Frankfort beats Keyser 41-19 in Mineral Bowl

Falcons Roll Past Keyser 41-19 in Mineral Bowl to Claim Sixth Straight Victory

Short Gap, W.Va. knew it was facing an uphill battle Friday night at Frankfort Stadium, even before the opening kickoff of the annual Mineral Bowl. Playing without Braydn Tyler and Cole Shanholtz meant the Frankfort run game had to reinvent itself on the fly against Keyser. Instead of sputtering, the Falcons simply leaned on their depth and pounded out a decisive 41-19 victory.

The win marks Frankfort’s sixth straight in the Mineral Bowl, the longest streak in the series, which Keyser leads 30-21. More importantly, it allowed the Falcons to emphatically bounce back from a 49-14 loss to Independence just a week prior—a defeat that had ended the Falcons’ area-record 36-game win streak.

“Injuries are terrible and it stings, but when you have guys that step in and fill those roles and do a good job, it’s really cool to see,” Frankfort head coach Kevin Whiteman said following the game. “I’m really proud of everyone who has stepped forward into those roles when we’ve had injuries.”

Ground Game Takes Control Early

Frankfort set the tone immediately when Peyton Brittingham took the opening kickoff 56 yards to the Keyser 44-yard line. From there, the Falcons fed Gunnar Bradshaw four carries on an opening eight-play drive, capped by Bradshaw’s four-yard scoring run. Jesus Perdomo tacked on the first of his five point-after tries to make it 7-0 with 8:05 left in the first quarter.

The offense refused to slow down. Jake Snuffer rumbled in from three yards out before the quarter ended, pushing the lead to 14-0. Then came the back-breaking sequence of the first half. Facing a third-and-11 from their own 18-yard line early in the second quarter, Bradshaw took a double handoff up the middle, shrugged off a defender, and raced 82 yards for a touchdown. Bradshaw added his third score of the night on a seven-yard run shortly before halftime, sending the Falcons into the locker room ahead 27-0.

By the break, the numbers told a grim story for the Golden Tornado. Keyser managed just 46 yards of total offense and four first downs in the opening two quarters—two of those coming via penalty.

“They had a good game plan, and they just—I think they were just hungry to come out,” Whiteman said of his defensive unit. “I knew they’d be excited for the Mineral Bowl, especially after last week, and I just think they came out ready to play and just played hard and aggressive.”

Keyser Sparks Comeback Before Frankfort Secures Victory with Late Scores

Keyser attempted to spark a comeback in the second half when Deacon Stanislausky connected with Rio Simone on a 65-yard touchdown pass. The Golden Tornado even managed to recover a fumble on the ensuing Frankfort possession and march to the Falcons’ 39-yard line before a false start penalty stalled the momentum.

Frankfort answered right back. Carson McBee tossed a scoring strike over the top to Brittingham in the third quarter and later punched in a one-yard quarterback sneak in the fourth. Keyser added two late scores in the final stanza—a 10-yard run by Stanislausky and a four-yarder by Simone—but the outcome was already well out of reach.

Bradshaw finished the night pacing the Frankfort attack with 138 yards on 10 carries, while Brittingham added 56 yards on 12 totes alongside his 36-yard touchdown catch. Dominique Crawford led Keyser with 55 yards on 19 carries as the Golden Tornado were outgained 324 to 216 in total yardage.

Keyser now sits at 6-4, holding the No. 14 seed in Class AAA as the team awaits its playoff fate. Meanwhile, Frankfort secures the top overall seed in Class PP and guarantees itself home-field advantage through the semifinals if the Falcons win out. With the regular season closing, Whiteman’s next challenge is managing a banged-up roster—including the lingering hamstring injury of Tyler, a co-Player of the Year in 2023, and Shanholtz’s boot—as the team prepares to host postseason football.