CHAPMANVILLE — The Point Pleasant Big Blacks offense dominated the Chapmanville Tigers last night in a manner not seen since Coach George Custer’s men played at Little Big Horn Stadium. The 10th rated Big Blacks rolled up some 468 total yards en route to a surprisingly easy 48-20 win over the 12th ranked Tigers in the regular season finale for both teams.

To illustrate just how dominant the Big Blacks were, consider the following. Point had 9 offensive possessions in the game. The 9th was the final possession of the contest and lasted just one play when quarterback Eric Roberts took a knee to end the game. Their 5th possession also was a one-play drive and ended when Brandon Toler was intercepted on a halfback option pass. ON ALL OF THEIR OTHER POSSESSIONS IN THE FOOTBALL GAME, THE BIG BLACKS SCORED A TOUCHDOWN. No this was not a typo or a misprint. The Big Blacks scored a touchdown on 7 of 9 offensive possessions in the football game and didn’t even try to run their offense on their final possession. That means they misfired on just one possession.

A look at the statistics for the game shows Point rushed for 344 yards on 42 carries, an average of 8.2 yards per carry. The Big Blacks were 6 of 7 through the air for another 124 yards. Nathan Roberts led the rushing attack with another huge night -- 265 yards on just 23 carries and three touchdowns. Chris Blankenship added 48 yards on 9 carries and a score, and Jerrod Long looked good -- rushing for 32 yards on 8 carries and a score. Nathan Roberts added another touchdown on a 65 yard screen pass from brother Eric, while Toby Martin tallied the other Point Pleasant touchdown on a 6 yard touchdown toss from Eric Roberts.

“Our offense really clicked tonight,” said PPHS Head Coach Dave Darst. “Our offensive line is getting better each week. Nathan had another big game and I thought Jerrod Long ran very well. I know I say this each week, but Eric Roberts had probably his best game of the season tonight. We are playing with so much confidence right now and these guys just want to get better. They are having fun and so are the coaches,” added Darst.

Actually, this game didn’t start out so well for the locals. Chapmanville took the opening kickoff and put together an 8-play, 70 yard drive that resulted in the game’s first touchdown. Passes on their first two plays gained 21 yards and big Todd Terry took care of the rest, gaining 46 of his 114 yards in the opening drive. Terry capped the relatively easy scoring drive with a 17 yard touchdown run.

After those first three minutes, it was all Point Pleasant. For the rest of the half it went like this -- touchdown, punt, touchdown, punt, touchdown, punt, touchdown, punt. Fortunately for the locals, they got the best of this exchange. All of those touchdowns belonged to the Big Blacks and all of the punts belonged to the Tigers. Nathan Roberts scored the first three touchdowns -- one on a 43 yard run, one on a 65 yard screen pass, and one on a 5 yard run. Jerrod Long got in on the action when he bulled his way over from the one yard line to close out the first half scoring.

And, just for good measure, the locals added another touchdown on their first possession of the second half. Starting from their own 34 yard line, the Big Blacks needed just five plays to reach pay dirt. Chris Blankenship had one carry for 7 yards in the drive, while Nathan Roberts took care of the other 59 yards, capping the drive with a 28 yard scoring jaunt. That touchdown also ended a 35-0 run that saw the Big Blacks effectively put this game away.

The Tigers scored on their next possession and then after the Big Blacks tallied twice more, added a meaningless score with just twenty six seconds left in the game. The Big Blacks’ touchdowns came from Toby Martin -- the first of his career, and Chris Blankenship. Martin caught a 6 yard pass from Eric Roberts for the first score, while Blankenship ended the Big Blacks’ scoring on the night with his 13 yard run.

It wasn’t the best game of the year by the defensive unit, but they played pretty well overall. They gave up just 283 total yards and 78 of those came on their final drive when the Big Blacks didn’t have a starter on the field. Layne Thompson led the way with 10 tackles, while Derek Pinson had 9. Junior Michael Musgrave was in on 7 stops, while JaWaan Williams and Nathan Roberts were both credited with 6 tackles. Brock McClung, Trey Livingston, and Ryan Warner were all credited with a quarterback sack, while Pinson Clay Krebs lived in the Chapmanville backfield all night.

“They did some things early that hurt us, but we made some good adjustments and played a pretty good defensive football game after that,” said Darst. “We were very aggressive and after that opening drive, we tackled pretty well. This was a total team effort and I just can’t say enough about the effort these guys have been giving us. We are going into the playoffs with some momentum and I am pleased with that. I’m not sure where we will play next week, but wherever it is, I know we will go and play hard and represent our school and community in a positive manner,” added Darst.

The Big Blacks finish the regular season with a 7-3 mark and are riding a five game winning streak. The official bracket won’t be released by the WVSSAC until Sunday, but most projections have the Big Blacks going to Keyser next week.