Fall 2006 PG Football vs. Marshall University

Hargrave Tigers Pounce on Marshall Early and Cruise to 26-0 Victory
PG defense posts first shut out of season versus the Herd

Huntington, WV – The Hargrave Military Academy Post Graduate Football team is beginning to see why singer John Denver made such a fuss about the state of West Virginia in his famous tune “Country Road.” The Tigers have visited the great coal mining state twice in the past three weeks and those “country roads” have led to two victories for the PG’s with the latest coming over the Marshall University Thundering Herd 26-0 on Friday afternoon.

Hargrave won everything from the opening coin toss and elected to put the offense on the field to start the game. From there it took the offense just four plays to put points on the scoreboard. Brent Vinson started the drive by taking the ball from quarterback Emanuel Francis and scrambling for 14-yards. Francis would then team up with Auburn bound receiver Chris Slaughter on two separate catches of 32-yards, with the second one ending up in the end zone after another unbelievable Slaughter run after a short catch to put the Tigers up 6-0 early in the first quarter. The drive covered 78-yards in just four plays.

The defense would force Marshall into a three play and out situation with the help of defensive linemen Ladi Ajiboye and Cowles Stewart who posted two stops on the drive.

The Tigers would again move the ball down the field. Slaughter caught an 11-yard pass on third down to keep the drive moving and running back Randell Bell carried for a few yards to help sustain the drive before Emanuel Francis found receiver Brent Vinson on a post route for a 35-yard pickup to move the ball to the Marshall five yard line. The drive would stall after two penalties, but thunder foot kicker Kyle Hughes booted his sixth straight field goal from twenty-six yards out to put the Tigers up 9-0 late in the first quarter.

The Tigers defense was this time led by linebacker Almondo Sewell, defensive lineman Jon Hollins, and defensive back Jimmaul Simmons who held the Herd on first and second down. On third down Hollins hit Marshall running back Cody Tominack and Sewell was “Johnny’s man on the spot” coming up with the fumble recovery to give the offense a chance to increase their lead.

The PG offense did just that. This time it was running back HB Banjoman and Randell Bell carrying the ball for Hargrave. Bell rushed for thirty yards on the drive, while Banjoman chipped in twenty yards before Emanuel Francis found 6’5” receiver Ben Finney on a fade route in the corner of the end zone, who did an unbelievable job of getting a foot down in bounds to score his sixth touchdown of the season and give Hargrave a 16-0 lead after Kyle Hughes booted the extra point.

The teams would exchange punts after Hargrave held Marshall with the help again of Sewell, Hollins, Shane Shead, Ras-I Dowling, Jasper Brooks, and Daniel Drake on defense. Punter Jake Fields would boot one down to the Marshall 4-yard line to pin the Herd back deep.

Hargrave would have another chance to score before the half thanks to an impressive drive down the field. The Tigers moved the ball 71-yards in eight plays, but could not put points on the board. Banjoman started the drive with a 40-yard scamper on first down. Then quarterback Andrew Calantone found receivers Livington Senatus, Quintin McCree, and Chris Slaughter combining for a total of thirty-yards, but the Tigers would hold onto a 16-0 lead heading into the half while putting up 300-yards of total offense in the first half. The defense limited the Thundering Herd to 69 total yards on offense through the first two quarters, including just eleven yards in the first period.

The second half started out with a bang for the Tigers. Although Marshall elected to receive the kickoff, it did not prove to be a smart decision. Kicker Kyle Hughes pulled out some trickery as instructed by Head Coach Robert Prunty and snuck the kick off over the front line where defensive back DeAndre McDaniel sprinted down the field to get on the loose football and give the Hargrave offense the first play of the second half.

Quarterback Francis found receiver Jon Bach for 16-yards and a first down to open the drive, before the backfield took over. Fullback Richard Parker drove for six yards on first down before tailback Randell Bell took the ball in from nine yards out for the Tigers to extend their lead to 23-0 after another Hughes extra point.

Marshall would put together their most successful drive of the game on Hargrave on the ensuing kickoff. The drive would cover 54-yards down to the Hargrave twenty-four yard line, before turning it over on downs when McDaniel tackled Herd receiver Kyle Echols short on fourth down. During the drive a few PG’s stepped up on the defensive side of the ball. Russ Wantowski, Miguel Chavis, Jimmaul Simmons, Cowles Stewart, Jovan Davis, Brett Orr, Ladi Ajiboye, and Ras-I Dowling teamed with McDaniels to come up with tackles during the drive to keep the Thundering Herd out of the end zone.

Following a Hargrave punt, Marshall was able to move the ball again. This time Brett Orr, Chris Drayton, Gerald Price, Clifton Geathers, Daniel Drake, and Jasper Brooks contributed on stopping the Herd again on fourth down to put the ball back in the possession of the offense.

This time the Hargrave offense took little time in moving the ball down the field. Running back HB Banjoman ripped off a 51-yard run on first down. On the second play of the drive, Banjoman drove five yards down to the Marshall ten-yard line. A mishap on second down led to a third and long situation in which quarterback Jamie Childers found Eric Young just short of the end zone to set up kicker Kyle Hughes on what is turning out to be a record breaking season. Hughes was able to put his attempt through the uprights to record his seventh consecutive field goal conversion including a long of 51-yards on the season. The kick gave Hargrave a 26-0 lead and the game would end with the same score.

Hargrave was able to rack up almost 400 yards of total offense while only surrendering 140-yards in the winning effort. Hargrave’s offense was paced by quarterback Emanuel Francis who was 10-13 passing for 165-yards and two touchdowns. His favorite targets were Slaughter and Vinson who each recorded four catches a piece. Slaughter turned his catches into 84-yards, while Vinson danced for 42-yards. Receiver Ben Finney added another two catches for twenty-four yards, including a score. Running back HB Banjoman eclipsed the century mark, rushing the ball six times for 104-yards. He averaged an unheard of 18-yards per carry. Randell Bell also added nine rushes for 37-yards and a touchdown. Nine different receivers caught the ball for the Tigers from quarterbacks Andrew Calantone, Jamie Childers, and Francis.

On the defensive side of the ball it was linebacker Almondo Sewell leading the charge with six tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss, and a fumble recovery. Safety Brett Orr registered five tackles as did Gerald Price, Ras-I Dowling, Daniel Drake, and Jon Hollins all had four tackles a piece for the Tiger defense. Cowles Stewart, Ladi Ajiboye, and a host of other defensive participants all recorded two tackles, but had a number of tackles for a loss to pace the Hargrave defense.

The Tigers win marks their third straight over an NCAA division IA opponent. The Tigers move to 5-1 on the season and will travel up the road to Blacksburg, VA to battle the Virginia Tech Hokies on Friday. The eleventh ranked Hokies fell to Georgia Tech on Saturday, but the Tigers will look to avenge a two point loss from a year ago, in which the Hokies hit a 51-yard field goal with no time left on the clock. Game time is scheduled for high noon in Lane Stadium on the campus of Virginia Tech.

Hargrave Military Academy logo.