Big Reds Pound Patriots 42-3

It was a powerful, nearly perfect display of football.

The number one ranked Big Reds raised their record to a perfect 7-0 by pounding city rival Parkersburg South 42-3 before a crowd of 8,000 at Stadium Field.

Charlie Taylor ran for two touchdowns and caught a TD pass from Andy Thomas while Matt Lindamood rambled for a pair of touchdowns and 182 yards on 20 carries to lead the Big Reds to their impressive win.

The PHS offense scored on six of its eight possessions while piling up 312 yards on the ground and 376 yards in total offense to go with 21 first downs. On the other side of the ball the Big Red defense limited South to just 27 yards rushing on 23 carries and only 142 yards in total offense. The Patriots had 115 yards through the air but completed just 10 of 25 passes, were intercepted twice (by P.J. Polsley) and sacked five times.

After winning the coin toss and deferring to the second half, the Big Reds got ready to give South a taste of a defense which had allowed just a single touchdown in each of their first six games.

On the first play of the game, South handed to the ball to 6-foot-4, 225 pound fullback Cody Nutter and he was met in the backfield for a five yard loss by Big Red linebacker Charlie Taylor. Three plays later South punted the ball away and Mason Roberts' nine yard return gave the Big Reds the ball just 36 yards from the South goal line.

After a two-yard quarterback sneak by Thomas, Lindamood took a handoff up the middle, broke through into the open just past the line of scrimmage and raced 34 yards for his 17th touchdown of the year (pushing him to a 104 points for the season) with 8:57 on the clock. Tyler Warner's first of six straight extra points followed and it looked like the rout had begun.

South, which came into the game with a 2-3 record and a three-game losing streak, responded with a 55 yard kickoff return by speedy Jason Minner to the PHS 30 yard line. The Patriots of former Big Red quarterback Don Reeves, managed one first down but blitzing pressure from Lindamood and Matt Littleton forced South to settle for a 31 yard field goal from Trent James with 6:20 left in the first quarter.

The Big Reds got the ball back and started from their own 34 yard line. A short pass and two running plays by Taylor moved the ball past midfield to the South 47 and Lindamood got the call for the second time in the game. This time he broke through the middle and showed off his speed by out-running the final three South defenders for his 18th touchdown of the year with 4:28 left in the first quarter.

So PHS had two touchdowns on just six offensive plays and Lindamood already had 81 yards on just two carries.

The third PHS possession saw the home team put together a 63 yard drive which took nine plays to reach the end zone, this time on a nine yard run by Taylor with 9:31 left before the half.

South picked up a couple of first downs passing on the following series but Polsley picked off a long bomb thrown to the 12 yard line.

The Big Reds moved out of hole behind the running of Taylor, Lindamood and Thomas, who also found Nathan Conley for a 13 yard completion. But with a first down on the Patriot 40 yard line the Big Reds went away from their basic attack and wound up losing 10 yards on two plays and missing on a pass. Thomas punted to the Patriot 17.

South passed for two first downs and got a pass interference on a hail Mary pass on the last timed play of the half but could not capitalize on its extra pass attempt from the PHS 36.

The third quarter started with a drive by the Big Reds that was nothing less than a thing of beauty - an 85 yard scoring drive that took 17 plays and consumed a whopping nine minutes and 15 seconds off the clock. The first 16 plays were runs with the longest being only 10 yards. The 17th play was a first down pass from Thomas to Taylor, who plowed over the defenders for the final two yards to the end zone with 2:45 showing on the clock.

The fifth TD of the night came after a nine-play, 54 yard drive with Roberts going over from the one while the final score followed Polsley's second interception and 32 yard return to the South 15 yard line. Taylor churned right up the middle on the first play, running over at least three would-be tacklers along the way.

Scoring

Park. South (2-4)            3    0     0     0     -      3

Parkersburg (7-0)           14   7     7     14   -      42

^{Scoring Plays}

P – Matt Lindamood 34 run (Tyler Warner kick) 8:57 1^st

S – Trent James 31 field goal, 6:20 1^st

P – Lindamood 47 run (Warner kick) 4:28 1^st

P – Charlie Taylor 9 run (Warner kick) 9:31 2^nd

P – Taylor 15 pass from Andy Thomas (Warner kick) 2:45 3^rd

P – Mason Roberts 1 run (Warner kick) 6:31 4^th

P – Taylor 15 run (Warner kick) 4:50 4^t

Individual Statistics