WVU was up 10-3 against the Colonials heading into the locker room. In the second quarter, the Mountaineers had the ball five times. The outcomes? Field goal, fumble, fumble, fumble and punt. This was against an FCS pay-to-win school as well. WVU finished the game with four turnovers.

Rodriguez has been a head coach for almost 30 years, and has never seen anything like that second quarter.

“That was really embarrassing,” Rodriguez said.

The biggest problem was holding onto the football. Three straight fumbles isn’t a recipe for success. In fall camp, Rodriguez is making sure there’s extra emphasis on ball security, especially for the quarterbacks.

A quarterback in Rodriguez’s offense is expected to carry the ball a lot. Rodriguez is known as the father of the read option, which is the quarterback handing the ball off or taking off and running. Quarterback Pat White really took off in Rodriguez’s offense. White had over 1,000 yards in two of four years at WVU.

This year’s quarterbacks can carry the ball. Scotty Fox Jr.’s first big moment was a big touchdown run against Robert Morris, and Oklahoma transfer quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. took off against Auburn in 2024 for a long touchdown. Youngster Jyron Hughley even had a big touchdown run on his first play in the spring game.

Ball security and flashbacks of that turnover-filled first game are the only reason Rodriguez plans to have the quarterbacks “go live,” meaning tacklable, this fall.

“Everybody’s punching the ball out,” Rodriguez said. “Quarterbacks got to learn to carry it, so there are going to be times where they got to get banged around, see if they can have the proper ball security.”

Going against WVU’s defense in practice helps. The Mountaineers forced the third most fumbles in the Big 12 last season. The only problem was WVU didn’t jump on a lot of them.

Rodriguez doesn’t want the quarterbacks to be live this fall for a couple of reasons.

The first is the risk of injury. The injury bug bit WVU’s quarterback room hard last season, losing Nicco Marchiol, Jaylen Henderson, Khalil Wilkins and Max Brown to injury at some point. There was a point when Fox was the only scholarship quarterback left to start.

The other is because Rodriguez knows the quarterback room pretty well at this point. He knows how they handle getting tackled.

“I don’t think we need to beat our quarterbacks up to prove their toughness,” Rodriguez said. “I like the toughness that we have from our quarterbacks.”

Instead, the quarterbacks will wear touch jerseys, working more on their decision-making. Fox struggled at times deciding where to go with the ball last year, but that’s expected as a true freshman. He threw six interceptions in 2025. Hawkins is a bit more careful with the football in his time with the Sooners. But, against South Carolina, where he threw three passes, he had two of them picked off.

From the spring until now, after the first practice, the decision-making for the quarterbacks is coming along.

“Scotty and Max have been in it now,” Rodriguez said. “This is the first year for Mike, and so he’s still learning the decision-making process of it and all that. But he’s a smart guy, so I feel good where they’re at with that.”

Outfielder Turner Hill earned the honor for the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. Hill batted .422/.490/.611 and led the league in average (.422), hits (38) and triples (three). He was second in total bases (55) and on-base percentage (.490), was fourth in OPS (1.101) and fifth in runs (19). He walked more times (10) than he struck out (eight) and led Minor League Baseball in hits. He recorded 14 multi-hit games and ended the month on a 17-game hitting streak. Hill, 27, was signed by San Francisco as a free agent out of Marietta College in 2023.

As of Tuesday, Hill holds a 20-game hitting streak. It marks the longest hitting streak of his career and fourth-longest hitting streak in the Pacific Coast League this season. It is also the third-longest single-season hitting streak in franchise history, behind Daric Barton, who had a 24-game streak in 2007, and Nick Buss, who had a 22-game streak in 2014. Hill’s season-long .343 batting average ranks second in all of Triple-A among qualified batters, behind only Las Vegas Aviator, Joey Meneses.

This new injunction opened up the opportunity for former athletes, who might’ve graduated, to return to their previous schools for another year. Multiple West Virginia football players fit this criteria, including cornerback Jordan Scruggs.

Scruggs announced on social media he’s looking to be back on WVU’s roster. He played 12 games at corner and made 32 tackles, had two pass breakups and the big pick-6 in the top 25 win over Houston.

After the first fall practice and first-time appearance since the new rulings, Rich Rodriguez was asked if he’d add some former players to the roster. He said the ruling is chaotic because the NCAA is appealing the court ruling, and there’s a lot of uncertainty around bringing back players.

Rodriguez made clear he doesn’t plan to cut a single player that’s on the fall roster now to make room for a returning player.

