No. 1 Hillbillies belt Buffalo
BUFFALO - Not long after beginning their first possession of the game, the Man Hillbillies demonstrated that they're a gritty, grind-it-out team that's worthy of the No. 1 ranking in Class A.
BUFFALO - Not long after beginning their first possession of the game, the Man Hillbillies demonstrated that they're a gritty, grind-it-out team that's worthy of the No. 1 ranking in Class A.
On that opening drive, the Hillbillies moved 61 yards for a touchdown on 10 running plays and, from there, hurried off to a 42-12 victory over Buffalo Monday night in a game postponed from Friday when a mixup arose and the officials didn't arrive. A crowd of about 500, including at least 100 Hillbillies fans, attended.
The Hillbillies (8-1), who rushed for 414 yards, have apparently wrapped up a playoff home game for the first time since 1997 and will close out the season Saturday against Matewan, seeking homefield advantage throughout the postseason.
"I'm not sure about that,'' said Man coach Harvey Arms. "I think it's likely that if we win against Matewan Saturday, everybody that tries to figure these point totals out tells me we'll be No. 2 or No. 3 [in the final ratings], but I don't fool with it. I can't figure them out.''
In what Arms called his team's best all-around running night of the season, the Hillbillies' Michael Lomax carried 11 times for 161 yards and three touchdowns on runs of 1, 3 and 34 yards, and Brandon Plymale added 138 on 10 attempts, including a 27-yard TD run. Plymale's 60-yard run to the Bison 6 on the Hillbillies' second possession set up Lomax's 3-yard scoring run.
In addition, Man quarterback Ryan Crum hit Derrick Earnest on an 18-yard TD reception, and Andrew Hale contributed a 2-yard scoring run.
Man also demonstrated its depth by allowing six different players to carry the ball in the first half, helping the Hillbillies to 251 rushing yards and a 28-0 lead at intermission.
"I think we got more out of our total backfield tonight than we have all season,'' said Arms.
The coach attributed much of that to the offensive line.
BUFFALO - Not long after beginning their first possession of the game, the Man Hillbillies demonstrated that they're a gritty, grind-it-out team that's worthy of the No. 1 ranking in Class A.
On that opening drive, the Hillbillies moved 61 yards for a touchdown on 10 running plays and, from there, hurried off to a 42-12 victory over Buffalo Monday night in a game postponed from Friday when a mixup arose and the officials didn't arrive. A crowd of about 500, including at least 100 Hillbillies fans, attended.
The Hillbillies (8-1), who rushed for 414 yards, have apparently wrapped up a playoff home game for the first time since 1997 and will close out the season Saturday against Matewan, seeking homefield advantage throughout the postseason.
"I'm not sure about that,'' said Man coach Harvey Arms. "I think it's likely that if we win against Matewan Saturday, everybody that tries to figure these point totals out tells me we'll be No. 2 or No. 3 [in the final ratings], but I don't fool with it. I can't figure them out.''
In what Arms called his team's best all-around running night of the season, the Hillbillies' Michael Lomax carried 11 times for 161 yards and three touchdowns on runs of 1, 3 and 34 yards, and Brandon Plymale added 138 on 10 attempts, including a 27-yard TD run. Plymale's 60-yard run to the Bison 6 on the Hillbillies' second possession set up Lomax's 3-yard scoring run.
In addition, Man quarterback Ryan Crum hit Derrick Earnest on an 18-yard TD reception, and Andrew Hale contributed a 2-yard scoring run.
Man also demonstrated its depth by allowing six different players to carry the ball in the first half, helping the Hillbillies to 251 rushing yards and a 28-0 lead at intermission.
"I think we got more out of our total backfield tonight than we have all season,'' said Arms.
The coach attributed much of that to the offensive line.
"We're good up front,'' he said. "We've got some big, experienced guys up front, and they come off the line well. They do a decent job, and our backs have been able to break off what they're given.''
After Hale's touchdown gave Man a 35-0 lead early in the third quarter, the Bison (3-6) mounted its first good drive of the night, advancing 65 yards and scoring on Levi Jordan's 3-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Jones.
Buffalo, which had just 17 players in uniform, scored again early in the fourth quarter on another Jordan-to-Jones pass, this time for 6 yards, to make the score 35-12.
Man entered the game having surrendered just 68 points in eight games.
The Hillbillies limited the Bison to 162 yards - 98 passing on 10-of-24 throws and 62 on the ground. Matt Moore led the Buffalo running game with 45 yards on seven carries, much of it against the Man reserves in the fourth quarter.
Man is the fifth top-20 state Class A team the Bison has played this season, with No. 7 Wahama up next.
Reach Mike Whiteford at 304-348-7948 or mikewhitef...@wvgazette.com.
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