September 20, 2008
Lantz's extra-point kick lifts Parkersburg
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Unlike Pat McAfee in Thursday night's West Virginia-Colorado game, Parkersburg kicker Jeff Lantz got a second chance and he made it count.

Lantz hit the winning extra point in overtime Friday night as the Big Reds edged Riverside 35-34 at Stadium Field in Parkersburg. Lantz had missed a potential game-winning 33-yard field goal with 1.7 seconds left in regulation.

After the teams battled to a 28-all standoff through four quarters, the Warriors (2-2) went first in OT and took the lead on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Seth Shanklin to Raheem Waiters. But Chris Inghram's PAT kick missed wide right, giving the Big Reds the ball down 34-28.

Chris Row's 1-yard run pulled the Big Reds even on their ensuing possession, then Lantz was true on his extra point, sending Parkersburg (1-3) to its first victory of the season and helping the Big Reds avoid the first 0-4 start in over 100 seasons of football.

After being dissected for 500 yards of total offense by South Charleston last week, the Big Reds turned back the clock, showing signs of the defense Big Reds fans are used to seeing, holding a talented Warriors team to 272 yards of offense while racking up 320 total yards of their own.

Parkersburg jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the second quarter when Row scored on a 43-yard pass from Matt Newlon. On the ensuing kickoff, Riverside answered as Isaac Crews ran 95 yards for a touchdown.

The Warriors scored again to tie the game on a 5-yard pass from Shanklin to Waiters, only to see Parkersburg's Derek Wenzel respond with a 91-yard kickoff return of his own for a score.

Parkersburg's Christian Ong led all rushers with 18 carries for 128 yards. Row added to the Big Reds rushing attack with 11 carries for 58 yards and two touchdowns including the game winner.

For Riverside, Waiters had six catches for 54 yards and two touchdowns, and Marvin Belcher racked up 107 yards on 17 carries.

  • HURRICANE 55, HUNTINGTON 34: Entering the fourth quarter up by just a touchdown in a back-and-forth scoring affair, Hurricane's Kyle Cooper made game-changing plays on both sides of the ball to sway the advantage for the visiting Redskins at Sang Field Friday evening.
  • Cooper intercepted a pass from Huntington's Tyler Hutchison and returned it 45 yards to give the Redskins great field position, leading to one of three fourth-quarter Redskin touchdowns. The senior rushed for 101 yards on 14 carries, including Hurricane's final TD in the fourth quarter to give the Class AAA No. 5 Redskins (3-0) the lead for good. He also scored an earlier TD.

    The Redskins relied on 367 yards on the ground, highlighted by Terrell Martin, the Mountain State Athletic Conference's third-leading rusher, who gained 168 yards on 22 carries and four touchdowns.

    The Highlanders' C.J. Crawford split passing duties with Hutchison. Crawford was 3-for-4 passing for 25 yards and averaged more than 10 yards per carry, collecting 109 yards on nine attempts with two rushing touchdowns. The senior also caught a 33-yard touchdown pass from Hutchison to keep the Highlanders (0-4) close.

  • MATEWAN 37, BUFFALO 12: Joshua Sammons threw a pair of touchdown passes - one a 95-yarder to Max Whitt - and the visiting Tigers remained unbeaten by breaking the game open in the fourth quarter.
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