By Kevin Cunningham
On Sunday October 15th Calhoun Youth Football travelled to Williamstown as all 3 teams played in a 1st round playoff game. It was a cold and rainy day full of ups and downs for the Little Red Devils. There were many players on all 3 levels who were getting their first playoff experience, hopefully it will not be the last experience for all of them as we fully expect to be back each year moving forward. Both the C and B teams season came to an end as they both fell to tough teams. The A team played in the final game of the day though, and they were able to walk away with a victory and punch their ticket to the semifinal round of the playoffs.
The Calhoun C Team (4-4) was matched up with the #1 seed Wirt County Cubs (6-2). Wirt County was able to get the 37-6 victory to move on to the next round. Carper Summers scored the lone touchdown on the day for the Little Red Devils on a 56 yard run to the end zone. The Devils defense got off to a slow start in the early morning game (10 am kickoff), but the came to life late in the game and was able to force 3 Fumbles that would be recovered by Raines Riddel, Kaleb Butler and Scarlett Probasco. 4 of the C team players will have to move up to the B team next year, while 12 of them will return to C team. With the experience they gained this year they will come out next year ready to take the next step towards getting a championship.
Calhoun’s B team played a few games later against a tough St. Mary’s team. The Little Red Devils fought their way to an impressive 7-1 record this season. Calhoun had 12 players on the team for about half the season and would go on to finish the last several games with only 11 players. They played true Iron Man football as all players had to show up each and every week prepared to play a full game with no substitutions when other teams we were playing would often have several substitutes to come in and out of the game. While the kids have played hard all season, this week they came up just a little short on the scoreboard after a good 4th quarter comeback attempt was cut short as they were defeated by the St. Mary’s Blue Devils (6-2) by a score of 24-12. Brantley Schoolcraft (3) and Judd Helmick (12) were each able to score rushing touchdowns. Jase Farley and Josh Hardbarger were each able to recover a fumble for Calhoun’s defense.
The A team would finish up a long day of Football for the Little Red Devils as they kicked off for the final game of the day at around 6 pm facing the Ritchie County Rebels (5-3). Calhoun (7-1) played their usual tough defensive game and was able to get the 25-0 victory to advance to the semifinals of the LKC playoffs. Wyatt Lawson had 2 rushing touchdowns ( 43 and 9). While Braydon Hardway (15) and Bentley Snodgress (2) each added 1 rushing score. Defensively Liam Yeager had an interception while Chandler Cottrell and Bentley Snodgress each had a fumble recovery. With the win the Little Red Devils will advance to the next round where they will face a touch Tyler County Knights (6-2) team. This game will be played next Saturday October 21st at St. Mary’s High School with the winner advancing to the Championship game. The game will kickoff at approximately 4 pm.
C Team Stats:
Offense:
Rushing-
Carper Summers- 95 rushing yards, 1 touchdown (56 yards)
Braxton Carter- 50 rushing yards
Bryson Swisher- 40 rushing yards
Passing-
Raines Riddel- 1 passing yard
Receiving-
Bryson Swisher- 1 receiving yard
Defense:
Tackles-
Carper Summers- 5
Raines Riddel, Kaleb Butler – 4
Zander McCumbers, Ryder Simmons, Bryson Swisher- 3
Owen Heiney, Braxton Carter- 2
Chase Parsons, Scarlett Probasco- 1
Fumble Recovery-
Raines Riddel, Kaleb Butler, Scarlett Probasco- 1
B Team Stats;
Offense:
Rushing-
Brantley Schoolcraft- 66 rushing yards, 1 touchdown (3)
Jase Farley- 27 rushing yards
Judd Helmick- 22 rushing yards, 1 touchdown (12)
Haygan Houchin- 7 rushing yards
Josh Hardbarger- 2 rushing yards
Passing-
Haygan Houchin- 30 passing yards
Josh Hardbarger- 22 passing yards
Receiving-
Josh Hardbarger- 30 receiving yards
Haygan Houchin- 22 receiving yards
Defense:
Tackles-
Jase Farley, Josh Hardbarger- 5
Judd Helmick- 4
Adam Francis- 3
Haygan Houchin, Kyle Shook- 2
Brantley Schoolcraft, Quintin Parkin, Jaxon Ingram- 1
Fumble Recovery-
Jase Farley, Josh Hardbarger- 1
A Team Stats:
Offense:
Rushing-
Wyatt Lawson- 133 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns (43 and (9)
Bentley Snodgress- 44 rushing yards, 1 touchdown (2)
Grayson Laughlin- 44 rushing yards
Braydon Hardway- 21 rushing yards, 1 touchdown (15), 1 extra point
Kason Stamper- 9 rushing yards
Tyler Mayle- 5 rushing yards
Passing-
Liam Yeager- 5 passing yards
Receiving-
Tyler Mayle- 5 receiving yards
Defense:
Tackles-
Wyatt Lawson- 5
Chandler Cottrell, Grayson Laughlin- 4
Braydon Hardway, Kason Stamper- 3
Bentley Snodgress, Landon Hawkins, Silas Cunningham, Logan Butler, Abram Dow- 1
Fumble Recovery-
Chandler Cottrell, Bentley Snodgress- 1
Interception-
Liam Yeager- 1
