Aaron Pugh
Contributing Writer
The Pocahontas County High School Warriors had a tall order in trying to stop the #2 ranked Cavaliers of Greenbrier West. The Cavaliers have been able to run and score at will against all their opponents this season. The Warriors faced the same as other teams.
The final score of 0-58 is hard to swallow, but doesn’t do justice to the Warriors who forced the Cavaliers to go to the air for a lot of their scores and the final two scores came during JV play in the fourth quarter.
The Warriors were able to hold the Cavaliers to one score in the first quarter and physically held up against the Cavalier onslaught. But the depth and strength of the Warriors gave out early with injuries taking a toll, and the Cavalier one-two punch of air and ground game winning out.
The Warriors were stymied offensively.
Leading on the ground for the Warriors was Senior QB #10 Keaton Baldwin with eight carries for 10 yards. The JV running backs added to the stats, as Sophomores #11 Evan Hamrick had two carries for five yards and #9 Nacota Smith had three for five.
Passing was hampered by the constant blitz of the Cavaliers, but Baldwin was able to connect with Senior #8 Haiden Gladwell for 22 yards on three completions of 16 attempts.
The Warriors did improve in some key areas.
They had no turnovers on the night, while forcing two against the Cavaliers. They had only one penalty and were able to function defensively against a very strong and experienced team.
The Warriors will travel to Franklin October 16 to face another adversary, the Pendleton County Wildcats.
