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In the win column: Big Reds hold on to beat Hurricane, 21-20

By Kerry Patrick 6 min read

PARKERSBURG -- The point differential won't turn any heads. Yet, Parkersburg enters rivalry week feeling better about themselves with its first win under its belt after slipping by Hurricane 21-20 Friday night at Stadium Field.

"Winning solves a lot of ailments," PHS coach Matt Kimes said after his Big Reds improved to 1-2 with a date at Parkersburg South set for next Friday. "Whether it's one point or 20 points, it's a win and we are going to take it. Obviously, we are not going to feel bad about winning and hopefully we can ride the momentum into next week.

"We won't have any trouble getting our kids fired up to play next week. There's tons of distractions during rivalry week, but that's what high school football is all about. We'll be ready for a good game."

Coming off a 66-point shutout defeat against George Washington in its season-opener last week, Hurricane just about pulled off the road victory. Trailing 21-14 in the fourth quarter, Redskin quarterback Isaiah Kutcher rushed for his third touchdown of the game with 6:40 remaining in regulation.

Both placekickers were perfect for a combined five extra points until the Redskins' had their point after go wide-right on the final TD of the night. PHS maintained a slim 21-20 lead, but Hurricane forced the Big Reds to punt on the ensuing drive and appeared headed for a possible go-ahead score.

Taking over at the PHS 42 with four-plus minutes showing, Kutscher rushed for what appeared to be a first down. A yellow hanky appeared on the field of play and the Redskins were backed up five yards into a third-and-7

On the very next play, Kutscher found receiver Riley Armstrong open down the middle inside the red zone. However, Hurricane was penalized for a second straight time and again the Redskins went in reverse and faced third-and-12.

The PHS defense then clamped down and pushed the Redskins back another three yards on a rushing attempt and an incompletion on fourth down. Hurricane had no timeouts remaining and PHS went into victory formation for two kneel downs as the clock expired.

"We fought, but what a performance by Hurricane," Kimes said. "They kind of took one on the chin last week and it could have been real easy for them not to show up and not compete. But they did.

"Those guys had a chance to beat us and knock us off. We had to hang on. We made a couple of plays at the end."

After failing to put any points on the board on an eight-play drive to open the game, Hurricane was given a wake-up call when Big Reds' Gavin Bowman took the second play from scrimmage to the house for 80 yards. Bowman finished with a game-high 123 yards on just five carries.

PHS nearly had two backs reach the century mark as Alex Greer gained 81 yards on 17 rushes.

"Historically, within the past two years, when somebody gets up on us we lose momentum and we shut it down a little bit," Hurricane coach Dusty Hatfield said. "I think that first Parkersburg touchdown sparked our kids. We got the ball back and scored, so the team changed overnight today. I think we took a big leap forward even though we didn't get the win.

"On that final drive, we get two penalties when it looked like they really couldn't stop us - we were moving down the field. We had an opportunity to win it and we just were a little bit short."

After Bowman's TD, the PHS lead was short-lived as Hurricane on consecutive possessions in the first quarter - both on a 2-yard QB sneak from Kutscher, who ended the game rushing 26 times for 105 yards and completing 13-of-26 passes for 155 yards. As the first period came to a close, PHS trailed 14-7.

"Isaiah really struggled in our first game - we were going against a good team and maybe it's first-game jitters," Hatfield said. "Tonight, he played outstanding. He ran it. He threw it. He was a leader. I'm super proud of him. I look forward to seeing what he can do the rest of the season."

After running a grand total of seven plays from scrimmage in the first quarter compared to 28 for Hurricane, the PHS offense showed signs of life in the second period. The Big Reds covered 52 yards in nine plays - capped by Daleon Evans' 8-yard TD run with 4:04 remaining before halftime for a 14-14 tie.

On their second drive of the third quarter, PHS took the lead for good at 21-14. The Big Reds opened the drive at their own 19 but took nearly half the field out of play when sophomore quarterback Noah Smith connected with Austin Craven for a 44-yard reception.

Several plays later on first down at the Hurricane 15, Smith rolled to his right and found Brady Thorn for the TD with 3:02 still remaining in the period.

As for the pace of the game, especially in the second half, trainers raced onto the field play after play to attend to players cramping. On occasion, multiple players from the same team were being treated at different parts of the field.

As a result of the delays, when the clock hit zero for the final time, the 11 o'clock hour was approaching.

"It wasn't as hot as the first couple of weeks, but my goodness it was super humid," Hatfield said. "It was steamy out here. And it happened to both teams. It was skill guys and even some linemen.

"But hats off to Parkersburg. I really have a lot of appreciation for those coaches there. It was a heck of a game."

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com

Parkersburg 21, Hurricane 20

HHS (0-2) 14 0 0 6 - 20

PHS (3-0) 7 7 7 0 - 21

First Quarter

PHS: Gavin Bowman 80 run (Cole Sisk kick), 8:10

H: Isaiah Kutscher 2 run (Paxton Bocook kick), 3:05

H: Kutscher 2 run (Bocook kick), 0:49

Second Quarter

PHS: Daleon Evans 8 run (Sisk kick), 4:04

Third Quarter

PHS: Brady Thorn 15 pass from Noah Smith (Sisk kick), 3:02

Fourth Quarter

H: Kutscher 1 run (kick failed), 6:40

Team Statistics

Hurricane. First down: 16. Rushes-yards: 42-185. Passing yards: 155. Total yards: 340. Passing: 13-26-0.

PHS. First down: 12. Rushes-yards: 28-249. Passing yards: 81. Total yards: 330. Passing: 6-14-0.

Individual Leaders

Hurricane. Rushing: Isaiah Kutscher 26-105, Tyler Lauerman 9-39, Riley Armstrong 4-41, Justin Tucker 4-0. Passing: Kutscher 13-26-0, 155 yards. Receiving: Dylan Wyden 7-75, Riley Armstrong 3-63.

PHS. Rushing: Gavin Bowman 5-123, Alex Greer 17-81, Eli Cheuvront 1-22, Daleon Evans 2-14, Cole Sisk 1-6, Noah Smith 2-6. Passing: Noah Smith 6-14-0, 81 yards; Greer 0-3-0. Receiving: Austin Craven 2-49, Brady Thorn 2=22, Greer 1-8, Evans 1-2

Next game: Parkersburg at Parkersburg South, Friday; Huntington at Hurricane, Friday

Starting at /week.