By Trace Johnson
The Hurricane Redskins pulled away from the Parkersburg Big Reds 31-18 Friday night behind a big fourth quarter that put the game away.
Up 17-10 in the fourth quarter, the Redskins (2-0) came up with some huge plays on offense and defense that created separation with the Big Reds (1-1).
Hurricane’s defense forced a quick stop on Parkersburg’s opening drive of the game and the offense took advantage. Redskins quarterback Dylan Plumley found the end zone from 1 yard out to give Hurricane a 7-0 lead with 7:23 remaining in the first quarter.
The Big Reds responded with a 32-yard field goal by Christian Axman to cut Hurricane’s lead to 7-3 with 3:08 remaining in the first quarter.
After Hurricane’s Lucas Cooper partially blocked a Parkersburg punt, the Redskins’ offense capitalized with a 22-yard field goal by Cole Bumgarner to extend the lead to 10-3 with 9:58 remaining in the second quarter.
Soon after, Hurricane’s Charlie Womack recovered a fumble to give the Redskins the ball at the Parkersburg 47-yard line. On the following play, Plumley connected with Ben McAllister from 47 yards out to extend Hurricane’s lead to 17-3 with 7:24 remaining in the second quarter.
That score held and the Redskins took a 17-3 lead into the locker rooms at halftime. The third quarter saw that score maintain itself and the theme of defense ruled the day out of halftime.
Parkersburg’s Karson Snyder recovered a Redskins fumble towards the end of the third quarter to give the Big Reds’ offense the ball at the Hurricane 34-yard line. And less than one minute into the fourth quarter, Parkersburg capitalized on the turnover as Ethan Airhart connected with Brenton Strange for a 15-yard touchdown pass to cut Hurricane’s lead down to 17-10 with 11:09 remaining in the fourth quarter.
After a defensive stop, Parkersburg’s offense had the ball back again. And after a long drive, the Big Reds had it in the red zone. But on fourth down, Tyler Womack and the Redskins’ defense came up with a huge stand to give the offense the ball back.
Hurricane responded quickly after when Plumley found the end zone from 43 yards out to extend the Redskins’ lead to 24-10 with 5:34 remaining in the fourth quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, Hurricane recovered a fumble to give the offense the ball in excellent field position at the Parkersburg 30-yard line.
And on the following play, Plumley found Dakota Williams in the end zone for the 30-yard touchdown strike to extend Hurricane’s lead to 31-10 with 5:09 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Big Reds scored a late touchdown and 2-point conversion to set the final score at 31-18 in favor of the Redskins. Plumley finished by connecting on nine of 16 pass attempts for 143 yards and two touchdowns as well as 60 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
McAllister led Hurricane in receiving with five receptions for 83 yards and one touchdown. Airhat finished completing 17 of 23 pass attempts for 123 yards and one touchdown for the Big Reds.
This was the Redskins’ first win over Parkersburg all-time. Hurricane returns to action Sept. 9 at home against Cabell Midland. Parkersburg returns to action Sept. 9 at home against Capital.
