Bordas Lights Up Parkersburg South In 28-21 Win For Park
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PARKERSBURG - Parkersburg South learned the hard way. Arm tackles don't work at the high school level.
Those were the impressions given by South interim coach Bryan Youngblood as Wheeling Park's offense produced 415 yards - including 322 through the air by third-year starting quarterback Jay Bordas - in a 28-21 win Friday night in the season-opener for both teams at Erickson All-Sports Facility.
"Wheeling Park ran through a lot of our arm tackles," said Youngblood, who was filling in for South head coach Larry Thompson. Thompson was serving out the final of a three-game suspension. "We need to focus on fundamental tackling and hitting low."
Based on the first quarter, Wheeling Park was feeling fortunate to be tied 7-7 at halftime. In the opening period, WP managed just three yards of total offense.
Yet, WP rallied from a 14-7 deficit on the strength of two touchdowns in the final six-plus minutes of the fourth quarter.
"We know we have a young team and we know we are( going to have some peaks and valleys," WP coach Chris Daugherty said. "We didn't necessarily expect to start in the valley, but we did.
"I was really proud of the guys. I told them at halftime I don't know if we could have played any worse in the first quarter and be at 7-7 at halftime. That was a win for us."
South refused to go away at any point in the second half - even when down 21-14. Following a chaotic chain of events over the course of three plays, first-year starting quarterback Logen Arnold connected on a short pass to Jaqwae Brown, who shed numerous would-be tacklers along the sidelines for a 78-yard touchdown.
Josiah Swiger's interception for South, which came one play after a pick by WP's Michael Nieder, set up South's final score which tied the game at 21-21 with 4:07 remaining in regulation.
WP crossed midfield on the ensuing drive. On fourth-and-5 from the 37-yard line, Bordas' keeper was roadblocked with a hit out of bounds one yard shy of the first down marker.
After South went three-and-out, only 1:19 remained on the clock with the WP taking over at its own 25. On second down, Bordas found Liam Wetzel open for two straight completions covering 37 yards. Wetzel finished the game with 10 catches for 104 yards.
One play later, Bordas connected with the same individual who dropped a pass near the end zone earlier in the quarter. Nieder split a pair of defenders down the middle of the field and raced 43 yards for the game-winner. The clock read 20.3 seconds.
A touchback off the legs of freshman placekicker Kallon Tipton pinned South deep. A loss of two yards capped by a pair of incomplete passes ran off the final ticks.
South had to keep tabs on a multitude of WP receivers, including Preston Heatherington who dialed in eight receptions for 106 yards. Nieder finished with 86 yards on three receptions, while Tatum Justice added his name to the hat with two catches, including a 35-yarder which resulted in WP's first touchdown three minutes into the second quarter.
"The main thing is we stuck together," said Bordas, who ended the first quarter 2-for-4 with 13 yards passing before finishing with 23 completions on 29 attempts with two interceptions. "You can't hang your head on mistakes. We are a team and football is the ultimate team game. Offensively, it took all 11 of us so you just pick each other up after every mistake.
"On that last drive, the only thing I was thinking about was getting the 'W.' And that's what we did. Coming through like we did shows a lot about every one of us and our character, and how we stick together when things get tough."