Nicholas County mauls PikeView
PikeView (6) vs. Nicholas County (45)
Written: Nov 01, 2014
By CAM HUFFMAN
for the Daily Telegraph
SUMMERSVILLE — Nicholas County’s schedule may not be enough to earn the Grizzlies a first-round home game, but that hasn’t stopped NCHS from trying to make a statement.
The Class AA No. 9 Grizzlies (8-1) won their eighth straight Friday night, controlling PikeView from the opening kick to win 45-6 on a soggy senior night in Summersville.
“We got a little bit of an early jump on them, and we just kind of coasted in in the second half,” said Nicholas County head coach Gene Morris. “We gave it to our offensive line and just let them pound it in.
“You like nights like this when you can honor your seniors for what they’ve done.”
While the second half was little more than a formality, Nicholas County made its point in the opening half, especially on defense, where the Grizzlies have given up just 93 points all season.
PikeView (2-8), which saw its season come to an end on the wet turf at Memorial Stadium, had no answer for the aggressive NCHS defense and was held to just 15 yards of total offense on 18 plays through the first two quarters. Five of those 18 plays went for negative yards.
The Grizzly offense, meanwhile, was sharp, scoring five first-half touchdowns to put the game away with a 33-0 halftime advantage.
Will Mayes, finished with 104 yards and three touchdowns on the ground in what could be his final home game, despite spending the entire second half on the sideline. Fellow senior Jacob Hopkins, who got the start behind center, was responsible for the other two first-half scores — one with his arm and one with his feet. He also spent the final two quarters watching the backups.
“He’s been nursing a leg injury, but hopefully by the time we get to the playoffs, he’ll be 100 percent,” said Morris, who gave Hopkins the start over Tate Mayes in his final home game and was rewarded for the decision. “He’s getting a little better each week.”
Tyler Hamrick caught the 11-yard touchdown strike early in the second quarter and Hopkins ran one in from 11 yards out six minutes later, leaving only the final score in doubt.
With backups all over the field in the second half, the Grizzlies continued to dominate. They added two more touchdowns on a 2-yard Matt Moore run and a 1-yard plunge from Cristian Frame-Hunt to extend the lead to 45-0, before PikeView’s Joe Jennings took away the shutout with a 27-yard touchdown run with 40 seconds to play.
Still, Nicholas County allowed only 72 yards of total offense in a dominant performance. Ty Hoston rushed for 80 yards on 16 carries, but five other Panthers finished with negative rushing yards.
“It’s not as much my scheme as it is their attitude,” said Morris of his defense. “They like to play defense, and they like to hustle and run to the football. We had guys that made mistakes, and they weren’t happy about it. They know they can get better, and that’s what you like.
“They’ve invested a lot into this football program, and it’s showing up.”
Nicholas County will end the regular season Friday against Class A rival Richwood. The Lumberjacks, though, won’t likely give the Grizzlies the points they’ll need to move into the top eight in order to get a first-round home game, unless they get a lot of help from other teams.
PikeView.............................0 0 0 6 — 6
Nicholas County...............13 20 6 6 — 45
First Quarter
NC — Wil Mayes 1 run (Tate Mayes kick blocked), 7:56
NC — Will Mayes 9 run (Tate Mayes kick), 0:19
Second Quarter
NC — Tyler Hamrick 11 pass from Jacob Hopkins (Tate Mayes kick), 10:47
NC — Hopkins 11 run (Tate Mayes kick fails), 4:49
NC — Will Mayes 6 run (Tate Mayes kick), 1:10
Third Quarter
NC — Matt Moore 2 run (Tate Mayes kick blocked), 4:50
Fourth Quarter
NC — Cristian Frame-Hunt 1 run (Tate Mayes kick blocked), 3:59
PV — Joe Jennings 27 run (Alec White kick), 0:40
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — PV, Ty Hoston 16-80, Joe Jennings 6-28, Justin Hopper 7-(minus-34), Adam Holdren 1-(minus-5), Nick Shrewsbury 3-9, Takota Bailey 1-(minus-5), Hunter Mitchelson 1-(minus-2), Hunter Palmer 1-(minus-1). NC, Jacob Hopkins 9-42, Wil Mayes 15-104, Jacob Grose 2-2, Josh Jarvis 2-8, Matt Moore 6-39, Tate Mayes 2-7, Austin Riffle 5-16, Cristian Frame-Hunt 12-22, Troy Jackson 1-1.
PASSING — PV, Justin Hopper 1-7-1-2. NC, Jacob Hopkins 9-13-0-145.
RECEIVING — PV, No. 7 1-2. NC, Carter Sebert-Sweeney 4-55, Jacob Grose 1-20, Caleb Simms 1-34, Tyler Hamrick 1-11, Wil Mayes 2-25..
TAKEAWAYS — PV, none. NC, Troy Jackson (FR), Jared Gregory (FR), Zach Payne (INT).
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