By Michael Minnich
Tribune Sports Editor
mminnich@newstribune.info
KEYSER—For the first time since November 2, 2007, the Keyser Golden Tornado dropped a regular season football game Friday night, falling to the Wayne Pioneers, 22-0, in a rainy season opener at Pioneer Field.
The Golden Tornado were held to under 100 yards on offense and never really threatened to score.
After punting on their first possession, Keyser stopped Wayne at the KHS 22 on fourth down to get the ball back.
The Golden Tornado picked up one first down on their second drive, but R.C. Pratt, who got the starting nod at quarterback, was stopped short on a third-and-long run and KHS was forced to punt.
Wayne drove down inside the Keyser 10 to close out the first quarter, then converted a fourth-and-four to keep the drive alive.
Corey Damron punched the ball in for Wayne on the next play.
The two-point conversion was good, and Wayne took an 8-0 lead early in th second quarter.
A Wes Washington fumble gave the ball back to Wayne at their own 33.
Adam Frazier hit Damron for a big gain on first down as Wayne was again on the move, penetrating as deep as the Keyser 11.
But an intentional grounding dropped the ball back 22 yards.
After a flurry of penalty laundry, Keyser took the ball over on downs at their own 23-yard line with seven minutes left in the first half.
Again, the Golden Tornado were forced to punt with 3:03 left in the second quarter.
Wayne punted with 39 seconds remaining in the half, and Keyser ran out the clock to head into the locker room down 8-0.
The Pioneers again moved into Keyser territory on their first drive of the second half, and Frazier capped the drive with a 23-yard touchdown run with 6:46 left in the third quarter.
Wayne successfully ran for a two-point conversion and opened up a 16-0 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, Kadeem Garland gave Keyser some momentum with a kickoff return to the KHS 44.
But the Golden Tornado went three-and-out; Levi Ebert’s punt was downed at the Wayne 24.
The Pioneers punted the ball back; Keyser took over with 1:56 left in the third quarter.
Tyler Biser stepped in at quarterback and moved the chains with a run on third down.
Biser connected with Garland on a short pass to move the ball to midfield on the final play of the third quarter, but the Golden Tornado went no further and again punted.
Wayne took over at their own 10 and used their running attack to bleed Keyser and the clock, tacking on a third touchdown with 6:43 left.
The two-point conversion pass was dropped, but Wayne was in cruise control, 22-0.
Wayne (1-0) travels to Chesapeake (OH) next Friday.
Keyser (0-1) has a bye next week and will shoot up Route 220 to play Fort Hill on September 11.
