Paden City quarterback Ethan Cross hands the ball off to running back Clayton Thomas against the Cougars.

Frontier high school jumped out to a 40-0 halftime lead over the visiting Paden City Wildcats and never looked back in the season opener for both teams on Friday, August 30. Paden City had high hopes going into the game under new head coach Zach Heasley, but the Cougars used a veteran club to manhandle the Cat’s from start to finish.

Frontier quarterback J.D. Schmidt connected for five T.D. passes, ran for one, kicked five extra points and threw for a 2-point conversion to lead the Cougars. Schmidt connected on 12-16 pass attempts for 309 yards and no interceptions, while the Cougars added 202 yards on the ground on 20 carries and three T.D.’s. They added another score on an 85-yard kickoff return following the Wildcats lone score of the game a 1-yard pass from Freshman Zane Yeater to tight end Jason Anderson.

Paden City senior quarterback Ethan Cross finished with 47 yards passing on eight completions in 18 attempts with four interceptions. Yeater went 3-3 for 21 yards and a score with no picks. The Wildcats gained 47 yards rushing on 25 carries. J. Anderson finished with four catches for 20 yards and a score , Shane Anderson had two receptions for 13 yards, Clayton Thomas grabbed two passess for 19 yards, while Bryant McKay grabbed three catches for 16 yards. The Cat’s lost 2-3 fumbles on the night. Frontier was penalized six times for 60- yards while the Cat’s only had one penalty for five yards. Rushing the Wildcats were led by Higgins with 28 yards on four carries, Thomas 19 yards on 10 totes, Cross 14 yards on nine carries, and Yeater one carry for eight yards.

Frontier ended with 511 total yards to 201 for the Cat’s. Paden City will host Wirt County on Friday Night beginning at 7 p.m. in the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office fight against drugs game of the week. Both teams are 0-1 with Wirt County dropping its season opener to Calhoun County 8-6 on Friday in Elizabeth. Prediction for Friday night Wildcats bounce back and get the win 21-20