Herbert Hoover's line, Falcons' errors too much for Frankfort to overcome in state semifinal

Nov. 27—SHORT GAP, W.Va. — Frankfort led 10-3 at halftime against Hoover, but the Huskies scored 10 unanswered points in the second half to beat the Falcons 17-10 and clinch their spot in next week's West Virginia Class AA state championship.

"It's a tough loss," Frankfort head coach Kevin Whiteman said. "We had a great season. You make it this far for a home semifinal game, you wanna advance. Everyone's broken hearted so it's a horrible feeling right now."

Frankfort Stadium hosted its first semifinal game since 2014, and the Falcon faithful showed up. The stands were packed and the fans were loud.

"We had a great crowd," Whiteman said. "I was hoping we'd have a great crowd. Big game like this, our community came out and supported us. There's nothing like that, it was great."

Hoover quarterback Dane Hatfield had 92 rushing yards by halftime and picked up several first downs with his legs. He finished with 37 rushes for 177 yards and two touchdowns. Huskies running back Randy Hughart ran 12 times for 110 yards.

"He's fast, he's strong, he's slippery," Whiteman said of Hatfield. "He did a really good job. Their other running back did a good job. They had a good game plan and we did a good job. We made a lot of plays, but we shot ourselves in the foot way too many times."

One of the differences in the game was the size advantage the Hoover linemen had compared to Frankfort's. The Huskies have 10 linemen listed at 220 pounds or more and five are over 240 pounds.

The Falcons only have three linemen listed at over 220 pounds. Frankfort's starters average 203 pounds.

"They definitely had a big line and they move well," Whiteman said. "That was a big factor, but my kids played hard as they did the whole year. They didn't quit, very proud of what we did this year."

The Falcons forced two turnovers in the first half and both led to scores. The first came in the first quarter on a fumble recovery by Logan Athey. It led to a three-yard score by Tyrique Powell a few plays later.

In the second quarter, Cameron Layton sacked Hatfield for a four-yard loss. On the next play, Luke Robinette intercepted a pass. Rhett Sensabaugh kicked a 28-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.

"Turnovers were big," Whiteman said. "The one when we didn't punch it in down there I think was a really big turning point in the game."

Hatfield picked up several first downs on quarterback keepers. On second-and-goal at the one, Hatfield ran a quarterback sneak and scored. It gave Hoover the lead with 5:33 to go.

Frankfort had one last chance to tie it in the final two minutes. Andrew Rollyson intercepted a lob in the end zone that sealed the game for the Huskies.

On defense, Chase Snyder led the Falcons with nine tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.

"You can't say enough about him," Whiteman said. "He's been a monster all year. He's been a monster for three years, can't say enough about the senior class."

Cameron Lynch also had nine tackles with two for a loss and a sack. Luke Robinette finished with seven tackles and the interception.

"He's been our leader," Whiteman said of Robinette. "He's carried the team on his back. I'm very proud of him and everything he's done for the program's been phenomenal."

Frankfort finishes the season at 11-2. It made its fourth appearance in the West Virginia semifinals in school history and first since 2014. The Falcons won six of their last seven games including two in the playoffs by two or more scores.

"The way the kids battled, fought through adversity," Whiteman said on what he'll remember most about this season. "Fought through injuries and they played as a team the whole year. When something went wrong, we had an injury and the next guy would step up. It's definitely one that's gonna stick in my mind. They did so well and were good kids on and off the field. I'm very proud of them."

Jordan Kendall is a Sports Writer for the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @JKendallCTN.