Paint Valley drops season opener to Summit Country Day

The speed of the Summit Country Day Silver Knights was just too much for the Paint Valley Bearcats to keep pace with, leading to a 24-17 non-conference loss to open the 2014 season.

Though they lost the game, PV was able to out-gain their opponent in total yards at 276-247. It was a couple close plays that ended up making the difference, with the host Silver Knights having three touchdowns of over 25 yards each.

"Honestly, we matched up with their speed at times, but they got us twice and had another run of 50 yards they didn't score on," PV head coach Pete Hollon said. "If we would have pursued them better like we practiced, those plays wouldn't have happened.

"So for the most part, I thought we handled their speed well, but they were fast."

It was SCD who was first to score with Allen Waltz kicking a first-quarter field goal of 35 yards for a 4-0 lead.

PV (0-1) responded with a 39-yard touchdown run by Tony Hatfield to put PV out front. They eventually went ahead by a 7-3 score following a PAT from Anthony McFadden.

Hatfield finished with three carries for 52 yards.

SCD (1-0) responded with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Duke Tobin to C.J. Suggs, along with a PAT by Waltz for a 10-7 lead at the conclusion of the first quarter.

"On that touchdown, it was from a blown coverage," Hollon said. "For a team like us, with the experience we have … we had too many breakdowns."

The Bearcats then trailed 17-7 at the halftime, following a second-quarter touchdown run of 41 yards by Tyler Hanna.

PV answered in the third quarter with a 35-yard field goal by McFadden to make it a seven-point game at 17-10.

Before the field goal, the Bearcats were driving downfield against the Silver Knights, but with just under 10 minutes left in the third frame (following a three-and-out by SCD), there was an one hour and ten minute lightning delay.

The delay hurt the Bearcats' momentum they were gaining, but once play restarted and SCD regained possession of the football, they scored their final seven points.

In that third quarter, it was Hanna who raced 35 yards for his second touchdown of the season opener. The PAT by Waltz put the host team ahead by 14 points at 24-10.

PV had one last score in them, with Caleb Johnson reaching pay dirt on a 14-yard run in the fourth and final quarter. The PAT from McFadden made it the final score of 24-17.

Johnson finished the game with 17 rushes for 103 yards.

McFadden at QB was 6-of-11 for 38 yards, and running the football, he raced for 58 yards on 10 rushes.

Teagan McFadden battled his way to 14 carries for 56 yards. On defense, McFadden had 13 tackles and one fumble recovery.

Hollon said facing a team like SCD will help the Bearcats in Week 2 when they host Williamsburg on Friday, Sept. 5.

"We had Summit Country Day on the schedule for a reason," Hollon said. "We wanted to win, but facing a team with their speed … we won't see a team with that much total team speed the rest of the season.

"The next two weeks are big for us. We are going from one extreme to the other, with Williamsburg being a strong, powerful team."

Williamsburg (0-1) lost their season opener vs. Reading by a 34-14 score. Last season, Williamsburg was 7-4 overall, losing in the opening round of the playoffs.