POINT PLEASANT — “Defense.”

That was Point Pleasant Head Coach Dave Darst’s answer when he was asked to sum up his Big Blacks’ impressive 33-8 win over the 11th ranked Herbert Hoover Huskies in a big Class AA football game played here last night.

“We are the first team to shut them down this season. My hat is off to our coaching staff for their game preparation. They studied the films and came up with a great game plan. We played a very aggressive, attacking defense. We really got after them. We sent guys after their quarterback from all directions. Their quarterback is pretty good and we made him throw balls he didn’t want to throw and from places he didn’t want to throw from. I’m very proud of these coaches and these kids. The boys bought into what we were trying to do and executed our game plan very well,” added the third year mentor.

A quick look at the defensive statistics bear out just what Coach Darst was talking about. Senior Chauncey McClanahan and sophomore Layne Thompson each picked off two Hoover aerials, with McClanahan returning one for a touchdown only to have a penalty nullify his fine run. Clay Krebs batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage, and also was credited with a quarterback hurry. Nathan Roberts forced a couple of quick throws, while Ryan Warner had a sack.

Junior linebacker Michael Musgrave had a busy night, leading the red and black with 8 tackles, while fellow backer Nathan Roberts recorded 7 stops. Clay Krebs, Ryan Warner, and Trey Livingston all had 6 tackles, while Derek Pinson made 5 stops. All of the assistant coaches lauded the effort by the defense and were more than pleased with the balance on that side of the football. None, though, were happier than secondary coach Dave Bodkin, who said he “didn’t sleep much all week” thinking about the pass-happy Huskies offense. But, his group played their best football game of the season, limiting the Hoover receivers to just 7 catches and 49 yards.

While defense may have been the key, there was plenty of offense to go around, at least for the home side. Nathan Roberts, who entered the game as the Cardinal Conference’s leading rusher, led the Point Pleasant ground attack with 151 yards on 25 carries and one touchdown. Chris Blankenship added 95 yards on just 11 carries, including an electrifying 56 yard touchdown run in the third quarter. And, sophomore quarterback Eric Roberts was 6 for 10 in the passing department, good for 98 yards and a touchdown. Fellow soph Brandon Toler also threw a touchdown pass on his only attempt when he found Orrin Chason in the end zone on a halfback pass.

And, once again, the special teams provided the team with a spark when Layne Thompson returned the second half kickoff 63 yards to the Hoover 23 yard line. Thompson gathered the ball in at his own 14 yard line and, running behind a great wall set up by his teammates, raced down the right sideline to the Hoover 23 yard line. The Big Blacks’ special teams have been, well -- special all season, with much of the credit going to those guys who set up the walls for the skill people to run behind.

The game started slowly, much like a good heavyweight fight, with both teams feeling each other out during the first round -- make that first quarter. Point drew first blood with a long, time-consuming drive that started at their own 29 yard line. Fifteen plays and seven a half minutes later, Nathan Roberts crashed over from the one yard line to stake the locals to a 6-0 lead. Brock McClung’s extra point kick made it 7-0. Nathan Roberts was the workhorse on the scoring drive, toting the old pigskin some 14 times on the drive.

The rest of the quarter was pretty mundane, with Hoover punting twice and the Big Blacks failing on a fake punt. The half ended with that 7-0 score.

As quiet as the first half was, the third quarter was that busy. Point tallied four touchdowns during the next eight minutes of second half action. Thompson got the locals off to a great start with his big return of the second half kickoff. It took the Big Blacks just 5 plays to capitalize on the field position, with quarterback Eric Roberts capping the drive with a one yard plunge. McClung made it 14-0 with his PAT.

On the Huskies’ next possession, Thompson again came up with the big play. On third and nine, he intercepted Hoover quarterback Jamie Hurd, giving his team the ball at their own 33 yard line. Five plays later, Eric Roberts found Cody Greathouse all alone in the end zone for their second touchdown of the quarter. McClung was good on the extra point and it was 21-0.

Thompson wasn’t finished just yet. The talented sophomore made his third big play of the quarter when he again intercepted Hurd -- this time at the Hoover 19 yard line. It didn’t take long for the Big Blacks to capitalize on the turnover, as halfback Brandon Toler took a pitch from Roberts and fired a beautiful aerial to Orrin Chason in the end zone to give the good guys a 27-0 lead. The PAT missed left, but at this point it didn’t matter much.

Point tallied their final touchdown of the evening on their next possession. After forcing a Hoover punt, the Big Blacks took over at their own 44 yard line. One play later it was 33-0, thanks to Blankenship’s big 56 yard run. The extra point was no good, but this one was, for all intents and purposes, over.

Hoover added a meaningless score with just three minutes left in the game when Storm Robinson ran it over from the two yard line.

“This was a total team win,” said Darst. “Our running backs had a quality night and I think it was a coming out party for our quarterback. Defensively, we played great, and our special teams were big again. I also am proud of our offensive line. We had a spirited talk with them at halftime and they responded in the second half. That’s what veteran lines do -- we make adjustments and they carry them out,” added Darst.

The win probably secured a playoff spot for the Big Blacks, who have just one regular season game left. Point makes the long trip to Chapmanville next Friday where a win may mean a home playoff game.