By: Adam Freeman
The Tucker County Mt. Lions Varsity Football team took on the visiting Moorefield Yellow Jackets last Friday night at R.H Armstrong Memorial Field Class of 1984 Stadium. Tucker would start the scoring off on a 20-yard strike across the middle from Sam Marks to Reid Kisamore. The two-point try was good pushing the score to 8-0 Tucker. Moorefield would answer on a physical drive down the field and punch in a 10-yard touchdown run. With a failed conversion the score was 8-6 in favor of Tucker. The first play of the following possession Marks would find his 6’5” senior receiver, Garrett Wilfong, down the sideline for a deep 80-yard touchdown pass. With a completed conversion the Mt. Lions were up 18-6. Tucker’s defense would force a fumble on the following possession and Quante Mitchell would come up with it giving the Mt. Lions the ball. A few plays later, Jared Reall would find a seam and take in a 61-yard touchdown run, the conversion was successful, and Tucker was up 24-6 going into halftime. Tucker would start the second half with the ball and Marks would throw his third touchdown of the game, this time to Keelyn Eichelberger on a 4-yard pass. With a failed two- point attempt Tucker would lead 30-6. The Yellow Jackets were forced to punt, and Tucker would again go on the offensive. The Mt. Lions would capitalize on a 7-yard touchdown scamper by Marks. The two- point seek failed and Tucker’s lead was 36-6 at the end of the third. Moorefield would not go away quietly, scoring on back-to-back possessions, cutting Tucker’s lead down to 36-18 halfway through the fourth quarter. Senior defensive lineman, Gavin Nestor, would come up big with a blocked punt that was recovered by Wilfong, giving the Mt. Lions prime field position. A few plays later, Reall would punch in the final score of the game on a 10-yard run. That would prove to be the final score of the game and Tucker would take the win 42-18. Quarterback, Sam Marks, finished the game with 14 of 17 passing with 226 yards, 3 touchdowns through the air and 1 interception thrown. Marks added 26 rushing yards and another touchdown on the ground. Senior tailback, Jared Reall, had 20 carries for 122 yards and 2 touchdowns. Receiver, Garrett Wilfong, notched 5 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. The defense was led by linebacker, Marky Phillips, who accounted for 9 solo tackles and 4 assisted. The Mt. Lions improve to 7-0 on the season, and will stay home this week to take on longtime rival Southern MD. This game will also be senior night, kickoff is set for 7pm.