MORGANTOWN — On Friday night at Mylan Pharmaceuticals Stadium, in front of a boisterous, near capacity crowd, it was an extra steamy, extra sweaty, early-season Senior Night for the University football team’s home opener against Two Rivers Athletic Conference foe John Marshall.
As hot as the weather was, the Hawks were even hotter, and in all three phases, as they rode a 28-point second quarter burst to forge a 35-0 halftime bulge on their way to a dominating 55-0 victory.
It took two offensive plays for the UHS defense to make the first big play of the day, as senior linebacker Daniel Henderson (remember that name) pounced on a loose football at midfield. The Hawks offense quickly drove all the way to the Monarchs’ 18-yard line, then just as quickly committed three consecutive penalties that pushed them back 35 yards. But a long pass from Chase Edwards to fellow junior tight end Noah Braham gained back 32 yards, and a few plays later, yet another junior, wide receiver Jaeden Hammack, pulled in Edwards’ flat pass, faked out two defenders, and skirted the right sideline for a slick score.
JM (0-1) drove to midfield, but their fake punt was sniffed out and stopped by the alert UHS line. That led to a long, 14-play drive dominated by the Hawks running game that culminated with senior Colin McBee’s powerful 5-yard touchdown run at the start of the second quarter. It was the defense’s turn to get on the board next, as Henderson stepped in front of a flat pass at the JM 20 and roared into the endzone for a back-breaking pick-six and 21-0 advantage. Two more rushing TDs — Edwards from the two and McBee again from the nine — allowed University to waltz into the locker room up by five touchdowns.
The third quarter featured more of the same, as the Hawks (1-0) took advantage of a fourth-down pass interference call to keep their opening drive alive until McBee capped it with his third trip to paydirt from three yards out. The UHS defense kept forcing three-and-outs, and the offense kept scoring.
Edwards connected with Sage Clawges on a gorgeous crossing pattern pass, and the massive, shifty, speedy nightmare for opposing secondaries weaved his way in for a 38-yard score. In the final quarter, senior running back Corban Cross, described by UHS coach John Kelley as “a stud, someone that nobody knew about until tonight,” picked up 63 yards on the ground on just seven carries, including a four-yard run that closed out the scoring.
After the game, Henderson described his pivotal play as “like a dream — something I’ve always wanted to do, and it happened just like I imagined it might. I followed the back out in the right flat, and just jumped the route. And us getting a quick turnover at the start of the game was huge, too. It set the tone for the whole team.”
Kelley was especially effusive with praise for his defense, which surrendered just 97 yards total, turned John Marshall over on downs twice in addition to the two big turnovers in the first half, and gave up just a single first down in the second half.
“We pitched a shutout against a AAA team, and that’s always a major accomplishment,” he said. “We adjusted to their quarterback’s running ability quickly after they had some success early, and we stuffed their power game and their passing. It was a terrific performance.
“Our offense has a lot of weapons,” he continued, “and we fired them tonight. The running game was solid, we made big plays in the passing game, and didn’t turn it over. Very pleased.”
But according to Kelley, the best part of the night was the packed house.
“I tell you, it gave me chills,” he said. “To see and hear the fans, to listen to our student section going crazy, it’s what this game is all about. The community support was something else, and has been sorely missed, and it really fired the guys up.”
Henderson summed up the big crowd and big win as perfectly as a senior on his Senior Night could: “It was the best thing ever.”
The Hawks remain at home next Friday, hosting Parkersburg South at 7:30 p.m.
BOX SCORE
John Marshall (0-1) 0 0 0 0 – 0
University (1-0) 7 28 14 6 – 55
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Q – UHS Jaeden Hammack 12 pass from Chase Edwards (John Coleman kick)
2nd Q – UHS Colin McBee 5 run (Coleman kick)
UHS Daniel Henderson 20 INT return (Coleman kick)
UHS McBee 9 run (kick blocked)
UHS Edwards 2 run (try good McBee run)
3rd Q – UHS McBee 3 run (Coleman kick)
UHS Sage Clawges 38 pass from Edwards (Coleman kick)
4th Q – UHS Corban Cross 4 run (kick failed)
PASSING
JM – Jacob Coffield 1-9-1 15. UHS – Edwards 11-19-0 158 2TD, Luke Hudson 1-1-0 3.
RUSHING
JM – Coffield 8-45, DiMario White 2-7, Ashton Collett 9-14, Nate Menendez 2-4, Ben McCardle 4-4, Klypson Wallace 2-4 Wyatt McClure 2-4, Total 29-82.
UHS- Hammack 1-15, Elija Jackson 1-20, Colin McBee 10-84 3TD, Daminn Cunningham 6-58, Edwards 6-37 TD, Cross 7-63 TD, Nicholas Joseph 1-4, Jason Croston 1-8, Total 33-289 5TD.
RECEIVING
JM – McCardle 1-9
UHS – Noah Braham 3-35, Hammack 1-12 TD, Cunningham 2-31, Elija Jackson 2-23, Clawges 1-38 TD, Cross 1-5, Jackson Smith 1-14, Benny Carter 1-3.
