Breaking News
Local Sports

Prep football roundup: Keen’s big night fuels Rebels

By From staff reports 5 min read

ELLENBORO -- Jenner Keen scored six total touchdowns to help lead Ritchie County to a 52-32 victory over Braxton County on Friday.

Keen carried 17 times for 201 yards and three touchdowns, caught three passes for 106 yards and two more TDs, and also returned a fumble 44 yards to the house for the Rebels, who improved to 6-3 on the year. They'll visit Calhoun County next week to wrap up the regular season.

Braxton (4-5) actually jumped out to a quick 12-0 first-quarter lead after touchdown runs by Logan Payne (44 yards) and Jackson Lewis (17 yards), but Keen's scoop-and-score preceded his 34-yard scoring scamper to make it 14-12 Rebels after one. Noah Shoemaker's 19-yard touchdown run extended the lead to 20-12 at halftime.

Brady Toler found the end zone twice in the third quarter to get Braxton within two, 26-24, but Isaiah Poole scored from 5 yards out to put RCHS up 32-24 entering the fourth.

Three straight touchdowns by Keen in the final period stretched the lead to 50-24 to put the game away.

Payne led the Eagles, who host Clay County next week, with 101 yards and two TDs on 15 carries.

Poole carried 16 times for 83 yards for Ritchie. Landen Hanlon completed 6 out of 10 pass attempts for 162 yards and two TDs. He was intercepted once by Gaebriel Mowery. Jake Waugaman had a pick on defense for Ritchie.

Doddridge County 28, Lincoln 14

WEST UNION -- Corben Hall found the end zone three times in the fourth quarter to help Doddridge County claim a 28-14 win over Lincoln on Friday at Cline Stansberry Field.

Doddridge got on the board first with 5:42 left in the first half. A 23-yard carry by Hall followed by Evan Cross's 18-yard pass to Aaron Glaspell put the ball at Lincoln's 29-yard line. Four plays later, the Bulldogs faced a fourth-and-2 at the 21. Head coach Bobby Burnside elected to go for it, and Cross cashed in with a touchdown pass to Heston Hayes.

Ryder Mitchell's interception on a deep pass helped preserve the shutout going into halftime.

DCHS threatened again late in the half, but Cross was intercepted by Connor Rice.

The Cougars, who dropped to 5-4, tied it up at 7-all on Colton Edwards' 22-yard run early in the fourth. However, back-to-back TD runs by Hall -- one from 12 yards out and another from 23 -- staked the Bulldogs to a 21-7 lead with 5:22 to go.

Connor Rice's 3-yard scoring burst got Lincoln back within seven with 3:01 remaining, but Doddridge answered right back on a 55-yard TD scamper by Hall to put the game away.

DCHS improved to 7-2 with Mingo Central coming to town next week for the regular-season finale.

Magnolia 38, Valley 26

NEW MARTINSVILLE -- Trailing 20-14 entering the fourth quarter, Magnolia used a 24-0 to rally past Valley for a 38-26 victory Friday night.

Ethaniel Harlan ran for three touchdowns on the night, including two in the fourth quarter. His 6-yard scoring scamper, plus Brycen Postlethwait's two-point pass to Brody Vargo, gave the Blue Eagles a 22-20 lead at the 10:22 mark.

Willie Valentin added a 56-yard scoop-and-score to extend the lead before Harlan found the end zone again from 3 yards out with 3:33 remaining.

Harlan finished with 111 yards on 19 carries. Greg Moore led the Magnolia rushing attack with 193 yards and a touchdown on 19 attempts. Postlethwait was 11 for 15 passing for 71 yards.

The Lumberjacks, who dropped to 2-6, took a 14-8 halftime lead on touchdown runs by Gaige Wichterman (9 yards) and Koleton Kincaid (60 yards). Wichterman found the end zone twice in the second half.

Magnolia improved to 3-6 and will entertain Clay-Battelle in next week's regular-season finale.

Webster County 35, Calhoun County 14

UPPER GLADE -- Ryder Wright was unstoppable on the ground in Webster County's 35-14 win over Calhoun County on Friday.

The Highlander running back carried 35 times for 323 yards and scored all five touchdowns for WCHS, which improved to 5-4.

The Red Devils (4-5) actually led 14-7 at halftime thanks to a pair of rushing TDs by Rome Riddel, but Webster countered with 28 unanswered points in the second half. Wright had scoring scampers of 16, 4, 69, 7 and 35 yards.

Riddel finished with 72 yards on 15 carries, but Trevor Mayle led the way for Calhoun with 106 yards on 23 attempts.

Calhoun plays host to Ritchie County in next week's regular-season finale.

Strasburg-Franklin 56, Frontier 21

STRASBURG, Ohio -- A couple critical mistakes doomed Frontier in Friday's Division VII, Region 27 playoff matchup with Strasburg-Franklin.

Up 7-6, the Cougars muffed a punt deep in their own territory which led to a 1-yard touchdown run by Keizer Thomas. Later in the half, Frontier trailed 28-14 when the Tigers scored two touchdowns in the final 14 seconds to make it 42-14 at the break. They went on to win 56-21 to end Frontier's season.

Austyn Kephart's 3-yard touchdown run with 2:42 left in the second got the Cougars (5-6) within 14. They were 14 seconds away from keeping the deficit there at the break, but Brody Baughman scored on a 6-yard run to make it a three-score game. Then, Frontier attempted a long pass in the final seconds of the half, but Baughman picked it off and returned it 96 yards to the house -- a backbreaker for the Cougars.

Kephart connected with Phoenix Nedley on a 24-yard touchdown pass out of halftime, but Micah McVey answered with a pair of scoring runs in the fourth quarter to put it away.

Kephart rushed 10 times for 50 yards, caught four passes for 39 yards and accounted for three touchdowns. Luke Mendenhall was 9 for 18 for 97 passing yards. He threw one touchdown and was intercepted twice.

Thomas, Baughman and McVey scored two touchdowns apiece for Strasburg (8-3), which heads to Toronto next week. Baughman also threw two TD passes to Braxton Goehring, who caught eight balls for 139 yards. Baughman was 17 for 24 for 240 yards.

OTHER AREA SCORES:

Ripley 56, Greenbrier East 14

Roane County 73, Poca 20

St. Marys 35, Liberty 28

Tolsia 28, Wirt County 6

Tyler Consolidated 40, Ravenswood 7

Wahama 73, Gilmer County 8

Starting at /week.