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South drops season opener to Wheeling Park, 28-21

By Kerry Patrick 7 min read

PARKERSBURG - Parkersburg South learned the hard way. Arm tackles don't work at the high school level.

Those were the impressions given by South interim coach Bryan Youngblood as Wheeling Park's offense produced 415 yards - including 322 through the air by third-year starting quarterback Jay Bordas - in a 28-21 win Friday night in the season-opener for both teams at Erickson All-Sports Facility.

"Wheeling Park ran through a lot of our arm tackles," said Youngblood, who was filling in for South head coach Larry Thompson. Thompson was serving out the final of a three-game suspension. "We need to focus on fundamental tackling and hitting low."

Based on the first quarter, Wheeling Park was feeling fortunate to be tied 7-7 at halftime. In the opening period, WP managed just three yards of total offense.

Yet, WP rallied from a 14-7 deficit on the strength of two touchdowns in the final six-plus minutes of the fourth quarter.

"We know we have a young team and we know we are going to have some peaks and valleys," WP coach Chris Daugherty said. "We didn't necessarily expect to start in the valley, but we did.

"I was really proud of the guys. I told them at halftime I don't know if we could have played any worse in the first quarter and be at 7-7 at halftime. That was a win for us."

South refused to go away at any point in the second half - even when down 21-14. Following a chaotic chain of events over the course of three plays, first-year starting quarterback Logen Arnold connected on a short pass to Jaqwae Brown, who shed numerous would-be tacklers along the sidelines for a 78-yard touchdown.

Josiah Swiger's interception for South, which came one play after a pick by WP's Michael Nieder, set up South's final score which tied the game at 21-21 with 4:07 remaining in regulation.

WP crossed midfield on the ensuing drive. On fourth-and-5 from the 37-yard line, Bordas' keeper was roadblocked with a hit out of bounds one yard shy of the first down marker.

After South went three-and-out, only 1:19 remained on the clock with the WP taking over at its own 25. On second down, Bordas found Liam Wetzel open for two straight completions covering 37 yards. Wetzel finished the game with 10 catches for 104 yards.

One play later, Bordas connected with the same individual who dropped a pass near the end zone earlier in the quarter. Nieder split a pair of defenders down the middle of the field and raced 43 yards for the game-winner. The clock read 20.3 seconds.

A touchback off the legs of freshman placekicker Kallon Tipton pinned South deep. A loss of two yards capped by a pair of incomplete passes ran off the final ticks.

"Our kids played with heart, but in many phases of the game we beat ourselves," Youngblood said. "There were a few critical situations where we could not get off the field on third down. There were some blown assignments on offense. There were some blown assignments on defense.

"We played behind the sticks a little bit too much. We left a lot of points on the table. Going forward, there's a lot of promise. There's a silver lining to everything. We keep leaning on the kids, working on fundamentals and you know we are going to come away with some wins this year."

South had to keep tabs on a multitude of WP receivers, including Preston Heatherington who dialed in eight receptions for 106 yards. Nieder finished with 86 yards on three receptions, while Tatum Justice added his name to the hat with two catches, including a 35-yarder which resulted in WP's first touchdown three minutes into the second quarter.

"The main thing is we stuck together," said Bordas, who ended the first quarter 2-for-4 with 13 yards passing before finishing with 23 completions on 29 attempts with two interceptions. "You can't hang your head on mistakes. We are a team and football is the ultimate team game. Offensively, it took all 11 of us so you just pick each other up after every mistake.

"On that last drive, the only thing I was thinking about was getting the 'W.' And that's what we did. Coming through like we did shows a lot about every one of us and our character, and how we stick together when things get tough."

Among South players causing issues for WP in the first quarter was linebacker Asher Prunty. The junior sacked Bordas for an 8-yard loss on the game's opening drive. On another drive later in the period, Prunty applied heavy pressure in the backfield and caused an intentional grounding and a grand total of minus-16 yards on the play to push WP backward to its own 4 and a first-and-26 situation.

On its second offensive series of the game, receiver Logan Graham was the chief benefactor of a tipped pass. His 35-yard touchdown reception put South in front 7-0 with 3:31 still remaining in the first quarter.

Of the missed assignments mentioned by the South coach, one in particular found Justice wide-open for the 35-yard touchdown catch which tied the game at 7-7 early in the second quarter.

In the second half, South didn't waste any time on offense. On the first play from scrimmage, Kooper Jackson busted out toward the left sidelines and outraced everyone for a 68-yard TD. The senior finishedthe game with 140 yards on 15 carries.

"Over time, I think our guys figured out they had to rally to stop number eight," Daugherty said. "They just had to wrap him up and they started doing that (in the second half."

Only one game into the season and already South will be preparing for Homecoming Week next Friday when University pays a visit.

"Homecoming can be a distraction and a motivation - you definitely want to win your homecoming game because you know you will have alumni coming in," Youngblood said. "University is a tough team. Webattled them last year.

"But we have to clean up the stuff that we were lax on with Park. Arm tackles don't work at the high school level. Kids are going to run through those tackles and University will take advantage, so we need to clean that up."

At Erickson All-Sports Facility

Wheeling Park 28, Parkersburg South 21

WP (1-0) 0 7 7 14 - 28

South (0-1) 7 0 7 7 - 21

First Quarter

PS: Logan Graham 35 pass from Logen Arnold (Wyatt Bartley kick), 3:31

Second Quarter

WP: Tatum Justice 35 pass from Jay Bordas (Kallen Tipton kick), 8:52

Third Quarter

PS: Kooper Jackson 68 run (Bartley kick), 11:36

WP: Hunter Miller 1 run (Tipton kick), 3:14

Fourth Quarter

WP: Michael Nieder 16 pass from Bordas (Tipton kick), 6:25

PS: Jaqwae Brown 78 pass from Arnold (Bartley kick), 4:07

WP: Nieder 43 pass from Bordas (Tipton kick), 0:20.3

Team Stats

Wheeling Park. First downs: 19. Rushing: 40-93. Passing Yards: 322. Total yards: 415. Passing: 23-29-2. Fumbles: 2-1

South. First downs: 10. Rushing: 26-146. Passing yards: 188. Total yards: 334. Passing: 16-28-1. Fumbles: 2-0.

Individual Stats

Wheeling Park. Rushing: Hunter Miller 27-85, Tayton Pilkington 2-6, Jay Bordas 11-0. Passing: Bordas 23-29-2, 322 yards, 3 TDs. Receiving: Preston Heatherington 8-106, Liam Wetzel 10-104, Tatum Justice 2-35, Michael Nieder 3-86, Logan Wilson 1-7.

South. Rushing: Kooper Jackson 15-140, Asa Yost 3-15, Jaqwae Brown 2-5, Logen Arnold 5-(minus-1), James Lattea 1-(-13). Passing: Arnold 16-28-1, 188 yards, 2 TDs. Receiving: Jaqwae Brown 4-83, Logan Graham 4-65, Ledger Corwin 2-27, Josiah Swiger 1-10, Asher Prunty 1-4, Titan Baruwa 1-2, Kooper Jackson 2-0.

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