Bluefield/Beckley game article from BDT...

[Bluefield_Rules 46]

http://www.bdtonline.com/articles/2004/09/11/sports/01satbeavers.txt

 

Beavers clip Eagles' wings

Posted: Saturday, Sep 11, 2004 - 12:55:02 am EDT

By DUSTY HARMAN

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

 

BLUEFIELD - Their last meeting was a memorable one.

 

The Bluefield Beavers tallied 504 yards of total offense and capitalized on five Woodrow Wilson turnovers to down the Flying Eagles 49-6 Friday night at Mitchell Stadium.

 

With Woodrow set to start a Mountain State Athletic Conference schedule next season, the series with Bluefield won't be rekindled for at least a decade.

 

With the way the Beavers played Friday, Woodrow probably doesn't mind the hiatus.

 

Michael Davis led the way for Bluefield (3-0), pulling in four passes for 112 yards and two scores. The senior also returned a punt 55 yards to paydirt and had an interception that killed an Eagle drive deep in Beaver territory.

 

"Man everybody played great," said Davis. "I'm loving it. Every week, we're getting better and better."

 

Derrick Steptoe led the Beaver ground game with 106 yards on 13 carries, while Quintin Steptoe toted the pigskin six times for 66 yards and a score, and David Perdue added 50 yards and a TD.

 

Senior quarterback Rusty Coeburn remained impressive under center, completing 7-of-12 for 148 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

 

Coeburn capped an 80-yard opening drive with a 1-yard score to put Bluefield ahead 7-0 in the opening quarter.

 

Jonathan Repass, a former Princeton QB who just became eligible for Friday's contest, made a big impact with his first pass, finding Davis for a 32-yard TD on the next series.

 

The play started with a lateral pass from Coeburn to Repass, who then found a wide-open Davis for the score.

 

"It was just perfect, it was beautiful," Bluefield coach Fred Simon said. "We were up just 7, and it was nice to go up 14 with our defense (playing like it was.) ... It was a nice, well-executed play and they did a nice job of it."

 

"That's just a little something that we came up with this week," Davis said. "Jon's a good player, he can catch and throw, so we figured we'd try it."

 

Davis put Bluefield up by three scores with his punt return, getting a great block from Mark Page to break free down the right sideline. Lucas Stone booted the third of his seven PATs for a 21-0 lead.

 

The Beavers went up 28-0 at the half after Perdue capped a 75-yard, four-play drive with a 2-yard score.

 

After a Woodrow fumble, Coeburn connected with Davis for a 34-yard strike and a 34-0 advantage.

 

Coeburn then grabbed his second interception of the game to set up Quintin Steptoe's 47-yard score late in the third.

 

Senior T.J. Morris added Bluefield's final TD on a 1-yard run, giving them a 49-0 lead in the fourth.

 

Freshman Marquil Ali kept the Flying Eagles from suffering their second straight shutout with a 20-yard run with 5 minutes left in the contest.

 

The Bluefield defense held the Flying Eagles, who lost to Parkersburg South 35-0 last week, to just 56 yards and one first down in the first half.

 

Woodrow collected 168 total yards for the contest, led by Kyle Baker and Ali, who rushed for 33 and 19 yards, respectively.

 

"Our defense has been phenomenal," Simon said. "They've not been in there a whole game yet, but they're doing a good job. People haven't been able to move the ball on us."

 

Quarterback Cayce Prunesti completed 5-of-12 passing for 71 yards and three interceptions.

 

Baker was his favorite target with 38 yards; Joe Lawson added 33 yards on three receptions.

 

Woodrow Wilson coach John Lilly was not available for comment following the game.

 

The win was the third straight for Bluefield, which has outscored opponents 146-48 during that span.

 

"I expected a close, hard-fought ballgame," Simon said. "I never expected it to be like this, but I didn't expect it to be like this (in victories over) Graham or Princeton either.

 

"I'm thankful. Just thank God that we've been blessed enough to play this well."

 

"These have been three tough teams that we've played," Coeburn said. "Hopefully we can just keep it going."

 

- Contact Dusty Harman

 

dharman@bdtonline.com

 

At Mitchell Stadium

 

Woodrow Wilson (1-2).........0 0 0 6 - 6

 

Bluefield (3-0).....................14 14 14 7 - 49

 

First quarter

 

BHS - Coeburn 1-yard run (Stone kick), 6:36

 

BHS - Davis, 32-yard pass from Repass (Stone kick), 3:54

 

Second quarter

 

BHS - Davis 55-yard punt return (Stone kick), 4:06

 

BHS - Perdue 2-yard run (Stone kick), :52

 

Third quarter

 

BHS - Davis, 34-yard pass from Coeburn (Stone kick), 8:29

 

BHS - Q. Steptoe 47-yard run (Stone kick), 3:22

 

Fourth quarter

 

BHS - Morris 1-yard run (Stone kick), 7:52

 

WWHS - Ali 20-yard run (pass fails), 5:05