“The guys have worked hard all summer and spring, and they’re on the roster now. They’re going to be on the roster,” Rodriguez said.

But Rodriguez said there are roster spots open to add players. He added players last summer who were still in the transfer portal. Most didn’t play, but were depth pieces. Regarding the players from the new 5-for-5 ruling, he’s waiting.

“Right now we just have it on pause,” Rodriguez said. “We’re researching it. We are talking to a few that might be eligible. But, we’re not adding anybody right now for sure.”

Once the ruling clears up, he’s not ruling it out.

“Right now, my focus and our main focus is getting these guys, the guys that have been here, ready to play,” Rodriguez said. “But, I got enough people on the staff to make sure that we’re checking that out too.”

There are challenges if you do bring in a returning player. Obviously, they’ll know the system, but there’s no telling if they’re in football shape and training the summer like the rest of the team. Rodriguez’s biggest problem after Practice 1 was the team wasn’t conditioned enough.

“The biggest thing will be getting in shape,” defensive coordinator Zac Alley said. “You got guys out there that thought they were done. This guy owns a Magic Car Wash in San Bernardino. That’s what they’ve been doing. You have guys for six months have been out in the real world, going to work every day and not training. I worry more about the physical side.”

There are the positives of the new NCAA rule. Current seniors who are on the staff get another year to be on the roster. Defensive back Geimere Latimer gets another year, linebacker Ben Cutter can come back, just to name a few.

Plus, with no more redshirts, there’s no hesitation on whether to play a true freshman a certain number of games like in the past. Rodriguez just signed a big freshman class of almost 50 players.

In regards to the players already on the roster affected by the new ruling, WVU plans to take advantage of it. With the uncertainty of players being allowed to come back, Rodriguez and staff are being patient.

“It frees you up to play good freshmen, even if they’re maybe not starting, but they’re going to be a two-three, and they’re going to play on special teams,” Alley said. “Now you’re not worried about burning his year playing just kickoff for that game… I think that’s huge because the more time they’re in this culture in this defense, the better they’re going to play.”

Both players filed a complaint against the NCAA in the Northern District of West Virginia on Monday, with both players seeking a fifth season of eligibility.

Court documents were released on Tuesday and both players are seeking an injunction against the NCAA from the organization being able to enforce its new age-based eligibility rule – known as the 5 for 5 rule – which would not allow Class of 2022 recruits to be part of that rule.

“The Plaintiffs, by counsel, bring this action and seek temporary, preliminary, permanent, and declaratory relief prohibiting Defendant National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) from enforcing arbitrary and capricious decisions, breaching its contracts with its member institutions, and preventing them from participating in college sports,” the court document stated.

The 5 for 5 rule allows all college athletes who were underclassmen during the 2025-26 school year an extra season of eligibility, but seniors who had already used their four years were made exempt from the ruling.

All incoming college freshmen athletes, as well as future incoming athletes will be granted five years to play five seasons of college athletics under the rule that was passed on June 23.

Buchanan signed to play at WVU in April after completing two seasons at Boise State, as well as two seasons at the NAIA level. He filed a waiver with the NCAA seeking a fifth year of eligibility, arguing the two years at the NAIA school should not have counted against his Division I eligibility. Buchanan averaged 12.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game at Boise State last season.

That waiver was denied in April, according to the lawsuit. WVU and Buchanan filed for an appeal, which was denied in June.

“At this point, it’s out of the waiver process completely,” Hodge said last week about Buchanan. “The next phase is the legal process. There isn’t a hearing date or anything set yet. Obviously, we are in communication with him on those things. That part, specifically, that’s kind of through the individual and his representation. You’re allowing them to handle that as much as they can, while you are supporting them in that process.”

Lorient, meanwhile, did play four years at Division I schools. He played two seasons at Florida Atlantic, before transferring to North Texas in 2024 to play for Ross Hodge. He followed Hodge to WVU last season, where he averaged 11.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game as a senior.

Lorient’s argument for a fifth year of eligibility would be simply that the Class of 2022 should not be exempt from the NCAA’s 5 for 5 rule, which is a similar argument being made in other cases challenging the NCAA across the country.

This past weekend, a Colorado judge granted an injunction allowing players in the 2022 high school recruiting class to be eligible for the 2026-27 season, as long as they had not already signed with a professional team.

The NCAA is currently appealing that decision and the case is expected to be heard by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals at a future date.

