HUBBARD HAILS SUPREME

HUBBARD, Ohio –

For the first time since Youngstown East stole Hubbard’s perfect regular season on the last play of the game in week 10 of 2018, the Eagles and Golden Bears faced off on opening weekend of the 2022 high school football season.

Looking to replace their all-state running back from last year, T.C. Caffey, the Eagles started off the night with three different running backs who would find the endzone. Ben Wilcox, a familiar name to the Eagle backfield, would be the first to reach paydirt. Just over two minutes into the first quarter, Wilcox would take a handoff fifty yards to the house for the opening score of the 2022 season.

Next for the Eagles offense, it was Royal McConahy finding the endzone on another long Hubbard run, this one from fifty-three yards out in the closing seconds of the first quarter. Ahead 14-0, it was time for the third Eagle to score. Xzander Owens would put Hubbard ahead buy three scores with his twenty-five-yard touchdown scamper; the two-point conversion was failed.

All Hubbard to start this matchup, the Golden Bears showed signs of life, almost dominating the rest of the second quarter. Starting their drive from their own thirty-five-yard line, after a couple solid runs from Andrew Blackmon and a sloth of Golden Bear backs, East was into Hubbard territory. Blackmon would then find a wide-open Thomas Nickerson in the middle of the field, who would take the pass into the endzone for the score. Blackmon went on to punch in the two-point conversion to draw East within twelve.

Following the Bears score, a plethora of solid defense and sloppy offense ensued. Hubbard would have the ball in East territory multiple times, even starting a drive on the Golden Bearseleven-yard-line but could not muster a score. The drought would succumb however when Ben Wilcox would find the endzone with eight minutes remaining in the ballgame. Wilcox’s second touchdown of the night came from twelve yards out, on fourth down. The Eagles would run the exact same play they scored the touchdown with when going for two and would convert, bringing the score to where it would finish, 28-8.

BIG PERFORMERS

HUBBARD:

Ben Wilcox: 20 carries, 110 rushing yards, 2 TDs

Royal McConahy: 3 carries, 67 rushing yards, 1 TD

Xzander Owens: 2 carries, 39 rushing yards, 1 TD

YOUNGSTOWN EAST:

Andrew Blackmon: 68 passing yards, 1 passing TD, 32 rushing yards

Thomas Nickerson: 1 catch, 41 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD

UP NEXT

Hubbard: Following their victory, the Eagles will face their first road test of the season next Friday night when they travel East into the Keystone state, to take on the Greenville Trojans (0-0). Friday nights matchup will be the first time these two schools have faced since 1949. Greenville leads the all-time series, 2-1-1.

Youngstown East: With their loss, East has now dropped eight straight games dating back to last season. The Golden Bears will look the rebound with the only team they defeated in 2021, the East Cleveland Shaw Cardinals (0-1).

*Contributed By YSN’s Jamie Thomson.