By Gaylen Duskey
realfang@citlink.net
After back-to-back losses the Calhoun Middle School football team needed to bounce back. And it did. In a big way.
Seth Moore scored four touchdowns and rushed for 243 yards and the Red Devils defense, led by Chris "Thor" Thornton, shut Ritchie County down as Calhoun even its record at 2-2 with a 42-8 victory Thursday evening at Mount Zion.
It took little time for Moore to give the Red Devils the lead as the first time he touched the ball on offense he ran over, around and through the Ritchie defense for a 55-yard score, giving the Red Devils a 6-0 lead at the 7:34 mark of the first quarter.
After the Red Devils' defense stopped Ritchie on its first series Moore took the punt at midfield and galloped 50 yards for the score. Once again the extra point was missed giving Calhoun a 12-0 lead making it appear that the Red Devils only flaw was missing on their extra point tries.
The next time Moore scored - on a 35-yard run - that flaw was erased as he and Caden Hicks combined on a pitch-and-catch play for the extra points and a 20-0 lead.
But not everything was peaches and cream for the Red Devils as Travis Pickering picked off a pass for the Trail Blazers and raced 48 yards for a touchdown making it 20-8.
Calhoun answered that as time expired in the first half when Hicks scored from a yard out on a run that was set up by 28 yard pass to Jakob Holcomb down to the one. Hicks found Moore again on the extra points pass and the Red Devils were on top 28-8 at halftime.
Calhoun scored only two times in the second half - a 13-yard run by Hicks and an 11-yard run by Moore - but by this time the defense had pretty well knocked Ritchie out of its game.
Overall the Blazers had 71 yards total offense while turning the ball over four times.
And that was attributable to the rock-ribbed Calhoun defense led by Thornton, who had 10 tackles, a fumble recovery and a pass interception.
He had plenty of help as Hicks and Jordan Basnett had take-aways while Moore had seven tackles, Connor Ritchie and Jakob Holcomb added six each and Allen Matheny, Basnett and Riley Holcomb added five each.
Calhoun will try to continue its winning ways when it plays host to Braxton County Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Ritchie, 1-3, will try to rebound against Parkersburg Catholic.
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