If the NCAA wins that appeal, Buchanan and Lorient’s case can still continue. If the Tenth Circuit rules against the NCAA, it’s likely Buchanan and Lorient will drop their case.

Lorient and Buchanan are being represented by Devon Stewart, James A. Gianola, David M. Jecklin and Bradford J. Deitzler from Lewis Gianola LLC.

“This is an historic day for West Virginia Athletics, and I am grateful that Antero is part of the Mountaineer family,” Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker said. “More than 500 Mountaineer student-athletes proudly wear the West Virginia jersey, competing and representing the University and the state in front of millions each week on the national stage. Now, Antero shares that jersey with us and will play a key role in our future success.”

The jersey patches will have the Antero Resources logo above the Nike logo and will have different colorways to “ensure visibility” on all iterations of the home and away jerseys. The Big 12 also inked a $20 million multi-year deal with Monster Energy this summer, making it the brand entitlement partner for football and basketball in the conference. Part of that deal includes a jersey patch sponsorship.

Antero Resources is one of the largest producers of natural gas and gas liquids in the United States. The company is now based out of Bridgeport, West Virginia.

“We are excited to be sewn into the fabric of Mountaineer Athletics,” said Antero Resources and Antero Midstream President and CEO Michael Kennedy. “It is a demonstration that West Virginia is an energy state and a demonstration of Antero’s commitment to West Virginia. We know it will be a point of pride for all of the Antero family – our employees, our contractors, our mineral owners – when they see Antero on these jerseys.”

The new deal comes after the NCAA announced in January that schools were allowed to place sponsorships on jerseys. WVU isn’t the first school to ink a deal. Ohio State signed a deal with JPMorgan and Notre Dame signed with SoFi, which are both estimated at $20 million annually.

This isn’t the first major partnership over the past year for WVU. Baker has made it his mission to find new avenues to raise funds to survive in the financial “arms race” that is college athletics. Baker sold the naming rights of the Coliseum to Hope Gas in 2025, which was part of a 10-year deal.

WVU has announced numerous other partnerships.

“As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, WVU plays a vital and dynamic role in the overall economic success, growth and well-being of the state,” Baker added. “Antero has been a partner of ours that cares, as it supplies energy on a daily basis to improve health, safety and the livelihood of millions. The Mountaineers look forward to being a part of this special bond with Antero.”

Melody Tucker, of Beverly, recorded a hole-in-one at Lakeside Golf Course.

Tucker aced hole No. 6, a 90-yard par 3, using a 3 wood.

The feat was witnessed by Chris Baker and Angie Huck.

Law Aces Minibel

Mitch Law recorded his 12th career hole-in-one on Tuesday at the Minibel Par 3 Golf Course.

Law used a 5-iron to ace the 156-yard, par-3, No. 12 hole.

Mark Smitherman witnessed the feat.

The winning foursome of Aaron Clark, Derek Ginther and Brad Kearns of Waterford and Kelson McCurdy of Beverly shot 54 in the annual benefit scramble at the par-70 Lakeside.

The event, sponsored by BrAva, a local nonprofit group increasing childhood cancer awareness and raising funds for local families and the search for a cure, raised more than $21,000.

“I support the BrAva golf outing because childhood cancer is a terrible thing to fight alone,” Clark, who has golfed in the outing for the past five years, said. “It takes a community.”

The event hosted 34 teams. A hundred local businesses and individuals served as hole sponsors for the event, each donating $100.

“We’re so appreciative of the golfers and hole sponsors who make this event successful every year,” Traci Nichols, BrAva president, said. “Many of them have donated year after year, but we are also so grateful to new businesses and individuals who are perhaps donating to BrAva for the first time.”

BrAva also thanked Warren’s IGA, the UPS Store of Marietta, Terry Miller, Sponey’s IGA, Advantage Real Estate, B&W Pharmacy and Lakeside Golf Course for additional event support, she said.

Funds also were raised through a 50/50 raffle, games, beer sales and a ball drop in which golfers purchased numbered golf balls released from the BrAva-themed Smith Concrete Truck on the putting green. The numbered ball closest to the hole determined the winner.

Many of the prizes included cash that often was donated to the organization. A list of sponsors and more information on the event can be found at www.bravacares.com.

BrAva is a combination of Bridget Crock and Ava Nichols, two local girls who faced the challenges of childhood cancer.

In their honor and memory, the organization helps families faced with the disease by providing funding and support. To date, BrAva has donated more than $750,000 to CureSearch and local families affected by childhood cancer.

