Beavers dash past Red Devils
Bluefield (77) vs. Oak Hill (14)
Written: Oct 25, 2014
By BOB REDD
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
BLUEFIELD — The Bluefield Beavers unleashed a massive ground attack, running for 480 yards and exorcised the Oak Hill Red Devils 77-14, Friday night at Mitchell Stadium.
On Senior Night, seniors D.J. Stewart ran for 170 yards and two scores and Corey Coppola picked up 117 yards and one touchdown. Stewart toted the pigskin only four times and Coppola carried the ball on eight occasions. Stewart surpassed the 1,000 yard mark on the season with his rushing efforts.
“They (seniors) have made a great contribution, whether it’s by playing or being examples and they are doing their best to do the right thing and that is all we can ask of them. I am proud of them,” said Bluefield High head coach Fred Simon with regard to the 11 seniors who played their last regular season game at Mitchell Stadium.
On the Beavers first play from scrimmage, after Oak Hill failed to pick up a first down on a fake punt attempt, Stewart scampered 33 yards for the score. Tyler Easley’s kick made it 7-0.
Following a punt on Oak Hill’s second possession the Beavers, after a holding penalty nullified a Carlos Reed punt return for a score, took the ball at its own nine. Utilizing the ground game, the Beavers ran on all six plays, capped by Coppola’s four yard burst through the line for the score. Easley’s kick made it 14-0 midway through the opening period.
The Red Devils failed to move the ball and punted to Reed, who took the ball on his own 21 and did not stop running until he reached the end zone, 79 yards downfield to make it 20-0.
Bluefield was not finished scoring in the first quarter. Taking the ball at the Oak Hill 43 it took three plays before senior R.J. Bourne passed to senior Jordan Huckleberry for the score on a 32-yard pass play. Huckleberry caught the ball just past the line of scrimmage, broke free from an Oak Hill defender at the 15 and outran the defense to paydirt. Easley’s kick made it 27-0.
Less than a minute into the second quarter Stewart tacked more points on the board for the Beavers when he broke loose and raced untouched 79 yards for the score. Again Easley booted the PAT making the score 34-0. Less than two minutes later, Bourne dialed up a pass play with senior Marcus Santoro, good for 70 yards, making the score 40-0 after Easley’s extra point.
Seconds later Coppola intercepted a Deonte Scruggs pass and returned it 35 yards. The kick failed.
Scruggs put Oak Hill on the board on the ensuing drive, running 69 yards on a keeper Dominic Re booted the PAT.
The Beavers quickly moved the ball down the field and Mookie Collier, 30 seconds after Oak Hill’s score, ran the ball in from 15 yards out. Again the kick failed.
Bluefield’s final score of the half came with 30 seconds showing on the clock. Reed ran 16 yards to the end zone, capping an eight play drive that lasted three minutes — both the longest drive in terms of plays and time for Bluefield in the first half. At the break the Beavers led 59-7.
Taking the second half kick and utilizing reserves, the Beavers needed only two plays to drive from the Oak Hill 46 to the one, where senior Jordan Masterson bulled across the goal, 47 seconds into the half. The kick failed and Bluefield led 65-7.
I’m very happy that they (younger players) got in and got to do some things. I am very pleased, pleased with the effort of all of them, the starters on down the line,” Simon said. “It’s nice that the young ones got in. They practice and go to all the practices and the stuff we do. I’m pleased that the starters played well enough to be able to get them in.”
Bluefield starters have played four quarters in only one game this season. Asked whether or not stamina would be an issue with upcoming games against Wayne and the playoffs looming, Simon said, “You’ve got to play the had that’s dealt and we felt like we had scored enough points and done enough there.. We needed to get the young ones in because they’ve paid their dues. If they are not in shape (to play four quarters) when we get down the road it’s not their fault, it’s ours.”
The Red Devils scored on the first play of the fourth quarter, Scruggs connecting with Joey Re on a three-yard play. Dominic Re’s kick was true.
Bluefield’s final two touchdowns came from young Beavers. Marcus Mitchell ran 31 yards and Jason Edwards 35. Following both scores the Beavers took a knee on the two-point conversion.
In addition to Stewart’s 170 yards and Coppola’s 117, Mitchell added 76 and Reed 56 for the Beavers. Bourne completed 5-of-10 passes for 120 yards with a pair of touchdowns. Huckleberry was the top receiver, hauling in two balls with a touchdown. Santoro had 70 yards on one catch with a score. Bluefield finished with 600 yards (unofficial) of offense. Sophomore Johnathan Neese had an interception for Bluefield in the third quarter.
Scruggs accounted for 228 of Oak Hill’s 250 yards of offense, 112 on the ground and 116 in the air.
Oak Hill’s first-year coach Josh Blankenship said, “Our kids have played hard all year and we haven’t questioned our effort. The Scruggs kid has turned into a leader as a junior and he keeps us rolling and is an exciting player on the field.
“We’ve got a lot of young kids plus some of our older kids are inexperienced, just’ haven’t played a lot... Everybody is getting their hands wet and it has been a long season, but we are moving in the right direction.”
Bluefield improved to 7-1 with the win while Oak Hill fell to 1-7. Both teams are on the road next week, the Beavers at James Monroe, the Red Devils visiting Woodrow Wilson in Beckley.
At Mitchell Stadium
Oak Hill....................0 7 0 7 — 14
Bluefield.................27 32 7 12 — 77
First quarter
B - Stewart 33 yard run (Easley kick), 9:34
B - Coppola 4 yard run (Easley kick), 5:31
B - Reed 79 yard punt return (kick blocked), 3:27
B - Huckleberry 32 yard pass from Bourne (Easley kick), 1:27
Second quarter
B - Stewart 79 yard run (Easley kick), 10:57
B - Santoro 70 yard pass from Bourne (kick failed), 8:24
B - Coppola 35 yard interception return (kick failed), 6:12
OH - Scruggs 69 yard run (D. Re kick), 6:00
B - Collier 15 yard run (kick failed), 5:34
B - Reed 16 yard run (Easley kick), 0:30
Third quarter
B - Masterson 1 yard run (kick failed), 11:13
Fourth quarter
OH - J. Re 3 yard pass from Scruggs (D. Re kick), 11:54
B - Mitchell 31 yard run (run failed), 9:54
B - Edwards 35 yard run (run failed), 4:40
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Oak Hill: Scruggs 26-112, Miller 3-(-2), Dillon 3-(-11), Smith 13-44, J. Re 2-(-9). Bluefield: Stewart 4-170, Reed 4-56, Coppola 8-117, Bourne 1-(-1), Mitchell 11-76, Masterson 2-25, Collier 1-0, Edwards 2-35, Dowell 2-3, Neese 2-(-1).
Passing — Oak Hill: Scruggs 11-17-116. Bluefield Bourne 5-10-120
Receiving — Oak Hill: J. Re 7-103, Muse 1-2, Smith 2-14, Shreve 1-(-3). Bluefield: Santoro 1-70, Huckleberry 2-44, Dowell 1-6.
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