As the weeks are grinding down in the West Virginia football season, the Scott Skyhawks are in a bit of a bind. With only winning one game in the last five weeks, the Skyhawks are sitting at 1-4 in the cardinal conference. Due to the Corona Virus, there has been two games cancelled within their schedule, but they look to make up for it as the season draws to a close. It seems the defensive side of the ball is our strong-suit. The offense only averages 106 yards a game while the defense only allows 150 yards. The four losses have amounted to a combined nine points. Although being ranked last in the conference, the Skyhawks statistically have one of the best defenses in the state. Defensive Coordinator, Nick Shreve, is the mastermind behind this outstanding performance.

            “I tell my guys that we have to play as if we are down by one with five seconds left,” says Coach Shreve. He most certainly has stressed the urge to the young defense that they must have a dominant effect since the offense really can’t get a start. “Our starting linebacker, Gunner Flores, has over twelve sacks and fifteen tackles for loss this season.” “You’re going to want to watch him for the next few years for sure.” The Skyhawks currently do not play any seniors on the team due to not having any. The lack of a leadership role among the players is also what may be affecting their ability to perform. “Majority of or starting defense has never seen varsity football in their life. We are a very young team.” – Nick Shreve             The Skyhawks face their next challenge this week on a Tuesday night against the Ripley Vikings. It has been over 24 years since these two teams have met on the grid iron. The triple A Vikings boast a 3-2 record with wins over Lincoln County and Upshur. Can the Skyhawks devise an offensive scheme that will get them rolling here in late October, or will the defense have to hold their own once again to get a shot. “Ripley has a good running back that we have to key on for this game so the strategy is to follow him,” said Coach Shreve on what his game plan was for the defense this week. Gunner Flores is also looking to break a school record with the most amount of sacks in a season with sixteen, he currently sits with twelve. “At the rate he’s playing, he may set a state record.”

Last Saturday in a Big Twelve match-up, the West Virginia Mountaineers fell to the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Cowboys pulled away late in the second half with a final score of 27-13. It was a rough afternoon for both teams to say the least. Chubba Hubbard, running back for the Cowboys had two costly fumbles which sidelined him for most of the time. In stepped L.D. Brown who rushed for an additional 103 yards and a swift score in the first half. The run game was flowing for Oklahoma State (2-0, #15 Big12). Quarterback Shane Illingworth was not so hot either. Having thrown for under 150 yards and one interception. Hubbard and the Cowboys seem like they are still knocking rust off, but when they get going on offense its fun to watch.

            The Mountaineers (1-1, Big12) statistically did not even do that bad on paper but could just not make it count in the end. At the helm was Jarret Doege, throwing for just under 300 yards on 20 completions and a touchdown. Early on, Doege got sacked and fumbled the ball allowing the Cowboys to get a go-ahead scoop and score. The offensive linemen for the Mountaineers did not seem in sync. Doege was pressured a lot in the pocket so we will see if they can clean that up for next week. Sophomore receiver Winston Wright Jr. had his first career 100 yard receiving game with 127 yards on 6 catches with a touchdown to go along with it. Leddie Brown had a nice game on the ground by rushing for 104 yards.

            Defensively both teams played very sound. Neither offense seemed like it could get a spark. The Cowboys and Mountaineers came up with some nice turnovers as well. Seemed like the defensive guys were ready to play on both sides that afternoon. There were two breakout plays that seemed like it would have created some rhythm, but it just was not happening. Early in the first quarter Cowboys running back L.D Brown took off for a 66-yard touchdown and then the Mountaineer answered right back with a 65-yard toss to Winston Wright Jr. We will be hearing from Head Coach of the Mountaineers later today on September 29.

            Next weekend on the Saturday the 3^rd, the Mountaineers head back to Morgantown and face off against the Baylor Bears (1-0 Big12). This will be another grueling test for the Mountaineers. Bears have a promising running back in Trestan Ebner, who last week returned two kickoffs for touchdowns and catching another in their blowout victory over the Kansas Jayhawks. As for the Cowboys, they look to take on the not so hot Jayhawks. Head coach Les Miles of Kansas really needs to hope for a miracle this weekend in hopes of turning that ship around in Lawrence. You can never be too sure in the Big Twelve though, given Kansas State upset #4 Oklahoman in Normandy last Saturday. A lot of things will be shifting around the conference in the next few weeks.

Here is my mother perfecting the art of making the best grilled cheese there is.

Jenna Belcher, the owner of Boone Magnolia Bakery, in my hometown gives us insight on starting a business within a struggling economic town.

I interviewed my mother since I went home earlier than expected due to the concerns of COVID-19. My mother, Lea Ann Halstead, works at Boone Memorial Hospital and I thought it would be cool to get some insight and her opinions of the current pandemic.

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This project was very cool to do because it allowed me to go out and capture something that I personally love and that is the complexity of mixed martial arts. I got to meet the instructors who were extremely nice and understanding about when I asked them if I could photograph their class session. This is what I see myself doing in the future. If you are interested in beginning your journey in mixed martial arts then I highly recommend starting here at Team Junqueira Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. They are located in Morgantown, West Virginia at 308 Cheat Road – 26508.

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With this assignment I guess I basically learned how to do some of the basics with Photoshop. I have never used photoshop before and I must say that the lesson was really easy to follow and understand. Other than that there was not much if anything else that I learned. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience.