ONA, W.Va. — Hurricane outscored Cabell Midland 20-0 in the second quarter to win a battle of Mountain State Athletic Conference title contenders, 35-14.
“It is all about playoff seeding at this point. It is the first time in a long time that this school has beat Cabell Midland. I am happy for the guys. We are going to worry about all that playoff stuff later. Tonight was a program victory for us,” said Hurricane head coach Donnie Mays.
The Knights took a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter when Zechariah Roberts rushed for a 35-yard touchdown. Hurricane received touchdown runs from Mondrell Dean [3 yards] and Jeremiah Riffle [8 yards] to take a 14-7 lead. Riffle rushed for 208 yards in the first half.
“He is 6-foot, 210 [pounds]. He runs a 4.5 40 and that is hard to bring down. He is a physical kid. He is super-fast. Even when he was tearing it up out there, you can give him a break. You have Mondrell and Elijah Rivera to give a big boost. Like I have said all year, it is a three-headed monster.”
Late in the second quarter, sophomore quarterback Noah Vellaithambi connected with Tyshawn Dues on a 6-yard touchdown pass. Hurricane led 20-7 at halftime.
Cabell Midland (5-2) answered on the opening possession of the second half. A 93-yard drive chewed up nearly half of the third quarter clock. Kylan Grace’s 4-yard touchdown run closed the Knights’ deficit to six points at 20-14.
Hurricane pulled away in the fourth quarter when Vellaithambi connected with Lucas Rippetoe on a pair of touchdown passes covering 4 and 71 yards.
“[Noah] balled out tonight. He did an excellent job and he started executing really well in the second quarter on. That really helped to propel us to where we were.”
The Redskins (6-1) held the Knights to their lowest point total in a four-quarter game since 2018. Midland had defeated Hurricane in their last three meetings.
“We tackled in space. Those guys are hard runners. [Ryan Wolfe] is a great quarterback. He does a good job of executing their offense.”