MORGANTOWN – Entering Friday night’s contest against the Preston High Knights, University junior Glenn Brown totaled six rushing attempts for nine yards and had completed one of his two passing attempts for 18 yards.
Typically a wideout for head coach Eric Snyder’s squad, Brown got the call this week to lead the Hawks (4-4) under center against the Knights (2-6) and did not disappoint as he accounted for 425 yards of offense and six total touchdowns to lift his team to a 42-35 victory.
“The biggest thing for us tonight was having Glenn Brown on our side,” Snyder said. “He is a phenomenal athlete, and we knew that we could put him in the game for us in a position to spark the offense, but for him to come out and ultimately lead the way for our team was something we needed tonight.”
Brown completed 15 of 18 passing attempts for 285 yards and two touchdowns, adding 140 yards on the ground and four touchdowns on 18 carries.
His 51-yard, go-ahead touchdown strike to sophomore receiver Luke Byrer late in the fourth quarter put UHS ahead for good 42-35 after an extra point by Brady Goodenow.
“I just saw Luke running down the field and threw the ball his way,” Brown said of his take on the game-winning play. “I just felt that he would be able to go and make the play, I know how hard our guys work in practice to be able to come out and make plays when we need them in games. I trust my guys every single play.”
The first half had the makings of a prize fight, with each team trading punches back and forth in the form of scoring touchdowns.
The Knights began the game with an impressive 65-yard drive that took nearly half of the first quarter off the clock. The Hawks responded with their own five-minute drive, which Brown capped off with his first score of the night on an eight-yard scramble.
Preston junior standout quarterback Slaton Manko scored the first of his four touchdowns on the night to begin the second quarter when he punched home from one yard out.
Manko accounted for three touchdowns on the ground and one through the air on Friday night against the Hawks.
The Knights carried a 21-20 lead into halftime, but head coach Mark Deep says his team needed to regroup defensively.
“I’m proud of the effort tonight. Credit to University for getting it done,” Deep said. “We felt good in the locker room at halftime. I thought we made a few costly errors we could’ve avoided that changed the course of the game. We kept fighting and answering when we needed to. Our kids showed so much heart, and that’s all you can ask them to do in a game against an opponent like UHS.”
The third quarter saw only one touchdown with under five seconds to go when Brown punched home from one yard away. The Hawks would add a two-point conversion to take a 28-21 lead.
Manko led the Knights down the field and scored from the goal line to tie the game again at 28.
The Hawks took over on offense with 5:00 left, and Brown connected with sophomore wideout Hayden George on a 37-yard throw into Preston territory. Brown scored from 19 yards out on a scramble to give UHS the lead again, 35-28.
The Knights fumbled on the following drive, and UHS recovered, taking over at the PHS 32-yard line.
But the Knights’ defense made up for the mistake, forcing their own fumble on a Brown scramble that the visitors recovered.
Two plays later, Manko found Aidan Schmidle for an 81-yard touchdown strike that knotted the game at 35.
But the Hawks still had 91 seconds to work with, and with the night Brown had been having, that was more than enough time.
Brown started the drive with a pass to Byrer, who leaped over his defender to snag the ball and get out of bounds to stop the clock with 42 seconds left.
The next play, Brown rifled the ball down the sideline to Byrer, who extended his left hand, snatched the ball out of the air, and ran 51 yards for the game-winning touchdown that gave UHS a 42-35 victory.
“Really proud of the way we competed tonight and responded to some adversity,” Snyder said. “We have to turn around quickly and prepare for a colossal game against a talented team next week.”
The Hawks will travel across town for the Mohawk Bowl next week against Morgantown, while the Knights will host Buckhannon-Upshur.
BOX SCORE
Preston 7 14 0 14 – 35
University 7 13 8 14 – 42
SCORING SUMMARY
PHS – Miller 46 run (Turner kick)
UHS – Brown 8 run (Goodenow kick)
PHS – Manko 1 run (Turner kick)
UHS – Brown 9 run (Kick no good)
UHS – Brown 61 pass to George (Goodenow kick)
PHS – Manko 2 run (Turner kick)
UHS – Brown 1 rush (2pt conversion good)
PHS – Manko 1 run (Turner kick)
UHS – Brown 19 run (Goodenow kick)
PHS – Manko 81 pass to Schmidle (Turner kick)
UHS – Brown 51 pass to Byrer (Goodenow kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Preston – Manko 27-79 3TD, Miller 7-50 TD, Likens 3-30, Smith 1-2; University – Brown 18-140 4TD, Helbig 1-36, Kehler 7-25.
PASSING: Preston – Manko 13/24 243, TD, INT; University – Brown 15/18 285, 2TD, Helbig 0/3 0
RECEIVING: Preston – Schmidle 1-81 TD, Smith 4-61, Likens 5-56, Turner 2-37, Greaser 1-8; University – Byrer 5-99 TD, George 2-98 TD, Lewis 1-38, Deel 5-37, Kehler 2-13.
