In high school football action, the Man Hillbillies edged out the Mingo Central Miners 7-6 Friday night at George A. Queen Memorial Field.
The win improved Hillbillies’ season to 2-1 and dropped the Miners to 1-2 on the season.
The game was decided in the trenches, as neither team could make any headway against the other. Mingo Central squandered many scoring opportunities. The Miners had the ball seven times in Hillbilly territory and turned the ball over five times, and twice turned the ball over on downs.
Man's defense came away with three interceptions, two of those coming from senior Jeremiah Harless, while Man also forced two fumbles. The Hillbillies gained only four yards of total offense in the first half against a quick and formidable Miner defense.
After a scoreless first half, Mingo Central was finally able to break through on the final play of the third quarter when quarterback Chris Ross plowed in from one yard out to put the Miners in front 6-0 heading into the fourth quarter.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Man was able to force their final turnover, as The Hillbillies recovered a fumble at the Mingo Central 42 yard line. Six plays later, quarterback Jeremiah Harless was able to connect with fellow senior Justin Grimmett for a 35-yard touchdown pass with 3:42 remaining to give Man the lead 7-6 after Jaxon Tipton's extra point.
The Hillbillies were able to make one last stop and ran out the clock to preserve their second win in a row over the Miners.
Man will get back into action on Tuesday night when they travel to Mount View to take on the Golden Knights in a makeup game. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.