Morgantown’s Gunner Latimore (7) against Hedgesville on Friday. 
Morgantown’s Preston Fox (21) makes an interception against Hedgesville on Friday. 
Morgantown’s head coach Matt Lacy looks on against Hedgesville on Friday. 
Morgantown’s Gunner Latimore (7) makes a pass against Hedgesville on Friday. 
Morgantown’s Gunner Latimore (7) makes a pass against Hedgesville on Friday. 
Morgantown’s Gunner Latimore (7) hands the ball off to Morgantown’s Jace Whetsell (22) against Hedgesville on Friday. 
against Hedgesville on Friday. 
against Hedgesville on Friday. 
Morgantown’s Preston Fox (21) makes a catch for a touch down against Hedgesville on Friday (William Wotring/ The Dominion Post). 
Morgantown’s Quinn Thompson (6) reacts after scoring against Hedgesville on Friday. 
Morgantown players tackle Hedgesville’s Owie Ash on Friday. 
Morgantown’s Cameron Rice (8) makes a tackle on Hedgesville’s Owie Ash on Friday. 
Morgantown’s Tyler Wilson (78) against Hedgesville on Friday. 
Morgantown’s Tyler Wilson (78) brings down against Hedgesville’s Sawyer Twigg on Friday. 
Morgantown’s Cameron Rice (8) celebrates with teammates after returning a interception against Hedgesville on Friday. 
Morgantown’s Cameron Rice (8) celebrates with teammates after returning a interception against Hedgesville on Friday. 
Morgantown’s Jackson Wolfe (40) tackles Hedgesville’s Owie Ash on Friday. 
Morgantown’s Cameron Rice (8) sacks Hedgesville’s Owie Ash on Friday. 
Morgantown’s Cameron Rice (8) sacks Hedgesville’s Owie Ash on Friday. 
Morgantown’s Preston Fox (21) celebrates after he runs back the opening kickoff against Hedgesville on Friday. 
Morgantown’s Preston Fox (21) runs back the opening kickoff against Hedgesville on Friday. 
Morgantown’s Preston Fox (21) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against Hedgesville on Friday. 
Morgantown’s players take the field against Hedgesville on Friday. 
against Hedgesville on Friday.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The season hasn’t gone exactly the way the Morgantown High football team hoped it would with an 0-3 start, but coach Matt Lacy made it clear goals set forth at the beginning of the year were still attainable.
With a week of prep heading into Friday’s matchup with Hedgesville at Pony Lewis Field, Lacy said his senior made sure that message was heard loud and clear, and from the opening kickoff against the Eagles, Preston Fox was still shouting from the pulpit.
After a bounce near the 20-yard line, Fox scooped up the ball and took it 85 yards for a touchdown, and you could feel a collective sigh of relief on the Mohigans’ sideline as MHS went on to steamroll Hedgesville 49-14.
“That felt awesome — to start out the game like that, it gave the sideline a good pump and we went out on the field strong,” Fox said. “We just played really well.”
Lacy said the game plan was to give Fox the ball in space, but the Eagles (0-4) were able to hold him in check outside. However, he made up for it in other ways. Along with his kick return for a score, he caught one of MHS’s twocompletions of the game — a 50-yard pass from Gunner Latimore that went for a touchdown in the second quarter.
With time running down in the second quarter, Fox also snagged an interception on defense from Hedgesville quarterback Oziais Ash. On the next play, Latimore hit Kirk Black for another score to put MHS (1-3) up 35-0 heading into the locker room.
“He does a little bit of everything for us and came up huge,” Lacy said of Fox. “They schemed to take him away by playing Cover 0, which limited what we could do with him. But it’s hard to take shots when you’re gashing them at times, too. When we got a hat on a hat, I mean, we took off.”
Every touchdown scored by MHS was over 30 yards, including 31- and 44-yard scampers by Quin Thompson. After being bottled up most of the game, Jace Whetsell finally broke free for a 76-yarder in the third quarter, MHS’s final score of the day.
Linebacker Cam Rice had a 40-yard pick-6 to set the tone defensively. The Eagles didn’t get a point until last in the fourth quarter when both teams put in their reserves. Hedgesville had 223 yards of total offense, but 120 of those came on two plays, the Eagles’ two scoring plays.
It’s been a disappointing start to the season for Fox statistically, but as a team-first player, he sees light at the end of the tunnel.
“This has been a frustrating year so far, but as the weeks go on, I think we’ll continue to get better and better.”
The Mohigans will begin a two-game road swing next week when they play at Linsly, followed by a trip to the Eastern Panhandle to play Musselman.
