Charleston edges Pottsville

CHARLESTON -- Kaleb Hamby did all he could do Friday night for Charleston on both sides of the ball.

The senior had two of the three touchdowns for the Tigers, one on a 100-yard interception return and the other a 22-yard touchdown catch as the Tigers claimed a 21-14 win against Pottsville.

"We had our backs up against the wall plenty of times tonight," said Charleston coach Ricky May. "We finally came through with the stop that we needed at the end of the game."

Charleston (1-1) grabbed the early lead, driving 49 yards midway through the first quarter for a 7-0 lead on its second offensive possession. Brekken Ketter capped the 8-play drive with a 3-yard touchdown run with 4 minutes, 19 seconds left in the quarter.

The Apaches finally were able to put points on the board in the second quarter as quarterback Konner Carpenter connected with Cache Linker on an 18-yard scoring strike with 6:33 left in the first half. Pottsville attempted to go for a two-point conversion but failed, leaving the score 7-6, Charleston.

Charleston rebounded from the Pottsville touchdown and Brevyn Ketter broke off a 44-yard run, but the Tigers fumbled at the Apaches' 10 to end the drive.

The turnover sparked Pottsville's offense and the Apaches marched almost the length of the field. From deep inside the Charleston red zone, Carpenter attempted a pass in the end zone, but Hamby was able to step in front of the pass and chewed up 100 yards of Alumni Field turf, taking the interception 100 yards the other way for a touchdown and a 14-6 Charleston lead.

"He was second on the team in interceptions last year and third in receptions," May said of Hamby. "He is just one hard-working kid."

Pottsville was able to shake off the momentum-turning turnover coming out for the second half, using a 14-play drive that consumed almost half of the third-quarter clock. Carpenter hit Elijah Bradley on an 8-yard scoring pass, then they hooked up again on the two-point conversion to tie the score at 14-14 with 6:10 left in the third quarter.

The Tigers did not waste any time with an answering drive of their own. Charleston quarterback Dalton Curtis threw the ball 22 yards to Hamby for the touchdown with 2:26 left in the third quarter.

Tristan Crites gave the Apaches hope with just under six minutes in the game, intercepting a Charleston pass near midfield. Carpenter hit a couple of key passes to get the Apaches inside the Charleston 10, but the Tigers' defense came up with four big stops to seal the win.

Pottsville will play Clarksville at home next week and Charleston will also play at home next week against Ozark.