Senior Night Special: PC Pounds Devils
The Wildcats’ football team used some big plays from seniors to gain a 36-6 victory over Beallsville High School on senior night at Berger Field in Paden City. Playing in a cold and steady rain the entire game didn’t deter the Wildcats as they started strong and finished strong to get their second win of the season before a mostly-home crowd.
The ‘Cats first play from scrimmage set the tone of the game as senior Mike Shreves had a 65-yard touchdown reception called back. Beallsville would then strike first on a 12-yard run to take a 6-0 lead with 8:15 to play in the first.
Paden City scored with 1:48 left in the quarter after a six-play drive when senior Matt Saxon grabbed a 25-yard scoring strike from senior quarterback/running back Ryan Cross to tie the game. Cross then added the two-point conversion run, and the Wildcats had the lead for keeps.
The score remained 8-6 through out the first half, but Paden City flexed its muscle in the second half, getting 28 third quarter points to get win. At the 10:23 point of the third Cross went into the end zone on a 14-yard keeper and then tacked on another conversion run to up the lead to 16-6. On the kick off to the Blue Devils Saxon came up with a big play as he ripped the ball from Beallsville and carried it to the 14 before being dragged down. On the next play, with only 19 seconds off the clock since his last score, Cross added another 14-yard run to lift the Wildcats to a 22-6 lead.
The ‘Cats defense held Beallsville to three and out and then took over for a drive, ending in a three-yard touchdown run by Shreves with 2:09 still left in the third. With the score at 28-6, on Beallsville’s next possesion, the Wildcats forced a fumble and with 1:33 to go in the third, Cross connected with Saxon on a 43-yard strike to paydirt. Cross got another conversion run, and the Wildcats were up 36-6. The fourth quarter was scoreless for both teams, and Beallsville finished their season at 1-9.
“This was a nice win for us. I’m proud of how hard the kids played in these type of conditions. Our seniors really stepped it up; they wanted the win tonight, and their efforts proved it. Beallsville has some big kids on that team, but we were quicker and as a result, we were able to make some big plays. We’re going to work this week to try and get another win against a pretty good Valley team. We’re in pretty good shape as far as injuries are concerned, so we’ll go out and give it our best shot and hopefully finish the season on a positive note,” said Coach Brent Croasmun.
Paden City got a 10-19 passing effort from Cross for two touchdowns, and he rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, while tacking on three conversion runs. Saxon caught seven passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns, and Shreves picked up 54 yards rushing and a touchdown and hauled in three receptions for 30 yards. The Wildcats had 13 first downs, compared to eight for Beallsville. The Wildcats had a total of 400 yards, compared to the visitors’ 215. The Wildcats lost one of five fumbles while recovering two of Beallsville’s three.
The Wildcats will travel to Valley on Friday for the annual meeting of the two teams, starting at 7 p.m. Both teams are setting on 2-7 records. This writer’s take on the game is Wildcats 28, Valley 18.