By Randall Jett
MOUNT HOPE — Tragedy overshadowed the outcome of a Fayette County rivalry game Friday night when a sideline official collapsed and died during the third quarter of the Fayetteville-Mount Hope game at Municipal Stadium.
The contest resumed with 10:16 remaining in the third quarter with the clock running continuously for the rest of the game.
“Our kids played hard; this is just emotional,” Mount Hope coach Eddie Souk said in a quiet Mustang lockerroom.
Drew Weis scored three touchdowns to lead Fayetteville to a 42-6 victory. The sophomore running back carved up the Mustang defense for 98 yards on just 10 carries as the Pirates rolled up 249 yards and six TDs on the ground.
“He didn’t get the carries that he usually gets,” Pirates coach Dave Moneypenny said. “Drew runs hard, and all year long, he’s had a good line in front of him. These kids, they play very well together.”
Fayetteville (6-2) started the game on a roll, taking the opening kickoff and marching 80 yards in eight plays. Weis capped the drive with a four-yard romp and Michaelangelo Hernandez’ PAT kick put the Pirates up 7-0 at the 8:16 mark of the first quarter.
The Pirates capitalized on a Mount Hope miscue for its next score. Jordan Roark picked off a Kyle James pass near midfield and Fayetteville rolled down the field again. Weis found the end zone for a second time with a 27-yard run off tackle.
“Our kids played hard,” Souk said. “Fayetteville played hard. I thought they had a good game plan coming in here and we just couldn’t contain off-tackle. If we could have done a little bit better job off-tackle, we could have played a little bit better with them.”
Fayetteville would add a Troy Hopkins 26-yard TD run with 7:03 remaining in the first half to take a commanding 21-0 advantage to the locker room.
“That’s probably the best football game we’ve played all year long,” Moneypenny said. “This is when you want to play your best football, is late like this in the season. They did a good job. Mount Hope is a good team. When you play that well against a good team like Mount Hope, that’s promising.”
Roark would grab his second interception early in the third quarter and return it to the one-yard line before the play stoppage occurred. Roark would follow that up with a one-yard TD plunge when the game resumed for a 28-0 lead.
While the Pirates kept the Mustangs’ Davon Marion bottled up in the first half, they couldn’t contain him all night. Marion finally found the end zone in the third quarter, breaking a 34-yard run. Marion would finish with 114 yards on 20 touches.
“We get things going and we seem to booger it up,” Souk said. “That’s been our trademark all year long. Get something going, get something going and then go away from what we’re doing. It seems like it blows up every time.”
Weis would tack on a four-yard score with 18 seconds remaining in the third and 4-foot-11 sophomore Donald McDowell would scamper 24 yards for the final score of the game midway through the fourth quarter.
Fayetteville hosts Buffalo next Friday, while Mount Hope (1-6) travels to Pendleton County.
— E-mail:
rjett@register-herald.com
Fayetteville 42, Mount Hope 6
F (6-2) 7 14 14 7 — 42
MH (1-6) 0 0 6 0 — 6
First Quarter
F — Drew Weis 4 run (Michaelangelo Hernandez kick) 8:16
Second Quarter
F — Weis 27 run (Hernandez kick) 10:45
F — Troy Hopkins 26 run (Hernandez kick) 7:03
Third Quarter
F — Jordan Roark 1 run (Hernandez kick) 10:13
MH — Davon Marion 34 run (pass failed) 5:32
F — Weis 4 run (Hernandez kick) 0:18
Fourth Quarter
F — Donald McDowell 24 run (Hernandez kick) 7:15
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — F: Weis 10-98-3, Roark 6-39-1, Hopkins 4-59-1, Hernandez 2-27, McDowell 1-24-1, Ryan Thomas 1-9, Caleb O’Neal 2-(-5), Team 1-(-2). MH: Marion 20-114-1, Joe Thornquest 7-23, Ryan Lester 2-12, Josh Criss 3-9, Tom Gunn 3-(-4), Michael Smith 1-5, Robbie Cummins 3-5.
PASSING — F: Hernandez 1-2-0-(-5)-0. MH: James 2-6-2-14-0.
RECEIVING — F: Roark 1-(-5). MH: Eric Canaday 1-8, Marion 1-6.
TURNOVERS — F: Roark (2 int.), Brian Trofy (fr), Randy Wills (fr). MH: none.
