as they rolled the Red Dragons 60-6.
“They tackled well, they were aggressive, and they were more physical than us at the point of attack,” said St. Albans coach Nick Watts. “We weren’t winning reps.”
The Hawks forced five turnovers on the night, with two of the plays — a Christian Evans fumble recovery and an Andrew Myers interception — ending in touchdowns. A UHS safety on the final Saint Albans possession of the night brought the defensive scoring to 16 points.
“That’s the difference in why the score ended as what it did. They had a lot of three and outs, but then you had their punt team with the bad snaps that led to scores and the picks from our secondary,” University coach John Kelley said. “This probably could have been a legitimate game, but they kept throwing the ball to us and we kept taking advantage of it.”
The defensive scores — an anomaly for the Hawks this season — gave their explosive offense a bit more rest than they’re accustomed to and helped bring energy to the sideline.
“I think those takeaways gives our offense a little bit of life, and it energizes the whole team,” Myers said.
The Hawks kept the Red Dragons tossing passes across the middle of the field and into double coverage throughout the game, keeping quarterback Caden McCoy on his toes and out of rhythm.
“They forced us to throw the ball over the middle and they were baiting the quarterback well. They forced him into making some quick throws and making bad decisions,” Watts said. “Any time you have that going on defensively, it’ll be positive for you, and that’s what they did.”
At times when the Red Dragons broke big plays — they had three 20-plus yard gains on the evening — the Hawks kept their composure, forcing the St. Albans offense off the field.
“We’d hit a big play, and they didn’t let that faze them. They kept coming and kept playing — defensively, we didn’t do that. We’d give up big plays and lay down,” Watts said. “You have to appreciate their resolve and tenacity.”
The defensive effort was a huge step forward for a Hawks program that has struggled on that side of the ball consistently this fall. Myers believes it’s a result of the unit finally coming together and he hopes that it’ll turn some heads across the state.
“That was the best our defense has played all year. The changes the coaches made definitely made an impact and helped us perform better,” Myers said.
“We’ve been solid all year, but we’re starting to play better now. People around the state are going to start taking notice and see what we’re doing.”
However, the night didn’t come without one major negative for the Hawks. Star quarterback Logan Holgorsen — who has paced the University offense with more than 1,400 yards and 17 total touchdowns this season — left the game in the first quarter with an apparent lower leg injury.
No official status on Holgorsen’s injury has been provided, but he was seen on crutches following the game. He replaced by back-up J.T. Brown for the remainder of the night.
“We don’t have any passes left on our schedule. If Logan can’t go next week, it’s going to have to be a quick week to find out what we’re going to do,” Kelley said.
St. Albans 0 0 0 6 – 6
University 38 6 14 2 – 60
SCORING SUMMARY
UHS – Richardson 40 pass from Holgorsen (run failed)
UHS – Evans 5 fumble recovery (pass failed)
UHS – Richardson 23 run (Phares kick good)
UHS – Raber 7 run (Phares kick failed)
UHS – Myers 21 interception return (Phares kick failed)
UHS – Raber 44 run (Phares kick good)
UHS – Williams 9 run (run failed)
UHS – Parown 38 pass from Brown (Phares kick good)
UHS – Williams 3 run (Phares kick good)
SAHS – McCoy 5 run (kick failed)
UHS – Defensive safety
UHS PASSING
Brown 9-14-1 78 1, Holgorsen 1-2 40 1. Total 10-16-1 118 2.
ST. ALBANS PASSING
McCoy 5-19-4 90. Total 5-19-4 90.
UHS RUSHING
Richardson 2-73 1, Williams 9-73 2, Raber 5-68 2, Gribble 4-61, Burns 4-2, Maholic 1- -1, Brown 3- -16. Totals 28-260 5.
ST. ALBANS RUSHING
McCoy 13-54 1, Payne 8-13, Clayton 8-9, Doub 2- -1, Long 1- -11. Totals 32-64 1.
UHS RECEIVING
Richardson 4-66 1, Parow 3-43 1, Spearen 2-6, Cottrell 1-3. Totals 10-118-2.
ST. ALBANS RECEIVING
Doub 3-86, Payne 1-2, Smyth 1-2. Total 5-90.
