Photo by Carmen Williams Hundred seniors Jeffery Morris (20), Brandon Cosgray (71) and Everett Johnson, back, run onto the field prior to the Hornets’ game against Cameron earlier this season.

For the first time since 2019, the Hundred High School football team has something other than a zero in its win column.

The Hornets broke a two-year-long losing streak Friday night with an exciting 30-22 victory over cross-county rival Paden City.

“It definitely meant a lot to us,” first-year coach Jason Sleeth said Monday.

Sleeth took over the Hundred program after three years of coaching the middle school team. He had no delusions about making the playoffs this season, finishing with a winning record or anything like that. Sleeth knew it’d take time to rebuild the struggling program and he’s in it for the long haul.

“We’ve been basically starting from scratch and getting down to the basics — teaching the team how to be a team,” he said. “We have the pieces of the puzzle, there’s no doubt we have some talent here on this team. We’ve made some pretty big strides, we’ve been scoring some points and being competitive in some games.”

A quick glance at Hundred’s results this season reveals a team that, despite its 1-5 record, is much improved from years past. Gone are the days of losing every game by 50-plus points, the Hornets are playing competitive football this season and on Friday, winning football.

“We’ve been leading up to this,” Sleeth said. “I’ve had a pretty good feeling that this day was coming just because of the way that the team has been working and they’ve been buying into the process. It’s huge anytime you get a win from a cross-county rival. I think it’s been 30 years since Hundred’s beaten Paden City, it was a huge night.”

And what a win it was. Facing the Wildcats on their home field, Hundred fell into a 14-0 hole in the first quarter.

“We went down 14-0 right off the bat,” Sleeth said. “We had a moment there on the sideline and said ‘it’s time guys to buckle down and not quit, not give up.’ And they didn’t, they came out the next series and scored a big touchdown.”

Freshman quarterback Toby Michael hit sophomore Brayden Bartrug for a long touchdown pass to get on the board. The Hornets then recovered an onside kick and drove right back down the field to score again and tie the game 14-14 heading into halftime.

“It was a whole different mindset after that,” Sleeth said. “They finally realized, ‘hey, we can do this.’ It came together nicely and I’m very, very proud of them.”

Paden City scored again in the third quarter to lead 22-14, but Hundred took over in the final frame.

Hundred scored to tie the game at 22-22 and then stopped Paden City’s offense to get the ball right back.

“Paden City played a heck of a ballgame,” Sleeth said. “(PC running back) Joey Baker ran for 200 yards and he’s a tough kid. We made some adjustments and got the ball back.”

Freshman tailback Kaden Parson scored the go-ahead touchdown for the Hornets, his third of the game, and the two-point conversion was good for the 30-22 advantage.

In an aggressive move, Hundred then went for, and recovered, an onside kick that allowed them to keep the ball away from Paden City and drain most of the remaining clock to secure the win.

“It was a fun game to watch,” Sleeth said. “If you were in the stands watching, it was definitely a good Friday night lights game.”

Sleeth has been with this year’s freshman for three years through their middle school days. He watched them go undefeated as eighth-graders last year.

“We’ve been with them for so long and they don’t even give up,” Sleeth said. “They never have, they don’t really know what it means to quit. If nothing else, they’ve brought that mentality of playing hard until the end.”

While the youngsters have supplied a spark, Sleeth said it’s his upperclassmen who have become the backbone of the team.

“The seniors and the juniors have really kind of taken hold of this team and been the driving force,” Sleeth said. “The line is full of juniors and that was the first group we started with when we started the (midddle school) program. Those kids were in eighth grade and now they’re juniors. Definitely the backbone of this team is that offensive and defensive line.”

Sleeth pointed out two seniors for recognition — Everett Johnson and Zach Wise. Johnson had been the team’s starting quarterback for three years, but moved to offensive line this season because he thought it’d made the team better. Wise may very well be leading the state in tackles, according to Sleeth, and has played well at fullback on offense.

“We’re trying to teach these kids life lessons,” Sleeth said. “I love football, I love all sports, but the main focus is trying to teach these kids what it takes to be successful when they graduate and get out into the real world. It’d be easy to give up, and that’s the thing about it, when you have a program that’s struggling, it’s tough to get that support from the student body because you haven’t won any games in a long time.”

