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The Pocahontas County Middle School Warriors grabbed 320 yards in total offenseﾠand surpassed the Mountain View Hawks 38-18 in the first home game ofﾠthe football season, Wednesday night at Pocahontas County High School.

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Led by Head Coach Doug Burns, Line Coach Shannon Arbogast and Defensive Coordinator Damian Elliot, these Warriors appear to have the makings of a well-oiled machine.

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The skies were clear and calm over PCHS and the stands buzzed with eager Warriorﾠfans. The PCMS cheerleaders were making their debut of the season. Looking and sounding fabulous, they got the crowd off to a great start. Warrior fans were ready for some football.

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Logan Mann kicked off for the Warriors and Mountain View's offense

came prepared. The Hawk's Seth Haven claimed the first TD for Mountain View early inﾠthe first quarter. The Warrior defensive trio of Defensive End Chase Erlewine, Linebacker Stephen Simmons andﾠ Running Back Cary Robertson were quick to squash the Hawk's conversion attempt.

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The Warriors offensive line proved ruthless, holding the line of scrimmage and allowingﾠRobertson to claim the first Warrior TD and a successful two point conversion.ﾠ Hawk's Logan Honeycutt was quick to answer with a second TD, however, Warriors Defensive Tackle Nash Rose and Defensive End Jimmy Campbell broke up the Hawk's second attempt for a conversion.

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Warrior's QB Braxton Rider helped put his team back on top at the end of the first quarter with a 10-yard pass to Campbell who ran it 44 yards for the TD. Rider finished the game with 2 of 4 completions including a lateral pass to Robertson and 60 passing yards. Campbell finished with 3 kick-off returns totaling 45 yards, one TD and five tackles.

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Warrior defense contained the Hawks for the bulk of the game. In the second quarter Campbell broke up a pass attempt and Defensive Tackle Chad Burns recovered a Hawk fumble on the 50 yard line.ﾠ Simmons later ran the ball 31 yards for the TD and Robertson ran in the two point conversion. Robertson finished strong, rushing 121 yards, 10 carries, one TD, two conversions, and six tackles. Burns, an anchor on the offensive line, finished with the fumble recovery and two defensive tackles. Nose Guard Dalton Irvine was on a roll serving up seven tackles to the Hawks along with Corner Shane Alderman's five, Mann's five, Tyler Owen's three and Ryan Dilley's three.

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The Hawks gained possession of the ball early in the third quarter and fumbled. Simmons recovered for the Warriors and ran 12 yards for his second TD of the night. Safety Trey Walton followed up with a successful two-point conversion. Simmons had a hefty finish with 85 rushing yards, eight carries, two TDs, the fumble recovery and helped lead the defense with seven tackles.

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Warriors led in the fourth quarter 30 - 12. Struggling for a come back the Hawk's offense pushed hard but an incomplete pass followed by a crushing sack by Erlewine and Rose didn't bode well. The Hawks managed one final TD for Mountain View and their attempt for a conversion failed. Erlewine and Rose, both fixtures on the offensive line, finished with theﾠ sack and six tackles each.

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With the help of Caleb Bennett, Jordan Greathouse and Cory Duncan, Walton scored the final TD of the game for the Warriors and Zack Young earned the two point conversion. Walton rushed 36 yards, had six carries, one TD, one conversion and one tackle. Young rushed 18 yards, had three carries, one conversion and three tackles.

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"We learned a lot about our team tonight. We gave up a couple of long touchdowns in the first quarter, but our guys did not get down on each other, instead they battled right back and both times answered their scores with touchdowns of our own. That showed the character of this team. These guys believe in each other and work together to overcome adversity," Coach Burns said. "Mountain View has a good team who are well coached and prepared. It was a good test for our team because of the different offensive formations that they throw at you. After the first quarter, our kids were able to make some adjustments and for the most part, keep them contained for the rest of the game."

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"On offense, our line did a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage and our backs were able to take advantage of it. On defense, we pursued well and caused a couple of fumbles which allowed us to gain control of the game," Burns added. "Our guys played hard for four quarters and as a coach, thatﾒs all you can ask for."

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When asked about the teamﾒs mindset going into the game, Damian Elliot offered, "Heading into the game we knew that there were a few key players that we would have to try to contain. Our defensive mindset was to control the line of scrimage and contain the over the top pass plays. Even though we gave up one long pass, overall our pass coverage was good. I felt like our kids were tough and resilient and didn't let the early long touchdown get them down," said Defensive Coordinator Elliot. "Our defensive line has been strong throughout the year and has shown the rewards of off-season training and weight lifting. Our linebackers were in the backfield all night and continuously in on the tackles. I think we flew to the ball very well and everyone was trying to get in on the play. Heading forward we have a few key things to work on and have several tough games ahead of us but our kids are giving us great effort and as a coach that is what you ask of them."

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"We need to continue to improve each week because our schedule doesnﾒt get any easier. We have to reduce the mental mistakes that we made tonight, we had some costly penalties on offense and were out of position on a few plays on defense. I know our coaches and these players will work hard to get these things corrected and get ready to play Western Greenbrier next week," Coach Burns said.

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The Warriors, now 2 - 0,ﾠ will take on Western Greenbrier in an away game Thursday, September 23, at 6 p.m.

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Wave your Warrior pride high and press your ears Southwest. You may just hear that Warrior Rumble.

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