High School Football Roundup: Poca Cruises; Parkersburg Knocks Off Bluefield

Senior Ethan Payne, the 2019 Kennedy Award winner, ran for more than 200 yards with three touchdowns and added an interception on defense Friday as Class AA No. 16 Poca had no trouble with Class A No. 8 Buffalo in a 42-7 win.

The Dots (4-1) ran into some trouble moving the ball early on the road Friday, but benefited from a fumble returned for a touchdown in the second quarter to take a 21-0 lead into halftime.

The Bison (3-1) ate up most of the third quarter with a long drive that ended on the first play of the fourth quarter when quarterback Jackson England was intercepted by Payne at the one-yard line. Two plays later Payne took a handoff from Poca quarterback Jay Cook, cut right and raced 95 yards for a touchdown.

Toby Payne, a junior tight end for the Dots and the younger brother of Ethan Payne, also caught two touchdown passes in the win.

PARKERSBURG 29, BLUEFIELD 8

Defense led the way as the Big Reds shut down the Class AA No. 1 Beavers’ high-powered offense.

Parkersburg (4-2) took a 15-8 lead into the second quarter before adding a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to secure the win. For Bluefield (4-1), it was the first time the Beavers had been held to single-digits in scoring since 2011. Big Reds quarterback Bryson Singer accounted for four touchdowns in the win.

MORGANTOWN 55, PARKERSBURG SOUTH 21

Davon Eldridge ran for three touchdowns while teammates Caden Biser and Cam Rice each ran for two as Morgantown (1-2) collected its first win of 2020 on Friday.

As a team the Mohigans rolled up nearly 600 yards of offense — all of them on the ground. For South (1-6), quarterback Sam Schuler threw three touchdown passes in the loss.

SPRING VALLEY 41, OAK HILL 0

The Timberwolves (3-1) bounced back from last week’s upset loss at Fairmont Senior with a dominant effort at home against Oak Hill (2-1). Spring Valley held the Red Devils to just 20 yards in the first half en route to the easy win.

FRANKFORT 42, PETERSBURG 20

Four different Falcons’ running backs scored first half touchdowns as Frankfort cruised past the visiting Vikings. Frankfort (6-1) led 28-0 at halftime.

Sophomore Luke Robinette collected three interceptions for the Falcons, including one he returned for a touchdown.

For Petersburg (4-2), Jacob Perez, Cody Nuzum and Peyton Day each had touchdown runs in the loss.

WHEELING PARK 41, UNIVERSITY 28

Park trailed 21-10 early before scoring 31 consecutive points to win at University on Friday.

The Patriots (6-1) had two players — Steven Mitchell and Beau Heller — each score three touchdowns. For University (1-2), Eliki Barner ran for 185 yards to lead the Hawks while quarterback Chase Edwards threw three touchdown passes in the loss.

LINK: WVSN FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD