MORGANTOWN – Leave it to veteran University High football coach John Kelley to find talent wherever he can.
Three years ago, Kelley was watching a middle school basketball game and saw an eighth-grader and decided then and there that kid was going to be a quarterback. Without ever seeing him throw a football.
“Coach decided I was going to be a quarterback before I knew I was,” UHS sophomore Luke Hudson said. “I didn’t really have a choice.”
After Friday, it appears Kelley made the right choice as Hudson stepped into the starting role for the Hawks and led them to a 63-21 victory over visiting Oak Hill. Hudson, who didn’t play football until his freshman year, finished the game with 294 yards on 12 of 16 passing and five touchdowns.
“I just didn’t want him to be nervous,” Kelley said. “I told him he didn’t have to win the game. I don’t think he made any mistakes today. I got confidence this afternoon, I was watching the Morgantown game (tape from last week) and he played the entire fourth quarter and had two drives, so I knew he could do it.”
With the win, the Hawks improve to 10-0 for their first undefeated regular season since 2017. It also means UHS will host a first-round playoff game either Friday or Saturday.
The unblemished mark was a bit of a surprise for UHS as it flew under the radar for much of the preseason and early weeks of the year.
“Nobody had us in their top 20,” Kelley said. “Nobody had us doing anything. We thought we had a chance to have a very special team, but obviously never thought we were going to be 10-0.”
Kelley said he started to get an idea of an undefeated season after a 35-14 win over Wheeling Park and a 35-6 victory over Fairmont Senior.
“I love these kids, they answered the bell all 10 weeks and here we are,” Kelley said. “The kids just got better each week.”
University jumped out to an early 19-0 lead in the first quarter as it scored on its first three possessions. Colin McBee opened the scoring with a 23-yard run and then Hudson connected with Jaeden Hammack on an 18-yard scoring strike and tossed a 30-yard touchdown to Sage Clawges.
It was Clawges who was the go-to receiver on the evening, as he finished with five catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns.
“(Clawges) has been phenomenal all year,” Kelley said. “They try to take him away from us all year, but you can’t when you have Jaeden and (Elija) Jackson. We got a lot of weapons.”
Oak Hill cut the lead to 19-7 when Leonard Farrow scored on a 40-yard run, but Hudson added two more scoring strikes to Jackson and Hammack, while McBee added a three-yard run.
The second half featured more UHS scoring as the first-team offense took just a minute and a half off the clock before Hudson finished up his night with an 18-yard TD pass to Clawges. Hammack also had a solid game as he hauled in four passes for 76 yards and the two TDs. He also added 30 yards rushing and two scores on the ground.
Farrow led the Red Devils (3-7) with 173 yards rushing on 18 carries and two scores.
The Hawks now await to learn their first-round playoff opponent and will likely play that game with Hudson at quarterback. Kelley said starting quarterback Chase Edwards is still out with a concussion.
By ERIC HERTER
1 2 3 4 F
Oak Hill 0 7 8 6 21
University 19 23 14 7 63
First Quarter
UHS – Colin McBee 23 run (John Coleman kick)
UHS – Jaeden Hammack 18 pass from Luke Hudson (kick block)
UHS – Sage Clawges 30 pass from Hudson (pass fail)
Second Quarter
OH – Leonard Farrow 40 run (Ethan Vargo-Thomas kick)
UHS – Elija Jackson 55 pass from Hudson (McBee run)
UHS – Hammack 40 pass from Hudson (McBee run)
UHS – McBee 3 run (Coleman kick)
Third Quarter
UHS – Clawges 18 pass from Hudson (Coleman kick)
UHS – Hammack 17 run (Coleman kick)
OH – Braxton Hall 65 pass from Alex Colaiseno (Vargo-Thomas pass from Colaiseno)
Fourth Quarter
OH – Farrow 74 run (pass fail)
UHS – Hammack 3 run (McBee kick)
RUSHING – Oak Hill: Colaiseno 1-(-9), Farrow 18-173, Omar Lewis 7-22, Vargo-Thomas 4-(-5), Hall 1-1, Mauritz 1-9. University: Hudson 1-1, McBee 6-73 2TDS, Daminn Cunningham 2-39, Elija Jackson 1-(-9), Hammack 4-30 2TDs, Avery Dalton 7-19, Alejandro Sanchez-Solis 1-4, Corban Cross 2-29, Donald Brandel 1-17, Kylan Blunt 2-(-1), Melique Lewis 1-8.
PASSING – Oak Hill: Colaiseno 2-3-0 57, Vargo-Thomas 0-1-0 0. University: Hudson 11-16-0 294 5TDs, Hammack 2-2-0 32.
RECEIVING – Oak Hill: Farrow 1-(-8), Hall 1-65. University: Hammack 4-76 2TDs, Jack Smith 1-38, Clawges 5-135 2TDs, Jackson 2-82 TD, Brandel 1-5.