It’s because upperclassmen like Johnson and Wise did not give up that Hundred is able to make strides this season.

“Anytime you come from a small town, you’re dealing with limited kids anyway,” Sleeth said. “It’s tough to compete against the larger single-A schools. You basically have to have 80-90% of your whole male student body playing football.

“We’ve battled through some adversities this year. We’ve had some ups and downs and we’ve battled through it. That says a lot about the character of this team to face adversity, battle through some ups and downs and continue pushing through it.”

It’s because of the young and old players alike that the Hornets were able to win on Friday and, if Sleeth has his way, it’s why they’ll be able to win many more games in the future.

“These kids have done great and what I’m seeing is there’s more interest,” he said. “We picked up another kid about a month and a half ago and I’m hearing some more interest for next year and that’s what we’re looking for. That’s why the Camerons and the Wheeling Centrals are so successful, because they’ve built a program that everybody wants to be a part of.”

The Hornets will return to their home field for the first time in a month this week and try for their second win against Hancock (Md.) as the school celebrates homecoming.

“It’s our homecoming, so now they have something big to play for,” Sleeth said. “We haven’t played a home game in a month and I think they’re ready to get back on the field here in front of the home stands and make another memory.”

Even if Hundred doesn’t win this week or even if they don’t win another game for the rest of the season, nobody can take last Friday away from them. They’ll finish the season without a zero in the win column no matter what, and that’s progress.

“Just to see the kids’ faces after the game was priceless,” Sleeth said. “There was a lot of emotion from both the players and the coaching staff.

“We went down to practice at the high school (Monday) and the kids were just talking about what a great weekend they had and how happy they were. The community’s talking about them again and that’s great.”

Offensive Player of the Week

Talan McClurg, Edison — Carrying the ball 30 times would tire most people out but not McClurg, apparently. On 30 carries, he ran for 313 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Wildcats improved to 8-0 for the first time in school history.

Defensive Player of the Week

BJ Fallon, Steubenville CC — Fallon seized the opportunity when a Bridgeport snap sailed into the Bulldogs’ endzone. Fallon was able to jump on it for the defensive score in a tight 15-14 victory.

Special Teams Player of the Week

Conor Fitzpatrick, John Marshall — You can’t do much more as a specialist than Fitzpatrick did against Keyser. He accounted for all of the second-half scoring with three field goals from 37, 33 and 33 yards. He also kicked true on three PATs and pinned Keyser at its own one-yard line twice, first on a kickoff and later on a punt.

Ground Gainers

Taison Starr, Barnsville — Led the Shamrocks with 119 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Also caught two passes for 97 more yards and another score.

Hunter Mozingo, Brooke — Ran for 104 yards and a touchdown for the Bruins and also had 146 yards through the air.

Payton Neely, Cameron — Only carried the ball 10 times, but racked up 148 yards and a touchdown.

Gage Cline, Edison — Found the endzone three times on the ground, finishing with 124 yards. Also threw for 107 yards and a fourth TD.

Karter Parson, Hundred — Scored three times for the finally-victorious Hornets. The freshman ran for 101 yards and two scores and also caught a touchdown.

Klypson Wallace, John Marshall — Shouldered the load with 33 carries for 152 yards and two touchdowns.

Hunter Goddard, Magnolia — Ran 10 times for 100 yards, including a 72-yard touchdown.

Joey Baker, Paden City — Ran wild with 207 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. Also had a sack on defense.

Jacob Walker, St. Clairsville — Ran 20 times for 111 yards and a touchdown to go along with a 31-yard reception.

Gavin Bozica, Steubenville — Made the most of his six touches, rushing for 120 total yards.

Dom Bouscher, Toronto — Ran 11 times for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Also caught two passes for 56 more yards.

Zeb Kinsey, Toronto — Finally fully healthy, Kinsey ran for 183 yards and four touchdowns and threw for 66 more yards as the Red Knights got back to their winning ways.

Sean Winfrey, Tyler — Winfrey continues to impress for the Silver Knights. Against Buffalo he toted the rock 29 times for 169 yards and five touchdowns.

