Published: September 09, 2008 08:15 pm            

Pirates strike early for 40-21 win; Greyhounds suffer narrow loss

K.C. Dempsey showed his heels to the Midland Trail Patriots, and Dempsey’s Fayetteville Pirates proceeded to show why they’re considered one of the state’s best single-A football teams.

Dempsey’s 88-yard scoring return down the right sideline of the opening kickoff gave Fayetteville an early boost, and the Pirates built up a 27-0 halftime margin en route to a 40-21 win over their Fayette County rival. Fayetteville scored on five of six possessions in the opening half Friday at Fletcher Arritt Memorial Stadium, putting the Patriots at a deficit from which they could never recover.

“That kickoff return was huge,” said Midland Trail coach Joe Dean. “We messed it up (in the coverage lanes) and K.C. (broke contain) and it was a smart run on his part.

“We never recovered.”

To make sure they stayed in control, the Pirates got field goals from MichaelAngelo Hernandez on their next two possessions (one which was keyed by a 53-yard Troy Hopkins punt return), reached paydirt on a 32-yard screen pass from Hernandez to Caleb O’Neal and scored again on a one-yard burst by Drew Weis late in the half for the 27-point cushion.

“We played in the first half like we’re capable of playing,” said Fayetteville coach David Moneypenny. “Sometimes a team gets comfortable, and we didn’t play as well in the second half.

“We told our kids all along that Midland Trail would come out as hard as they did, no matter the score.”

The Patriots put all their points on the board in the second half, as fullback Aaron Shrewsbury, who wound up rambling for 168 yards, scored on runs of 1 and 56 yards, and Coty Pierson hauled in a 35-yard scoring pass from Nathan Syner with less than a minute to play.

“We had some kids step up,” said Dean. “We did OK in the second half, but they had too huge a lead.

“You can’t spot somebody that many points, and Fayetteville’s a good football team.”

To keep Midland Trail at bay, the Pirates received a 53-yard scoring toss from Hernandez to Hopkins late in the third quarter, and Hernandez finished off a productive night with an 11-yard scoring burst of his own with 2:00 to play.

On the evening, Hernandez completed 7 of 10 passes for 141 yards and two scores. He also provided field goals of 30 and 32 yards, rushed for a six-pointer, and kicked four PATs.

“We have the ability to throw the ball and score,” said Moneypenny. “And that helps our running game.”

O’Neal rushed for 72 yards to lead a balanced FHS ground attack.

Jacob Fernandez powered the Fayetteville defensive effort with two fumble recoveries, the first which set up Weis’ six-pointer.

Syner was 11-of-22 for 127 yards and the score for the Patriots. Pierson caught two aerials for 63 yards and one score, and Dustin Nickell collected seven passes for 55 stripes.

Although displeased with some late penalties that disrupted his team’s rhythm (Fayetteville was flagged for a total of 113 yards), Moneypenny was fairly pleased with his team’s overall performance. And he’s happy to be sitting at 2-0.

“I’m glad to get these first two games over,” he said. “With rivalries, it’s hard to play Oak Hill the first week and Midland Trail the next.”

Fayetteville travels to Richwood Friday, while Midland Trail (1-1) visits Meadow Bridge Friday.

Also last week:



Doddridge County 21

Valley 20



The Greyhounds suffered the one-point setback to host Doddridge County Friday.

Valley took a 20-14 lead on Petey Foster’s 2-yard TD run in the third quarter, but Doddridge’s Tyler Friend recovered a fumble in the end zone with 4:35 left in the contest and teammate Adam Weekley kicked the extra point to let their team escape with the win.

“We had fumbles at very critical times,” explained Valley coach Benny Hopkins.

Valley, which played without quarterback Jack Simms, was led by the running of Foster, who carried 21 times for 74 yards and a score, and Marcus White, who collected 79 yards in 14 tries. Reserve QB Dillon Ganoe carried eight times for 25 yards, including a 14-yard scoring run in the second period.

Passing-wise, Ganoe was 5-of-13 for 73 yards, one score (a 6-yarder to Nick Accord for Valley’s first tally) and one interception.

Gordy Mitchell completed a conversion pass to Accord for the ‘Hounds’ lone successful extra points of the night.

Accord caught three passes for 47 yards, and Cody Atha (12 yards) and Jonathon Taylor (14) each caught a Ganoe aerial.

The VHS defense got an interception each from Atha and Accord.

Valley (0-2) plays at Van Friday.

— E-mail: skeenan@register-herald.com

        

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