HUNTINGTON — Huntington High missed five extra-point attempts Friday night, but scored nine touchdowns, so it didn't come back to hurt them.
Zah Jackson ran for two touchdowns and caught another from quarterback Avonte Crawford, who accounted for four scores in a 58-6 blowout of St. Albans at Bob Sang Stadium in Huntington's home opener.
The Highlanders (2-1) raced to a 38-0 lead by halftime behind a pair of Keegan Sack rushing touchdowns in the opening quarter and Crawford's two touchdown passes in the second frame to guide Huntington to a sizable lead by intermission.
It was the kind of response that Highlanders coach Billy Seals wanted after being on the other end of a lopsided loss last Friday at Martinsburg.
"Each week that we practice and we get the opportunity to play, we're going to get better," Seals said. "I thought offensively, played pretty good, threw the ball well, ran the ball semi-decent, but defensively, we have to play with a little more force. Too much reaching for me."
On the other side, St. Albans (0-3) struggled to move the ball offensively and picked up only a single first down in the first half while turning the ball over once deep in its own territory and doing little to keep Huntington from moving the ball at will offensively.
After getting backed up by a pair of penalties early, Crawford's long scramble set up Sack's 16-yard rush to open the scoring four minutes into the game, and Sack put a bow on the quarter with his second rushing touchdown from 1 yard out after the officials failed to stop play when the first-quarter clock expired before the Highlanders snapped the ball.
In between those scoring chances were rushing scores of 15 and 5 yards by Crawford and Jackson, respectively. The two linked up for a 63-yard touchdown pass in the second before Crawford hit Taviun Chandler on a 1-yard scoring slant in the final minute of the half.
After the Red Dragons went three-and-out to begin the second half, Jackson ran 39 yards for his third touchdown on the Highlanders' first offensive play of the second half, pushing the lead to 44-0 and enacting a running clock with 9:52 left in the third quarter.
DeShaun Stotts broke up Huntington's shutout bid with a 2-yard rushing touchdown after several starters were pulled on the Highlanders defense. Stotts led an impressive drive and helped the Red Dragons march down the field with ease to trim the lead to 44-6.Â
"What I like to see is not playing the scoreboard but playing the game," St. Albans coach Derek Stotts said. "One play at a time, no matter what the score is. I want to see the same effort if it's 0-0 or 50-0. Effort should not be determined by what the scoreboard says."
The Highlanders added two more scores before the end of the night, a 64-yard pass from Crawford to Andreas Reese and a 68-yard rush by Dante Newsome in the fourth quarter to set the final score.
"We're still bouncing back," Crawford said. "This week doesn't count as our bounce-back because we're still trying to play harder and with more passion. This week was a good step."
The late Woody Woodrum, a beloved member of the Huntington community who was a familiar voice on the radio during Highlander games, was honored with a moment of silence prior to the game's start. Woodrum's son, Trey, was an honorary captain for the first Huntington game since his father's death.
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Huntington hits the road again next week, its third road game in four weeks, with a game at Riverside before an open date on Sept. 27. St. Albans returns home to face Capital.
SA - 0 0 6 0 — 6
HHS - 25 13 6 14 — 58
H — Sack 16 rush (Childers kick good) [7:59, 1Q]
H — Crawford 15 rush (kick missed) [3:57, 1Q]
H — Jackson 5 rush (kick missed) [0:59, 1Q]
H — Sack 1 rush (kick missed) [0:00, 1Q]
H — Jackson 63 pass from Crawford (kick good) [8:33, 2Q]
H — Chandler 1 pass from Crawford (kick missed) [0:54, 2Q]
H — Jackson 39 rush (kick missed) [9:52, 3Q]
SA — Stotts 2 rush (kick failed) [3:55, 3Q]Â
H — Reese 64 pass from Crawford (kick good) [11:31, 4Q]
H — Newsome 68 rush (kick good) [2:06, 4Q]
