If you like offense, “Lick Creek” was the place to be Friday night, the undefeated Prestonsburg Blackcats traveled up US-460 to take on the Warriors from East Ridge. Both offenses have been putting big numbers up all season and this game wouldn’t be any different. Prestonsburg came into the night averaging 44.2 points per game while East Ridge averages nearly 35 points an outing, 47 points in their wins. East Ridge uses the arm of quarterback Dylan Burdine to account for the majority of their points and Prestonsburg plays a more traditional “Mountain” football system, scoring the lion share of their points with ground & pound football.
The two football programs combined for 765 yards of total offense in this game, scoring a combined 78 points in the contest. the Blackcats would come out on top with a 42-36 final score. Prestonsburg controlled the game on the ground going to their workhorse Ethan Jarvis who leads Class-2A in rushing The veteran Blackcat carried the football 33 times for 241 yards and 6 touchdowns, also Jarvis’s backfield teammate, Senior Jon Little carried the ball 11 times for 67 yards. Quarterback Reece Hamilton connected on only 2-8 throws through the air for 16 yards, both receptions were caught by Jon Little. Special teams played a big part for the Blackcats as Max Willoughby went 6-6 on PAT attempts.
Although coming out on the losing end, East Ridge out gained the Blackcats in total offense with a balanced scoring attack. Quarterback Dylan Burdine completed 15/20 passes, gaining 118 yards and 1 TD, he also rushed the ball 11 times for 102 yards with 2 touchdowns. Junior Isaiah Adkins was the star for the Warriors. he carried the rock 16 times for 220 yards and 2 touchdowns..
On the defensive side of the football, Prestonsburg was lead in tackles by a trio of Blackcats. Logan Stumbo led the team with 10 tackles, while Bryce Patton & Brayden Goble both collected 9 tackles apiece.
For East Ridge, they were led defensively by their own trio. Steven Layne led the Warriors with 14 tackles. Layne was joined by Burdine and Mullins with 13 and 11 respectively.
The win keeps Prestonsburg’s record unblemished as they move to 6-0 on the season and 1-0 in District play. Next up for the Blackcats, they will play host to District rival Shelby Valley Friday night, kickoff is set for 7:30pm from Josh Francis Field at Blackcat Stadium.
With the loss East Ridge drops to 2-3 on the season, 0-1 in District play. Next up the Warriors travels to District foe Martin County, the Cardinals have shut their last two opponents out, scoring a total of 87 points in the two wins.
Feature Photo by Katie Solar
Photos submitted
