Mitchell B. Koerber
Student Sports Journalist
The Pocahontas County High School Homecoming game did not go as expected.
“I think we could have played better, but we had fun.” Warrior Harley Bennett said about the 67 – 12 loss to the Wirt County Tigers.
Everyone was excited to see a fist-pumping match up for PCHS but were left quite disappointed by the harsh outcome. Despite the score, there were still some great plays from our courageous Warriors.
This year’s Homecoming started off with a bang. An “exciting time” was an understatement, as the week featured all the normal Homecoming activities – parades, bon-fires, etc. The game, on Friday night, even included the delivery of the game ball via helicopter. The fans didn’t disappoint either, as a large crowd gathered at Warrior Field.
As for the action on the field, the game saw some fireworks, as well. Sophomore, #3 Morgan Beverage leapt to catch an outstanding touchdown pass 9-yards away from Sophomore, #9 Gavin Delair, during the first quarter. Continuing our sophomore highlights, #34 Austin Price, runs the ball with animalistic speed and makes a tremendous and titanic 44-yard touchdown. But the Warriors would suffer an excruciating blow, when early in the game, Sophomore, #1 Logan Keatley and Junior, #5 Haydon Moore would both go down with injuries. Keatley with an Injury to his knee and Moore with the same ankle injury he suffered in the Greenbrier West game in week 4.
“We started off good but got down in the second half,” said Junior Jacob Bennett. “Some of our best players, Haydon and Logan, got hurt. We’ve just got to keep working as a team.” Bennett also commented on the consequences of last year missing the off-season workouts.
“Last year, we didn’t really hit weights much. We [have] got to keep progressing over the winter and off-season.”
The lack of off season training last year is producing what seems to be a recurring theme. The Warriors fight hard and can hang with the other schools for the first half, but their bench isn’t deep, and they are not in the best condition due the lack of workouts from last year.
The fans, however, were able to witness some new talent.
Freshman, #73 Harley Bennett, late in the game played excellent on the defensive line. He made multiple tackles and really impressed the coaches. His future looks very bright as a lineman for the Warriors.
The team will travel to Pendleton County this week to face the 4-2 Wildcats. Game time is at 7 p.m.