George Washington freshman Jaden Black is still getting acclimated to schoolwork at the high school level while balancing the life of a prep athlete.
Black got his first crack at West Virginia high school football on Thursday evening against the Spring Valley Timberwolves.
The ninth-grade Patriot running back didn't take long to get comfortable in his inaugural game, as he recorded 32 carries for 114 yards and two touchdowns.
Black's explosive offensive attack guided George Washington to a 27-7 victory to open the season up on The Hill.
He was also effective in the passing game, catching three passes for 51 yards and a touchdown. He finished with 165 yards of offense and three scores.
"Jaden did a really nice job tonight," GW coach Steve Edwards Jr. said. "He's a great player. That's not coaching there. He does those things. We also played well up front and helped complement his game."
Spring Valley's Brad Dingess has coached against his fair share of running backs.
The veteran Timberwolves coach sees something in Black.
"[GW's] offensive line kind of controlled it," Dingess said. "They controlled both sides of the line. They pushed it up in there and he was patient. He's going to be something special, just being a freshman."
The Timberwolves wasted no time, as they scored within the first two minutes of the game.
Spring Valley's first touchdown of the season came as Kannon Dillon rushed in a 26-yard TD.
However, that was the only time the Timberwolves scored in Thursday's contest on The Hill.
George Washington responded by scoring the final 27 points of the game, with 14 coming in the second half.
"We didn't panic," Dingess said. "When they see us panic, then they tend to panic, especially an inexperienced squad like we have. We didn't panic or get swayed. We told them before the game that bad things were going to happen, and we're going to make mistakes.
"But, we told them to hang in there and stick together, which they did, and I'm proud of them for that. It's all about the team."
Spring Valley's offense cooled off after its flaming-hot start.
The Timberwolves were plagued with penalties throughout Thursday's contest, as they were called for 14 infractions.
"We weren't very disciplined," Dingess said. "Some of that was frustration. We'll try to clean that up. I got to do a better job of getting those guys ready for that."
George Washington, after Spring Valley's opening score, took eight minutes to get a score.
Patriots kicker Teddy Smith drilled a 30-yard field goal to give GW its first points of the season with 2:50 left in the opening quarter.
GW's first touchdown of the season was a 27-yard connection between quarterback Cy Persinger and Black on a seam route.
After a Timberwolves punt, GW marched down the field and got into field goal range for Smith, who drilled a 25-yard field goal as time expired.
George Washington took a 13-7 advantage into halftime.
The Patriots recorded 175 yards and eight first downs in the first half, while Spring Valley was held to 72 yards, which all came on the ground.
Black was the lone Patriot to find the end zone in the second half.
The freshman running back scored twice, on an 8-yard score in the third quarter and a 3-yard touchdown in the fourth.
Black himself totaled three more yards than George Washington did in the whole second half, 82-25.
Spring Valley's rushing attack was led by Cam Perdue, who rushed 13 times for 63 yards.
Dillon finished with five carries for 42 yards and his lone first-quarter touchdown.
George Washington will welcome the Hurricane Redskins next Friday night.
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Edwards wants his team to enjoy the win but be prepared to move forward and prepare for Week 2.
"This game should give us confidence, especially going up against a good opponent like Spring Valley," Edwards said. "It should show our guys that they're doing the right things and keep believing in themselves. All the good things will happen if that occurs."
Dingess and the Timberwolves will hit the road again for their Week 2 matchup, as they will travel to Wood County to take on the Parkersburg Big Reds.
"I want to see a little bit of grit," Dingess said. "When our backs are against the wall, we got to buckle down and play smarter and tougher."
George Washington 27, Spring Valley 7
Spring Valley;7;0;0;0;--;7
George Washington;3;10;7;7;--;27
First quarter
S -- Dillon 26 run (kick good) 10:57
G -- Smith 30 FG Good 2:50
Second quarter
G -- Black 27 pass from Persinger (kick good) 2:27
Third quarter
G -- Black 8 run (kick good) 6:00
Fourth quarter
G -- Black 3 run (kick good) 6:42
Team Statistics
;;;Spring Valley;George Washington
First Downs;;;5;13
Rushes-yards;;;32-143;38;119
Passing yards;;;0;163
Passing;;;0-6-1;13-20-1
Total yards;;;143;282
Fumbles-lost;;;2-1;2-0
Penalties-yards;;;14-102;7-50
Punts-average;;;3-34.3;2-39.5
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Spring Valley: Perdue 15-66, Dillon 5-42, Cain 9-22, Lovejoy 3-13. George Washington: Black 32-114, May 3-13, Persinger 4-(-8).
PASSING -- Spring Valley: Lovejoy 0-3-0-0, Cain 0-1-1-0, Eastwood 0-1-0-0. George Washington: Persinger 13-20-1-163.
RECEIVING -- George Washington: Martin 3-67, Black 3-51, Wesley 6-39, Smith 1-6.
