MORGANTOWN – University High School sophomore wideout Hayden George had never lined up at the cornerback position before Friday night against visiting Butler, Pa.
After a brief spell on defense playing safety last week against Fairmont Senior, UHS head coach Eric Snyder and his staff quickly knew George may be one of the better cover defenders on the roster.
“He made a great play last week on the ball, and one of my assistants tapped me on the shoulder and mentioned he may be our best one-on-one defender,” Snyder said. “We wanted to give him a chance this week, and he stepped up big for us. That’s what he does and what type of player and teammate he is.”
His number was called under the lights on Friday, as the young playmaker got the start on defense at corner for the first time in his football career.
George made the most of his opportunity, coming up with a pair of crucial interceptions that helped lift UHS (2-3) to a 17-13 win on Homecoming under the lights at Mylan Pharmaceuticals Stadium.
“That was actually my first time playing that position,” George said. “I’ve played safety before but never had to deal with playing man-on-man coverage, so I went out there and simply looked for the ball and wanted it more than my opponent.”
His first interception was a textbook play any cornerback would want to mimic, as he eyed the ball, didn’t commit a penalty, and snagged it at just the right moment from the hands of the Butler receiver.
His second pick came near the end of the third quarter with the Hawks leading 7-6. Butler had a positive drive going before trying to air it out deep on a play that George says he recognized from seeing the scout team run it in practice this week.
“In practice, our scout team ran a play where the outside receiver ran a post, and the slot receiver ran a wheel route,” he said. “I saw that play developing, and when I recognized it, I yelled out for a switch. I saw him throw it and was able to make a play on the ball.”
The Hawks then drove down the field to add three points on a 32-yard field goal by sophomore Brady Goodenow, extending the lead to 10-6 with 10:31 left to play in the game.
UHS responded with 10 unanswered points after surrendering the game’s first score to Butler midway through the third quarter on a two-yard run by Nicco Baggetta.
In the fourth quarter, Bagetta struck again with 5:41 left with a seven-yard scamper that gave Butler the lead 13-10 after an extra point.
UHS got the ball back and powered its way down to the red zone behind junior quarterback Jack Byrer, who carried the ball 16 times for 54 yards and scored in the third quarter.
The Hawks drove the ball to the one-yard line while running the clock to under 60 seconds.
Bryer signaled to his right for George to begin to move, timing the snap so he could quickly execute a touch pass to the man in motion.
George took the jet sweep to the outside and crossed the goal line to a touchdown that gave UHS a 17-13 lead with Goodenow’s extra point.
Butler did get a good return on the ensuing kickoff to midfield but came up short on fourth and 10, allowing the Hawks to run the clock out in victory formation.
“That was a gutsy win,” Snyder said. “I’m very happy with our fronts on both sides of the ball. Butler did well in their game planning against our offense. We tried to move the ball outside into space initially, and they were ready for that, so we switched things up and ended up running Jack Byrer more, and we found something we liked. I’m proud of our guys and happy for them to go and get a good win on a memorable weekend. We know there’s more work to do with some winnable games ahead of us.”
UHS will travel to play Connellsville, Pa. next week.
BOX SCORE
BUT 0 0 6 7
UHS 0 0 10 7
SCORING SUMMARY
BUT – Baggetta 2 run (Kick no good)
UHS – Byrer 1 run (Goodenow kick)
UHS – Goodenow 32 kick
BUT – Baggetta 7 run (Miller kick)
UHS – Byrer 1 pass to George (Goodenow kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
PASSING: University – Byrer 8/17 104 1TD 2 INT, Helbig 6/14 57. Butler – Teff 10/24 42 3INT
RUSHING: University – Byrer 16-54 TD, Kehler 2-7, Brown 1-0, Helbig 4-(-9). Butler – Baggetta 9-55 2TD, Klemz 14-48, Kollinger 6-17, Connors 1-1.
RECEIVING: University – Brown 3-56, George 4-47 TD, Deel 3-44, Weaver 2-7, Brody Kehler 1-4, Brock Kehler 1-3. Butler – Trettel 2-15, Deless 2-11, Hanley 3-10, Pino 1-6, Klemz 2-0.
