Courtesy Photo/Greg Adkins

Mingo Central freshman quarterback Stevie Hammond (13) is shown handing the football off to senior Joe May (10) in Friday night’s game at Wyoming East. The Miners went down to defeat in their opener.

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John Conley

Heartland News Service

NEW RICHMOND - Wyoming East’s Christian Hedinger made a big impact in his first varsity football game. Hedinger caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Griffith and ran an 85-yard interception back for another score to help the Warriors nip Mingo Central, 19-16, in the season opener for both teams on Friday night at New Richmond.

“Christian is an athlete and he works hard every day,” said WEHS coach Gary Poindexter. Each team scored once in the first half, and the Miners clung to a one-point edge, 8-7, for much of the night. East missed two field goals which would have given the Warriors the lead.

East got the ball at the Miners 35-yard line with eight minutes to play and moved to the 20 when Central was flagged for pass interference.

The Miners stuffed two running plays for losses.

On a third and 14 at the Central 24, East quarterback Aaron Griffith found Hedinger alone along the sideline. Hedinger caught the ball at the one and stepped into the end zone.

That put East up, 13-8, with 5:50 to play in the contest. The Miners mounted a threat of their own, marching to the Warriors 23 with 2:08 showing. Hedinger stepped in front of a pass across the middle, broke to the outside and went 85 yards for a touchdown to give East a 19-8 lead.

“They had been running that play all night,” Hedinger commented. “I got the ball and ran down the field.” The Miners used the passing game to roll down the field and scored on a short run by Steven Hammond with :34.5 seconds to play. The two-point try was good, making it 19-16.

Central’s onside kick attempt was unsuccessful, and East ran out the clock. “I thought out our offensive line did a great job in the second half,” Poindexter commented. “I’m happy for our seniors. The hard work they’ve put in since December paid off.”

Most of the game was a defensive struggle. Central fumbled deep in its own territory in the first quarter, and East’s Jonathan Culicerto recovered. On fourth and goal, Chris Cecil plunged in from two yards out. Cecil booted the extra point to make it 7-0. The Miners answered early in the second with a four-play, 62-yard scoring drive. senior all-state candidate Joe May went 23 yards for the touchdown with 10:33 on the clock. Chance Lester caught the conversion pass, giving Central the 8-7 edge. May had 89 yards rushing on 22 carries for the Miners. Lester rushed for 47 yards on six carries. Hammond was 8-12 passing for 90 yards.

Jacob Summe rushed for 40 yards on 21 attempts for East. Hedinger caught a 24-yard touchdown pass and had a pair of interceptions.

Mingo Central is now 0-1 and is idle this week. Wyoming East is 1-0 and will play at rival Westside on Friday night.

Score by quarters:

MCHS (0-1) …0 8 0 8 - 16

WEHS (1-0) … 7 0 0 12 - 19