MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — With his right ankle taped up, University quarterback Logan Holgorsen took the field for warmups, although just hours before, the Hawks weren’t sure if that would happen.
Recovering from a severe high-ankle sprain suffered Sept. 28 against St. Albans, Holgorsen missed last week’s game at Mountain Ridge (Md.). It was unknown all week if he would be able to go Friday night against Buckhannon-Upshur.
After getting the all-clear before the game from team doctors, Holgorsen suited up, and despite limping around and not playing at 100 percent, he threw for four touchdowns and 156 yards in the Hawks’ 46-19 win over the Buccaneers at Mylan Pharmaceuticals Stadium.
With UHS (4-4) clinging to a playoff spot at No. 13 in the WVSSAC ratings, Holgorsen felt like there was no choice but to play.
“This is a must-win situation and I felt like going out there gave us the best opportunity to win,” he said. “We got the job done tonight and the main thing is I just didn’t want to let these guys down.”
Three of Holgorsen’s touchdowns went to Evan Parow, all in the second quarter. The other went to Amir Richardson for the first score of the night.
Even with a slight hobble between plays, Holgorsen showed no ill effects on his injury.
“He was great — he just went out there and carved them up,” head coach John Kelley said. “You can’t go back and everything stays the same, but if we had him last week, I know we would have won and we’d be in great shape. You can’t do anything about it now, but he had a heck of a half.”
As good as Holgorsen and the Hawks’ offense was, the defense was even better.
The Buccaneers (2-5) were held to 252 total yards, while a large chunk of that came late in the second half after UHS put in its second-team. B-U also scored two of its three touchdowns during that stretch.
Defensive lineman Ben Gribble ate B-U’s offensive line alive, living in the backfield throughout most of the first three quarters.
“Coach (Eric) Snyder did a heck of a job all week with the game plan on Sunday,” Kelley said. “I didn’t know if it would work but the kids did it to perfection. That quarterback for them (Ryan Strader) is really, really good. We watched them and what they did to Bridgeport, but it was a total shutdown tonight.”
Parow had the oddity of the night on defense. The senior intercepted Strader but fumbled on a blind-side hit. It gave B-U a first down, but Parow intercepted Strader again on the very next play.
The win gives UHS 12 points toward its playoff chances, plus a bonus point for B-U’s win over Princeton this season. The Hawks will play 1-6 Preston next week, but Kelley believes his team is already in playoff mode.
“I said Monday that we can’t afford another loss and that includes the Mohawk Bowl,” he said. “Next week is Preston and they’re struggling, but that doesn’t mean they can’t rise up and beat us because that’s a big game for both teams.
“Anything can happen and we need to keep rolling.”
