Sports

Parkersburg Holds Off Marietta


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Both teams packed the stands as Parkersburg defeated rival Marietta 26-21 on the road in the 108th battle between the two schools Friday. With the win, the Big Reds move to 2-1 on the season.

Dual-threat quarterback Aaron Roberts set the tone for Parkersburg early through the air and on the ground. Roberts led the team in passing and rushing through the first half with 104 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and 43 yards rushing.

The junior also broke a 7-7 tie with less than two minutes remaining in the second quarter. Roberts led a four-play, 73-yard drive that culminated in a beautiful 51-yard bomb to Matt Santer for a touchdown. The score put Parkersburg up 13-7 heading into the locker room and stole the momentum from Marietta’s home stage.

Santer ended the game with seven receptions for 104 yards and that TD. Dan Fox also played a major role in the Big Reds’ passing attack, being on the receiving end of three touchdowns.

Early on, the rivals traded punches, possessions, and turnovers. In one four-play sequence at the end of the first and the start of the second quarters, Marietta’s Quinton Coffield recovered a fumble by Santer, Tiger quarterback Anthony Kimbrough targeted Coffield deep resulting in an incompletion, three Parkersburg defenders combined to sack Kimbrough and Parkersburg forced and recovered a fumble by Marietta in Tiger territory.

The game came to a thrilling conclusion as Marietta trailed late but battled to within one score. Kimbrough tossed two fourth quarter touchdowns, separated by a successfully executed onside kick, to bring the game within a touchdown. Kimbrough ended the game with 220 yards and three touchdowns despite completing just 41 percent of his passes.

Parkersburg (2-1, 0-1) returns home next week to take on an undefeated Huntington Highlanders team (3-0, 2-0).