To support BrAva’s efforts, send monetary donations to BrAva, P.O. Box 535, Marietta, OH 45750 or by Paypal to @bravacares.

Bilby, who led Williams by a stroke entering Friday’s final round, shot even par while Williams finished 4-under en route to a three-day total of 206 (-10).

David Bradshaw was five strokes off the pace and finished third while Cam Roam’s 3-under par total of 213 placed him in solo fourth.

Rounding out the top 10 were Davey Jude (T5th, -1), Carson Higginbotham (T5th, -1), Todd Duncan (T7th, E), Argyle Downes (T7th, E), Logan Lagodich (T9th, +1) and Lucas Cromeenes (T9th, +1). Roam, Jude, Higginbotham and Downes are all amateurs.

The best area finish came from pro Kenny Hess. The Parkersburg South graduate and 2020 Open champion had rounds of 72, 75 and 72 to finish with a 3-over par 219, which put him in solo 11th place.

Former Ravenswood and West Liberty standout Alex Easthom had his best round of the tournament on Friday at the Stonehaven Course where the pro fired a 1-under par 71.

“I actually felt pretty good going into the Open because I was hitting it well and I was putting OK,” admitted Easthom. “I just had a lot of bad holes I usually don’t have. I think I played three holes at 9-over par and 51 holes at 4-under par.

“It was really like three holes that got me. I still wouldn’t have had a chance to win. I played good golf. There was like three holes I had a complete meltdown on.”

Easthom, who is the superintendent of Route 56 Golf Course (formerly Greenhills), recorded an ace on the 179-yard, par-3, No. 12 hole and finished with a 5-over par total of 221, which put him in a tie for 17th.

“They put the hole in kind of like a bowl almost so you could hit behind it,” Easthom said of his second career ace. “I probably hit like 10 feet behind the hole and it started rolling back like toward the hole and I guess it went into like the shadow of the flagstick and we thought it went in and we started cheering.

“Then the ball came out of the shadow of the flagstick and we could see the golf ball again, and we were like ‘man, ahh, it lipped out’ and we were like ‘ahh, we celebrated to soon’, and then it disappeared again. That’s when Sarah (Cole of the WVGA) was up by the green and she stood up and threw her arms up and we’re like ‘holy crap, it went in.’ It was a roller coaster of emotions. My scorecard was a roller coaster, also.”

Parkersburg South graduate Ben Palmer and Wirt County freshman Jude Walker finished the tournament at 13-over par and tied for 33rd.

Walker, who is set to make his prep debut for the Tigers next week, qualified for the Open last year, but failed to make the cut.

“It was really fun. The course was tough,” admitted Walker, who is 14. “It was just fun competing against this strong of a field. Probably one of the strongest fields I’ve ever been in. The course was ridiculous.

“It was so hard, but it was just fun to play that course. I definitely felt like my game was in a better place this year than it was last year and I just tried to avoid big numbers as well as I could. I threw a few on there.”

Having a solid week (75-76-78=229) like he did is something the Tiger hopes will be of help in the future.

“It definitely gives me some confidence, especially like playing on that difficulty of a course and knowing I can go out there and shoot those kind of scores, and I mean there’s only like two people I think that are going to be in high school next year that beat me down there, and they were both older kids,” Walker said. “That gives me some confidence going into the high school season, too. This week I’ve struggled a little bit off the tee, but round one I kept it pretty steady.

“I did make a few great par saves. I scrambled well in round one and then round two I rolled in several 6 to 8 footers for par and the putter definitely kept me in the round. I could’ve turned that round into an 82 real quick. Today, the putter was pretty good considering how difficult the greens were. They had some pins in some really difficult spots. The greens are quick. I felt like I played pretty steady. I didn’t hit it the best off the tee, but I kept it in play for the most part.”

Also competing on Friday after making the 36-hole cut were ex-Patriots Cameron Fallon (T48th, +19) and Parker Vannoy (T54th, +21) as well as former St. Marys Blue Devil Coleman Lamp (T52nd, +20).

