CLARKSBURG – It was quite the 2022 debut for head coach Dave Chipps and his Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School Little Bucs as they defeated the Washington Irving Hilltoppers by a 34-14 score Wednesday night at Hite Field.
The Little Bucs racked up 454 yards including 384 rushing yards as they were led by Dylan Foster’s 194-yard, two touchdown performance on 10 carries and Brody Jeran’s 92-yard effort on seven carries.
It wasn’t a perfect game for the Little Bucs though as they fumbled the ball six times losing four of them.
“I was very proud of the team,” remarked Chipps. “They never got down and just kept fighting. I will take a 20-point win any time. I was pleased with our execution, it was better than what I thought it would be. We just have to do a better job with holding onto the football.”
The Little Bucs scored on their opening drive when Brody McDaniels hit Forest Catlin for a 25-yard scoring strike with 3:15 showing on the first-quarter clock.
That same combo hooked up for the points-after conversion making it an 8-0 game.
W-I tied the game up with a touchdown on their first series when quarterback Chris Smith ran it in from two yards out then ran in the two-point conversion tying the game at 8-8.
Buckhannon-Upshur went up 16-8 after Foster went over the right tackle for a 26-yard touchdown run.
Jeran ran in the two-point conversion giving the Little Bucs a 16-8 lead with 4:51 remaining in the first half.
The Little Bucs added a safety to their score when a Hilltopper bad snap on a punt went out the back of the end zone making it an 18-8 game with 2:51 left in the half.
Smith stripped a B-UMS tailback of the ball on a rush and went 70 yards the other way for a touchdown in the third quarter making it an 18-14 contest with 2:54 left in the third quarter.
The Hilltoppers couldn’t get any closer as Jeran scored on a 23-yard run late in the third quarter and ran in the two-point conversion making it a 26-14 game with 1:24 left in the third quarter.
The Little Bucs wrapped up the scoring with an impressive 55-yard run from Foster who broke several tackles for the score with 4:58 left in the game.
Jeran ran in the two-point conversion making it a 34-14 game.
McDaniels was impressive in his first start at quarterback completing all three of his passes for 70 yards and a score.
“McDaniels played well,” stated Chipps. “We have a good passing game this year. We didn’t show it much in the second half because we wanted to shorten the game.”
The Little Bucs (1-0) will be back in action Thursday hosting Elkins for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff.
The boxscore:
Buckhannon-Upshur 8 10 8 8 – 34
Washington Irving 0 8 6 0 – 14
Buckhannon-Upshur – Forest Catlin, 25-yard pass from Brody McDaniels (Catlin pass from McDaniels)
Washington Irving – Chris Smith, 2-yard run (Smith run)
Buckhannon-Upshur – Dylan Foster, 23-yard run (Brody Jeran run)
Buckhannon-Upshur – Safety (snap rolls out of end zone)
Washington Irving – Smith, 70-yard fumble return (run failed)
Buckhannon-Upshur – Jeran, 23-yard run (Jeran run)
Buckhannon-Upshur – Foster, 55-yard run (Jeran run)
TEAM STATISTICS
First Downs – Buckhannon-Upshur: 19 (15 rushing, 3 passing, 1 penalty); Washington Irving: 8 (5 rushing, 1 passing, 2 penalty).
Rushing Yards – Buckhannon-Upshur: 25-384; Washington Irving: 29-77.
Passing Yards – Buckhannon-Upshur: 70; Washington Irving: 39.
Total Yards – Buckhannon-Upshur: 454; Washington Irving: 116.
Passes – Buckhannon-Upshur: 3-3-0; Washington Irving: 3-10-1.
Penalties – Buckhannon-Upshur: 5-61; Washington Irving: 8-56.
Punts – Buckhannon-Upshur: 0-0.0; Washington Irving: 0-0.0.
Fumbles – Buckhannon-Upshur: 6; Washington Irving: 4.
Fumbles Lost – Buckhannon-Upshur: 4; Washington Irving: 1.
All-Return Yards – Buckhannon-Upshur: 37; Washington Irving: 138.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Buckhannon-Upshur – Dylan Foster 10-194 (2 touchdowns); Brody Jeran 7-92 (1 touchdown); Forest Catlin 3-54; Zack Simmons 3-45; Braylon Oldaker 1-7; Brody McMcDaniels 1-(-8). Totals 25-384 (3 touchdowns).
Washington Irving – Chris Smith 13-73 (1 touchdown); Jacob Nutt 11-25; Isaac Barksdale 1-2; Brodie Stout 2-(-6); Brayden McIntyre 1-(-8); team 1-(-9). Totals 29-77 (1 touchdown).
Passing
Buckhannon-Upshur – McDaniels 3-for-3 for 70 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions.
Washington Irving – Smith 1-for-8 for 24 yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 interception; Stout: 2-for-2 for 15 yards, 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions. Totals: 3-for-10 for 39 yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 interception.
Receiving
Buckhannon-Upshur – Simmons 1-36; Catlin 1-25 (1 touchdown); Foster 1-9. Totals 3-70 (1 touchdown).
Washington Irving – Barksdale 1-24; Deegan Barnett 1-10; Smith 1-5. Totals 3-39.
