Photo Courtesy of Holly Eldridge Photography
The Winfield Generals rolled into Chapmanville on Friday night looking to make a statement, and they were able to do that with a 28-0 win in front of a capacity crowd at Barker Stadium.
Winfield was able to strike first on their opening drive of the game as they found the end zone on a Chase Massey strike to Aiden Hernandez from 30 yards out to take a 6-0 lead in the 1st quarter. Chapmanville would then take control of the clock with a very deliberate, ball control offense. Chapmanville’s game plan would work, as well as their defense that made multiple first half stops to keep the score at 6-0 at halftime.
After halftime, Winfield began to take control of the game. The Generals defense would force a Robert Cook fumble on the opening possession of the 3rd quarter at midfield and a few plays later Winfield QB Chase Massey was able to juke around the Tigers’ defense on a 24-yard scramble into the end zone. The two-point conversion pass from Massey to Toby Laughery gave Winfield at 14-0 lead midway through the 3rd quarter. The Generals defense would then force a quick 3-and-out, and find the end zone once again as Massey was able to find a wide-open Laughery from 34 yards out to put the Generals up 21-0.
Chapmanville wouldn’t quit as they continued to make things difficult for the Generals, but another turnover for the Tigers would give Winfield possession of the football at the goal line in the 4th quarter, and this time backup QB Jared Miller would find Laughery on an 8-yard TD pass to close out the game at 28-0 for the Generals.
Head Coach Zach Belcher was positive about his club in the loss, “I thought our gameplan was the right fit for tonight’s game. We got a little bit behind schedule in the second half with turnovers and you can’t do that against a good team like Winfield.” Belcher stated that he thought his defense continues to be a bright spot, but needs to limit the big play, “I think our defense continues to be tough and physical making it hard for teams to score on us, but we have to limit the big play. If you take away their big plays in the game, we have more opportunities to win this game.”
“I thought our young men continued to play hard through the last play of the game, and that’s a testament to our coaches and our players and all of the hard work we have put in and will continue to put in each and every day, brick by brick.”
The Tigers will now shift their focus to a Nitro Wildcats team that comes into Friday’s contest with a 2-1 record after coming off a 42-7 loss to Herbert Hoover.
“Nitro is an explosive team when you look at their recent scores. We have to find a way to limit the big play and make them play our brand of physical, smash mouth football.” Belcher thinks his team will be ready for the challenge on Friday night. “I think we will have a great week of practice and our young men are ready to put the Winfield game behind them. We are excited for this game and the opportunity to continue play for our communities of Chapmanville and Harts.”
The Tigers travel to Nitro on Friday, game time is set for 7:00 PM. The D&D Sports Network will have coverage on the game starting around 6:50 PM.