Final results from the 93rd W.Va. Open

at The Resort at Glade Springs

1. Mason Williams* 70-68-68=206 (-10)

2. Ryan Bilby* 71-66-72=209 (-7)

3. David Bradshaw* 72-69-70=211 (-5)

4. Cam Roam 73-69-71-213 (-3)

T5. Davey Jude 74-70-71=215 (-1)

T5. Carson Higginbotham 73-70-72=215 (-1)

T7. Todd Duncan* 74-71-71=216 (E)

T7. Argyle Downes 72-74-70=216 (E)

T9. Logan Lagodich* 71-74-72=217 (+1)

T9. Lucas Cromeenes* 70-73-74=217 (+1)

11. Kenny Hess* 72-75-72=219 (+3)

T12. Tanner Vest 73-76-71=220 (+4)

T12 Jackson Woodburn 73-74-73=220 (+4)

T12. Cole Moore* 74-73-73=220 (+4)

T12. Christian Brand 71-75-74=220 (+4)

T12. Bryson Beaver 72-73-75=220 (+4)

T17. Alex Easthom* 76-74-71=221 (+5)

T17. Jess Ferrell 78-69-74=221 (+5)

T17. David Scragg* 70-76-75=221 (+5)

20. Chris Williams 68-79-75=222 (+6)

T21. Brian Anania 75-76-72=223 (+7)

T21. Joseph Kalaskey 73-76-74=223 (+7)

T21. Tommy Evans 77-70-76=223 (+7)

T24. Trevor Hedges* 77-75-72=224 (+8)

T24. Pat Carter 68-75-81=224 (+8)

T26. Noah Mullens 80-72-73=225 (+9)

T26. Landon Perry* 73-78-74=225 (+9)

T26. Ian Patrick 76-75-74=225 (+9)

T26. Rocky Frye 79-69-77=225 (+9)

30. Campbell Koegler 78-73-76=227 (+11)

T31. Stephen McDavid 77-76-75=228 (+12)

T31. Bryan Myers 73-73-82=228 (+12)

T33. Alex Randolph 77-76-76=229 (+13)

T33. Jude Walker 75-76-78=229 (+13)

T33. Ben Palmer 76-75-78=229 (+13)

T33. John Ross* 76-73-80=229 (+13)

T37. Grant Roush 80-75-75=230 (+14)

T37. Owen Elliott 71-83-76=230 (+14)

T37. Matthew Aman 79-75-76=230 (+14)

T37. Isaac Hutchison 75-75-80=230 (+14)

T41. Jace Lancaster 78-77-76=231 (+15)

T41. Thadd Obecny II* 76-78-77=231 (+15)

T41. Justin Estep* 76-77-78=231 (+15)

T41. Christian Casingal 80-73-78=231 (+15)

45. Zach Chapman 77-75-80=232 (+16)

T46. Jackson Williams 82-73-78=233 (+17)

T46. Cameron Jarvis 80-76-77=233 (+17)

T48. Cameron Fallon 78-78-79=235 (+19)

T48. Drew Green 81-72-82=235 (+19)

T48. Adam Gill 79-75-81=235 (+19)

T48. Trenton Roush 80-74-81=235 (+19)

T52. Coleman Lamp 76-80-80=236 (+20)

T52. Jeff McGraw 77-75-84=236 (+20)

T54. Nikolas Tomblin 78-73-86=237 (+21)

T54. Parker Vannoy 75-80-82=237 (+21)

56. Justin Doerr 76-78-84=238 (+22)

57. Duncan Waugaman 78-78-83=239 (+23)

T58. William Biddington 74-82-84=240 (+24)

T58. William Wentz 74-82-84=240 (+24)

T60. John Kingora 80-76-85=241 (+25)

T60. Andrew Pennybacker 79-77-85=241 (+25)

*Denotes pro

Jackson Middle School cross country will get underway from 9-10:30 a.m. on Monday at the school parking lot.

Everyone is welcome. For more information, contact coach Marks at 304-481-1741.

Marietta High School Athletic Hall of Fame

The Marietta High School Athletic Hall of Fame induction banquet will be held Saturday, Oct. 17, at the Tower Event and Conference Center.

This year’s class includes:

Dave Barnes (1967) — deceased; Bernie Brown (1979); Layne Carpenter (2009); Russell Pickering (1976); Wesley Riley (2011); Mark and Karen Stewart (contributors); Emmy Yoho (1999)

MOVTA’s Power Point Tennis

MOVTA’S Power Point tennis schedule has been updated for August. Aug. 2 will be Match Play. Aug. 9 will be Sign-Off Sunday (Skill Cards). Aug. 23 will be Match Play. There will be no Power Point Tennis on Aug. 16 and Aug. 30.

Power Point Tennis runs from 2-4 p.m. at the City Park tennis courts. Please let us know on our Facebook page (Power Point Tennis-MOVTA) or in GroupMe if your child plans on attending.