Tucker County High School - Tu Endi Wei Yearbook (Hambleton, WV)

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HEARTBROKEN and disappointed. Coach Haddox and senior players. Mike Matlick, Mike RealI and Mark Phillips accept the trophy for runner-up in the state championship game. The team came up short when Bridgeport kicked a field goal with only eight seconds left to put them on top 10-7. BY George I think I got it!” exclaims Carmen Delsignore as he pulls the ball from the air during the first round of playoffs against Valley-Fayette. Tucker advanced to the semi-finals by topping Valley 34-13. CATCH me if you can” says QB Jed Drenning as he slips by Valley-Fayettes defense in Buchannon. Kevin Poling is preparing to make a block for Jed. 98 SPORTS-FOOTBALL HOLDING tightly to the ball. Todd Rhodes tries to escape a Valley-Fayette defensive lineman.

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HEAD to head! Never let It be said that the '86 Lions didn't have strength at every position as Delton Rhodes, Scott Ramsey, Kevin Poling and Mike Matlick made up the Lions defensive line. TAKING Heart Shawn Long’s lean and mean looks can be deceiving as he shows his soft side when Polly Moore of Cortland Acres Nursing Home wants a hug. TAKING on the hits. Scott Bolyard takes the hits as they come during the game against Grafton but keeps on moving. Tucker out powered the Bearcats by clawing them 16-7. COACHES have the penchant for saying the darndest things! As Coach Haddox looks over the scrimmage game against West Preston and says, “This is going to be a long year. And little did he know that he was right; football season lasted until December! FOOTBALL-SPORTS— 97

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 GIVING it her all is Becky Murphy during the championship game against Bridgemort. Becky was assistant trainer to Coach Gutshall and was considered one of the team. ALL HOPES OF EARNING A STATE TITLE WERE SHOT WITH ONLY 3 SECONDS LEFT TO GO COMING UP CUORT The time had come. It was the 9-1 Tucker County Mt. Lions and the 9-1 Valley Greyhounds facing off in a first round duel in Buchannon. Coming into the game, Tucker Co., who had one of the highest rated offenses in the state, was considered the home team. This being due to a higher slot in the rankings. When the game began. Tucker County took no time living up to its billing. The Lions took the opening kickoff to their own 24 yard line. From there, they mounted an 11 play. 76 yard drive. The drive was capped off by a one yard scoring burst by senior tailback Scott Bolyard, who tied a AA playoff record with 20 points in a single game. The conversion failed and it was 6-0. The Greyhounds captured the lead, but couldn’t hold it. Tucker led 14-7 at the half. On the first play of the second half. JD Drake recovered a fumble at the Greyhound 29. A 27 yard reception by senior tightend Scott Paugh, set up another Bolyard touchdown which extended the Lion lead to 20-7. The Lions never looked back. They went on to trounce Valley 34-13, this set up a semi-final bout with the undefeated Independence Patriots. The game began slowly for Tucker, as they were swarmed by Independence’s highly aggressive defense. The first half was owned by the Patriots as they took a 13-0 lead into the locker. The second half didn’t start out much better. On the second play of the third period. Sam Sizemore broke loose on a 64 yard scoring dash, giving Independence a 19-0 lead. Things appeared bleak, but the Lions refused to die. They returned the ensuing kickoff to their 35 yard line. They put together a 14 yard play drive which accumulated with QB Jed Drenning's 6 yard touchdown run with 3:54 remaining in the third period. The conversion attempt failed and it was 19-6. The Lions held Independence, forcing them to punt. Tucker County took the ball on their own 14 and began to move again. On the 19th play of this incredible. 86 yard drive, senior fullback Todd Rhodes plunged into the endzone from 3 yards out. The pass-after- touchdown was good and it was 19-13. Only 5:56 remained in the game. With the game resting in the balance, the Patriots took the ball at their own 27 yard line. The clock began to tick. The Lions held on the first two downs, bringing up a 3rd and 8 situation. Only 4 minutes was left in the game. Off of a play action fake. Partiot QB dropped to pass. He lofted his throw across the middle, over ther head of his intended receiver and into the arms of safety Scott Paugh. It was intercepted! The crowd exploded as Paugh weaved his way to the Independence 37 before being wrapped up. The Lions took the ball and shoved it right down the Patriots throats. With 0:56 remaining. Scott Bolyard took it over from the one to tie it at 19. As the stunned Patriots watched on. the extra point sailed through the uprights, lifting Tucker to a 20-19 head. A lead they held to the end. Tucker County had escaped certain defeat, which brought them to a place where no team in Tucker County had ever been before . . . The State Championship. A crowd of nearly 4.000 showed up at Laidley Field to watch Tucker County shoot for its first ever state title. They would be going against the Bridgeport Indians, who had won championships in both 1972 and '79. The seven-year charm was on their side. The game began slow for both teams, until Tucker County fumbled a punt which was recovered by the Indians in Lion territory. Bridgeport fullback David Wright then broke away on a 34 yard jaunt to the Lion 1. This set up Mario Bombardiere’s touchdown to life Bridgeport to a 6-0 lead. Scott Lewis nailed the extra point to make it 7-0. It stayed that way until the 4th quarter. The Indians drove to the Tucker Co. 20. setting up a 37 yard field goal attempt by Lewis. The attempt sailed wide, giving Tucker the ball on their own 20 yard line. From there they assembled a 14 play scoring drive which ending in Scott Bolyardfs one yard run. The conversion was good and it was 7-7 with 4:56 remaining. The Indians took the following kickoff to their 22 yard line. It was then that they began to slowly move the ball and chew at the clock. Finally, with only 0:08 remaining in the game, the clock was stopped. The ball was spotted at the Tucker 23 for a 33 field goal attempt by Scott Lewis. The crowd rose to their feet. The snap was made, the ball was down. The kick was up. it was on its way. It dropped through the uprights to give Bridgeport a 10-7 lead with 3 seconds left. All that remained was a blustering kickoff to make it official. The Lions had run out of time. Together they came up on the short end of their only state title game ever. But just getting there was a story all itself. FOOTBALL-SPORTS 99