Ty Walton, Tyler — Topped 100 yards of offense with seven rushes for 97 yards and a 31-yard reception.

Jaksan Price, Union Local — Ran for 151 yards on 22 carries.

Riley Watkins, Wheeling Central — On 10 carries, Watkins ran for 179 yards and two touchdowns.

Aerial Attack

CJ Hannahs, Barnesville — Threw for 120 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 82 more yards on the ground.

Jake Heatherington, Bellaire — Completed eight passes for 185 yards and a trio of touchdowns.

Colin Jackson, Bridgeport — Amassed 342 yards on 21-of-37 accuracy. He tossed two touchdowns but was also picked off twice.

Colson Wichterman, Cameron — Was extremely efficient against Valley, completing 10-of-12 passes for 195 yards and three touchdowns.

Toby Michael, Hundred — Threw for 156 yards and two touchdowns as the Hornets got their first win of the season. He completed 8-of-15 passes and also ran for 71 yards.

Lucas McAllister, Madonna — Threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns on 19-of-36 passing.

Ayden Ludolph, Martins Ferry — Completed nine passes for 173 yards and three touchdowns.

Andrew Vera, St. Clairsville — Scored the game-winning touchdown on the ground in the final minute for the Red Devils. Finished with 136 passing yards and a touchdown and 62 rushing yards.

Phaeton Hill, Steubenville — Completed 11-of-26 passes for 160 yards and a pair of second-quarter touchdowns.

Mr. Everything

RayRay Pettigrew, Bellaire — Returned a kickoff 75-yards for a touchdown just before halftime and made three receptions for 80 yards and another score.

Avante’ Hayes, Edison — Intercepted a pass on defense and also caught a 13-yard touchdown pass on offense as the Wildcats remained undefeated.

Isaac Robinson, Indian Creek — Returned a kickoff for a touchdown and also caught a 51-yard touchdown pass.

Lorenzo Ferrera, Wheeling Central — Ferrera found the endzone five times. He rushed for 174 yards and four scores and caught four passes for 21 yards and another touchdown. He also intercepted a pass and defended three others on defense.

Good Hands Team

Mason Aberts, Bridgeport — Finished with 123 yards and a touchdown on seven catches.

Lamar Kendricks Jr., Bridgeport — His seven receptions went for 93 yards and a touchdown.

Cole Burkett, Cameron — He scored in bunches for the Dragons, grabbing a touchdown before halftime and then two more right after. Finished with 90 yards and a trio of touchdowns on five receptions.

Brayden Bartrug, Hundred — Only made two catches, but they resulted in 112 yards and a score.

Shawn McFarland, Madonna — A 68-yard touchdown contributed to his nine-catch, 131-yard performance.

Baron Lucey, Martins Ferry — Finished with three catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns, one from 75 yards.

Isaac Hill, Steubenville — Two of his five catches resulted in touchdowns as he finished with 73 yards.

Landon Jerico, Valley — Made four receptions for 100 yards for the Lumberjacks.

Wrecking Crew

Gavin Pownall, Indian Creek — Finished with 10 total tackles, six solo, with a tackle for loss.

Gage Scott, Magnolia — Racked up 10 total tackles, four solo, with two tackles for loss.

Ty Long, River — Made 15 tackles, six solo, and picked off a pass in the Pilots’ 47-22 win over Shenandoah.

Brayden Strawn, River — Recorded 17 total tackles, 10 solo, with a sack and two tackles for loss.

Drue Jozwiak, St. Clairsville — Had eight total tackles with two sacks and another tackle for loss. Also made a 45-yard reception on offense.

Noah Loy, Wheeling Central — Totalled eight tackles, four solo, with two tackles for loss.

Deante Suggs, Wheeling Central — Had a sack and a half to go with his four total stops.

Big Boot

Evan Lough, Barnesville — Made good on six extra point attempts for the Shamrocks.

Lucas Littell, Bellaire — Made all six of his point-after attempts for the Big Reds.

Liam Watson, Edison — Made a 29-yard field goal on top of four PATs.

Cole Bowers Steubenville — Kicked a 30-yard field goal and made three extra points.

Eli Tucker, Wheeling Central — Kicked six PATs for the Maroon Knights against Martins Ferry.