<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2ipGJL_0vmbr5Yi00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2ipGJL_0vmbr5Yi00" width="905" height="647" ><figcaption>Mingo Central QB Aidan Burke hands the ball off to Dylan Vance in last Friday's 30-7 win at home over the Man Hillbillies at Mingo's Buck Harless Stadium. Mingo Messenger photo by Paul Adkins</figcaption></figure>What:Class AAA No. 15 Point Pleasant (1-2) at Class AA No. 14 Mingo Central (2-2), HomecomingWhen: Friday, 7 p.m.Where: Buck Harless Stadium, Newtown, W.Va.Surface: Field TurfLastyear’smeeting: Mingo Central beat Point Pleasant, 20-14Lastweek: Mingo Central beat Man 30-7, Point Pleasant lost 28-21 at RipleyAll-timeseries: Point Pleasant leads 4-2NEWTOWN – Famed author Charles Dickens wrote the 1859 novel A Tale of Two Cities to critical acclaim.It eventually became a classic.Last Friday night on Miner Mountain it was the Tale of Two Halves as the Class AA No. 16-ranked Mingo Central High School football team used a late surge to get past the Class A Man Hillbillies, 30-7.Mingo Central led just 6-0 at the half and trailed 7-6 early in the third quarter but ended up outscoring the Hillbillies 24-0 the rest of the way to come away victorious.The Miners won their second straight game and evened its record to 2-2 on the season. Man, which came into the game ranked No. 10 in the state in Class A, dropped to 2-2,The youthful Miners were able to overcome a slow start, numerous penalties and early uneven play, and ended up having a strong second half to close out the win.Mingo Central second-year Coach David Jones said his team is growing and learning but was glad to see the second half turnaround. Jones' Miners had dropped their first two games to Tug Valley (14-6) and Westside (21-20) but now have won two straight.“That was a sign of growth,” Jones said. “When Westside did this to us a couple of weeks ago, we kind of put our heads down and that's kind of some of the things that we've been working on. This was a sign of growth and it was a credit to our guys, not putting our heads down, just grinding it out, fighting it out and it coming back on the scoreboard.”It was still a frustrating win, Jones said.“It was,” he said. “We have a young team . It's going to come and we just need people to bear with us and help us fight through it.”The Hillbillies, coached by veteran mentor Harvey Arms, came to play.It was also a gritty, hard-hitting physical game.Man went up 7-6 with 7:53 to go in the third quarter as quarterback Devon Sanders hit Trey Ward on a 38-yard TD pass. The PAT kick was good as Man led for the first time.“Man is an excellent team,” Jones said. “They are coached very well and we had to come out here and grind this one out as you could tell. It was just 6-0 at the half.”Mingo Central went into the locker room on top 6-0 as quarterback Aidan Burke connected with Keziah Joplin on a 16-yard strike with 8:46 to go until halftime. The two-point conversion failed.The TD was set up on an interception by freshman Jacob Maynard, who picked off a Sanders pass around the 33-yard line and returned it to the Man 16.Mingo Central later went up for good as quarterback Jaxon Nenni-Mills bulled his way forward for a 1-yard TD on a keeper. Nenni-Mills then scored on the two-point conversion as the Miners led 14-7 with 25.3 ticks to go in the third.It ended up being the game-winning TD.Later on, Mingo Central got the ball back at the Man 37 after a short punt by the Billies.Eight plays later, Dylan Vance scored on a 3-yard TD run. The conversion play failed but MCHS led 20-7. The TD was set up by Bam Coleman's 19-yard run to the Man 13.Burke then intercepted a Man pass on the next play from scrimmage and Mingo Central was in the end zone two plays later as Coleman raced to the house for a 36-yard TD run. Burke hooked up with Joplin on the two-point conversion play as the lead swelled to 28-7.It continued to crater for the Hillbillies from there.With 4:35 left in the game, Mingo Central was awarded a two-point safety as the ball went out of the back of the end zone after a bad snap.That completed the scoring in the 30-7 win by the Miners.Mingo Central won the statistical battle as well.The Miners outgained Man 267-39 in yards of total offense. MCHS had 47 rushes for 224 yards and QB Burke was 5 of 15 passing for 43 yards and a TD.It was Burke's third start at QB for the Miners and Jones said he's getting more comfortable with his new role.“That's why Aidan came back home,” Jones said. “He wanted to be the man and I told him if he came back here he would be the man. He's been taking on this role very well. He's going to keep on getting better each and every game. He's been doing that and he's been an excellent leader for us. Trying to lead a young team is hard but he's been doing a wonderful job and I'm proud of him.”Vance led the way for Mingo Central as he rolled up 134 yards on 20 carries and a TD. Coleman had six totes for 83 yards and a score. Donovan Valdelamar had three carries for 18 yards.Joplin finished the night with four catches for 38 yards and a score.The Billies could not muster much offense at all as Man was held to minus-34 yards rushing on 13 tries. Sanders was 10 of 21 passing for 83 yards with a TD and two picks but was sacked nine times by the Mingo Central defense. Ward had six of those grabs for 80 net yards.Brayden Mounts led the Miners with nine total tackles, three sacks and one tackle for loss. LeQues Strother had eight tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss. Damari Young had seven stops and one tackle for loss. Maynard finished with seven tackles, one tackle for loss, a sack and an interception.Vance finished with six tackles and three sacks. Davion Joplin also had six stops for the game. Burke had six tackles as well with a pick and a fumble recovery.Valdelamar had five stops, while Dylan Mounts had four and Peyton Parker three.Rilee Hatfield had two tackles and Nenni-Mills, Logan Hurley and Aiden Mitchem had one each.For Mingo Central, it was win number 99 in its all-time history going back to 2011. MCHS is now 88-3 when scoring 30 or more points in a game.The win was initially dampened due to the injury of Hurley late in the fourth quarter.Hurley, a senior starting lineman, was eventually mobilized and taken off the field via ambulance as Mingo Central players prayed on the sideline.Hurley had initial movements and was taken to the hospital.In the end he received a stinger and he's doing OK, Jones said.“He's doing OK. He got a hit to the head. He was moving and we just used a lot of precaution anytime when it comes to a neck injury,” Jones said. “We are getting him checked out.”Mingo Central wore special Army camouflage jerseys for the game since the contest was part of the US Army/West Virginia National Guard Gridiron Series. Mingo Central is slated to return to action this Friday, Sept. 27 as Class AAA Point Pleasant comes to town for the annual MCHS Homecoming Game. It's the third straight home game for the Miners and the third of four as Scott comes to Miner Mountain on Oct. 4.Mingo Central has six home games this fall.“We're playing one team at a time and we did that,” Jones said. “They got the job done tonight and that was the number one thing that we talked about all week.”</div></body>

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Late surge lifts Miners past Hillbillies in 30-7 win

Class AAA No. 15 Point Pleasant (1-2) at Class AA No. 14 Mingo Central (2-2), Homecoming. Where: Buck Harless Stadium, Newtown, W.Va. week: Mingo Central beat Man 30-7, Point Pleasant lost 28-21 at Ripley. All-time. series: Point Pleasant leads 4-2 NEWTOWN – Famed author Charles Dickens wrote the 1859 novel...

Late surge lifts Miners past Hillbillies in 30-7 win

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