KEYSER, W.Va. — On a cold, drizzly evening some 250 miles from where it started, the Point Pleasant Big Blacks’ 2009 football season came to a disappointing conclusion when the Keyser Golden Tornadoes pounded out a 29-6 win over the locals in the first round of the West Virginia Class AA football playoffs.

The loss to the 7th ranked Keyser squad snapped a 5-game winning streak for the Big Blacks and ended the high school football careers of 13 PPHS seniors. Donning the red and black for the final time were: Cody Greathouse, James Fielder, Chauncey McClanahan, Brock McClung, Jared Leggett, Derek Pinson, Nathan Roberts, Wes Ellis, Clay Krebs, Derry Osborne, Kyle King, Drew Parsons, and Beau Bellamy.

“I’m very proud of these guys,” said Point Pleasant Head Coach Dave Darst. “I’m disappointed that the football season is over, but I’m proud of the players and coaches who have worked so hard to turn this season around. We were 2-3 at the midway point of the season, but these guys buckled down and worked hard to put us back in the playoffs. They did a great job of pulling together,” said the third year mentor.

One positive thing that came out of this game was that senior fullback Nathan Roberts is now the PPHS single season total yardage record holder. Total yardage takes into account rushing yards, receiving yards, and return yards. On the night, Roberts rushed for 147 yards, caught 5 passes for 54 yards. Those totals gives him 2508 yards for the season, breaking the old record set by Allen Wasonga, who held the record for just one year.

As a team, the locals rushed for just 168 yards and threw for another 118 — good for 286 total yards. Keyser, on the other hand, accumulated 289 yards on the ground and had another 38 via the pass for 327 yards. “Their offense really clicked,” said Darst. “They executed their offense very well and we couldn’t stop them. They are a very good football team,” added Darst.

On the other side of the football, the Keyser eleven pretty much shut down a potent Point Pleasant offense. “Everything that we do well, they took away from us,” explained Darst. “They were obviously keying on Nathan Roberts and we tried several things to make them play a little more honest. But, we couldn’t get outside and they defended our inside game very, very well. They just did a better job than we did,” added Darst.

The game actually started out well for the locals, who scored on their initial possession of the contest. Keyser received the opening kickoff and managed one first down, taking the ball to their own 44 yard line. However, on a fourth and about a foot, the Golden Tornadoes tried a fake punt that was sniffed out by Derek Pinson, who tackled the Keyser punter for a four yard loss. It took the Big Blacks just five plays to reach pay dirt. Quarterback Eric Roberts connected with Jerrod Long on first down for a seven yard gain, and from there it took just four runs by Nathan Roberts to find the end zone. His 20-yard jaunt capped the drive. The extra point attempt, though, was blocked and it was 6-0 in favor of the good guys.

It didn’t take long, though, for the home team to answer. They took the ensuing kickoff and marched down the field on a 9-play, 66-yard drive to tie the score. Quarterback Tyler Biser sneaked over from the one for the score. The extra point was wide right and we had a tie football game with three and a half minutes left in the opening stanza.

It stayed that way until a series of unfortunate events gave the Keyser boys a 9-point halftime lead. After forcing a Keyser punt, which was downed at the Point Pleasant 1-yard line, the Big Blacks went on offense with 3:47 left in the first half. Three plays later, the locals had gained just four yards and lined up to punt. The snap, though, sailed over punter Cody Greathouse’s head and out of the end zone for a safety. A few weeks ago, we learned that in a football game with 100 or so plays, you can go back and find 4 or 5 plays that really turned the game in favor of one team or the other. This safety was one of the key plays in the game.

On the ensuing kickoff, Keyser’s Kadeem Garland took the ball at his own 35 yard line and brought it all the way back to the Point 33. On first down, with the Big Blacks still reeling from the last two plays, quarterback Biser found Garland all alone in the end zone for a touchdown. Scott Kittrell added the extra point and just like that it was 15-6.

Much to their credit, the Big Blacks came right back and had a chance to put some points on the board before halftime. Starting at their own 31 with just a minute and a half left, the Blacks moved the ball to their 47, but time was their enemy, as just 12.9 seconds showed on the clock. Eric Roberts connected with brother Nathan on a screen pass and the talented senior carried the ball all the way to the Keyser 15 yard line. There was just under 2 seconds left in the half when the Big Blacks tried to call a timeout to get the field goal unit on the field. The clock kept running, though, and the half was over. This was my key play number two. To his credit, Coach Darst did not give the play the same recognition that I did.

Another lesson we learned this season is that the first five minutes of the second half sets the tone for the way a team plays for the rest of the game. Point took the second half kickoff and, starting from their own 35, moved the ball to the Keyser 17. But, on first and ten from there, Point fumbled and Keyser recovered. There was plenty of action after that play, but at that point, the game was, for all intents and purposes, over. My key play number three and Coach Darst’s key play number two.

Keyser fumbled the ball back to the Big Blacks who then punted the ball back to Keyser. That punt was downed at the Golden Tornado one yard line. But, the hosts showed their mettle by going on a 10-play, 99-yard scoring drive. Kitrell’s 54 yard run off left tackle capped the impressive drive. Kittrell also added the extra point to make it a 22-6 game.

The hosts tallied the final touchdown of the game on another bad snap. Point was lined up to punt from their own 23, but the snap sailed over Greathouse’s head and into the end zone where Robert DelSignore recovered for Keyser. Kittrell’s PAT set the final score.

Defensively for the locals, Trey Livingston led the way with 11 tackles on the night. JaWaan Williams, Nathan Roberts, and Layne Thompson all had 10 stops, while Michael Musgrave had 9 tackles. Jerrod Long, Livingston, and Thompson all had fumble recoveries for the Big Blacks.

“I’m happy for the kids because they went to the playoffs, but at the same time I’m sad to say goodbye to these seniors,” said Darst. “These guys have represented our school and community very well and they will be missed. I’m already looking forward to next season and hopefully the underclassmen will work hard in the off season and we’ll make it back to the playoffs next year.”