Huntington dominates in first SVC win against Southeastern
By: Phoenix Brown
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CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (WOUB)—On Friday night, the Southeastern Panthers welcomed the Huntsmen of Huntington in Week 6 of SVC play, which was also Southeastern’s Homecoming Night. The night was predicted to be a very even matchup, as both squads had identical 2-3 records, looking for their first win in the SVC. Ultimately, the Huntsmen came out on top, 43-6.
Defense reigned supreme in the first quarter for the Panthers, as plays by Tyler Cutright, Brayden Burns, and more of the Panthers’ pride held down the Huntsmen in the first quarter. Notably, an attempted pass by Huntington’s Levi Potter was smacked down by a Panther’s paw.
With a minute left in the first quarter, Panthers’ QB Brayden Burns attempted a medium-range toss for yard gains, but the football landed directly in the arms of Huntsmen’s Carson McNeal for the interception. Fortunately for Southeastern, this turn did not result in any scoring for Huntington, and the first quarter ended 0-0.
The Panthers couldn’t hold down the Huntington squad for long, as a rushing Troy McDonald came speeding down the home sideline to crack open the scoring for the Huntsmen. The utility sophomore kicked in his own extra point, and the Huntsmen were up 7-0 early in the second quarter.
Scoring did not end there for Huntington in the first half, as a hand-off by Frankie Hirsch to Isaac Taylor led the way for a 27-yard rush into the Huntsmen’s end zone for another touchdown to continue the scoring, 14-0.
With less than two minutes on the clock, Huntsmen’s Frankie Hirsch took the ball from the 17-yard line and weaved through the Panthers’ defense to strengthen the Huntington lead 21-0 after the extra point attempt.
On the Panther’s very next drive, the Huntsmen pried the ball from the grasp of the Panthers, which allowed Keegan Woodruff to scoop the ball up and drive up 36 yards to add another seven on the board to end the half 27-0 Huntington.
The second half of the night started the same way the first ended—with a Huntsmen touchdown. A short rush shoved through the end zone by a pile of Huntsmen added to the Huntington scoring, and a successful 2-point conversion by Isaac Taylor brought them up 35-0.
A phrase heard multiple times in Chillicothe, “Huntsmen Touchdown!” was heard once again with four minutes on the board as a dart of a pass by Frankie Hirsch landed in the hands of brother Calvin Hirsch to bring the score up even further to 43-0 after a good extra point.
With a sigh of relief for the Panthers, Cameron Stotridge, the backup quarterback sneaked through the defense of the Huntsmen to add six on the board for the Panthers. After a missed extra point attempt, the score was set in stone 43-6 thanks to a running clock.
With this win, Huntington evens their score at 3-3 and wins their first game in the SVC of the season. The Huntsmen take this momentum into their matchup next week against the 0-6 Paint Valley Bearcats. For Southeastern, they move down to 2-4 on the year. The Panthers will look to battle back from this loss as they take on non-conference play against Piketon Redstreaks away in Pike County.