Parkersburg High School opens Matt Kimes era with dominant win vs. St. Albans
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PARKERSBURG -- Six different players found the end zone for first-year head coach Matt Kimes here Friday night at Stadium Field as the Big Reds pitched their first shutout at home since 2014 following a 52-0 drubbing of St. Albans.
The St. Albans offense never got going after electing to take the ball after winning the toss.
PHS, which welcomes in Riverside next Friday evening, forced a three-and-out on the Red Dragons' opening series and took possession at the 20 following a 1-yard punt.
Anthony Ice, who had three catches for a game-high 85 yards, went in motion and took a handoff from signal-caller David Parsons and darted around the end for an 8-yard TD run.
That lead quickly went to 14-0 when Red Dragon quarterback Eli Samples was sandwiched by Andrew Williamson and Andrew Stalnaker, which forced a fumble. Austin Fleming was in the right place at the right time and grabbed the ball after one hop. He then did a spin move and sprinted into the end zone for a 20-yard score and it was 14-0 after Casey Stanley's second extra point with 7:19 still left in the first.
"I picked the ball up and ran into the end zone, touchdown," said Fleming, who had two catches for 38 stripes as a tight end. "I just picked it up and scored. It was a fast reaction.
"I just picked it up and scored. It was a great feeling. This is Kimes' first game as a Big Red. It's my senior season and it feels great to beat them by 52. It feels great to start the season off like that."
SAHS, which heads to Nitro next Friday, had a chance at putting some points on the board in the first quarter. However, Benjamin Blackwell's 33-yard field goal was no good. The drive was set up by a Darion Davis fumble recovery.
Thanks to a blown coverage, Ice and Parsons hooked up for a 67-yard catch-and-run. Matthew Stalnaker then scored a 17-yard TD on a slant from Parsons to make it 21-0 with 13.9 ticks to go in the first.
Williamson ended the Red Dragons' next possession on the first play when he intercepted Samples. Fleming had a 26-yard grab and Aidyn Cooke bolted 15 yards to paydirt and it was 28-0 just eight ticks into the second.
Parsons, who hit 9 of 12 attempt for 188 yards in the first half and only played one series in the third before giving way to Cooper Cancade, ran an option keep and scored from 14 yards out midway through the second.
PHS led 45-0 at intermission thanks to a Logan Hartshorn 2-yard TD burst as well as a Stanley 46-yard field goal. The boot, which would've been good from 55 yards, was set up when Quayvon Cyrus forced a fumble and Fleming recovered.
"I felt like we were prepared to compete," admitted coach Kimes. “I told them that we need to play at a certain standard and always compete at a high level, and I think we did that consistently. Total team effort, proud of all the guys.
"We spread the ball around and everyone who got touches made plays. Great atmosphere, grateful for the community support. It was a great way to start my tenure at my alma mater. Feel good to be 1-0, but we have to get back to work."
The only six-pointer of the second half came on Cooke's 2-yard TD run early in the fourth. Connor Gribble drilled the extra point.
St. Albans was driving late in the game with a running clock, but lost possession when Eli Bauman sacked backup QB Andrew Thomas and teammate Jerome Williams recovered.
PHS, which had its last home shutout back in 2014 against Woodrow Wilson in the Don Reeves era, held a 341-53 advantage in total yards as SAHS finished with 0 yards rushing on 22 attempts.
Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com