Photo | Paul Adkins

Logan wide receiver Josh Rein is tackled after making a catch in Friday night’s 38-28 win at Winfield.

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WINFIELD — After Friday night’s first-half scoring barrage, it wasn’t how the Logan High School football team wanted to finish up the game.

The Class AAA No. 13-ranked Wildcats, however, left Winfield with a 38-28 road victory and improved to 5-1 on the season — matching last year’s start after six games.

Logan jumped on top of the Generals 32-6 at halftime and appeared to be cruising, however, stubborn Winfield refused to quit and came back to make it interesting late in the game.

The Wildcats finally sealed it up with about a minute to go as Tyler Workman intercepted Winfield quarterback Toby Show.

With less than four minutes remaining in the game it looked as if Logan had wrapped up the victory as Show was picked off by Trent Dalton. The Wildcats, though, fumbled the ball away, giving Winfield new life.

The Generals then kept their drive alive with an improbable fourth-and-20 conversion before Workman’s interception all but ended any of Winfield’s hopes.

Logan quarterback Chris Marcum then took two knees to run out the clock. Marcum had another great game under center for the Cats as he completed 17-of-31 passes for 359 yards with four touchdowns with one interception.

Wildcats’ coach Gary Mullins said he will take the win.

“We just didn’t get things going in the second half and we’ve got a lot of things to work on in the bye week,” Mullins said after the game. “We felt like we were lucky to score that many points in the first half but we’re happy to come out with a win and be 5-1. It’s the second year in a row, so we’ll take it.”

Despite the shaky second half, the Wildcats are happy to be 5-1 going into next week’s bye week. Logan returns to action with the huge Oct. 12 showdown at home against Huntington in Logan’s annual homecoming game. The Highlanders, which lost at home to Logan last season, were idle this week and stand at 4-1 on the season.

“I am so proud of our guys,” Mullins said. “They have played so hard and deserve to be 5-1. Our defense has done a great job at causing turnovers. We already have 19 interceptions.”

Winfield dropped to 2-4 on the season and lost for the third straight time to the Wildcats. Coach Mullins praised the Generals, which have a win over Riverside (27-21) this season and a close-call loss to Point Pleasant (18-13).

“They’re a good football team,” Mullins said of Winfield. “They have played some good teams and they have played them tough.”

The Wildcats wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard, taking the opening kick and driving 55 yards in eight plays, culminating with Marcum’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Josh Rein. Brian Craft’s extra point kick sailed wide right but the Cats led 6-0 with 9:29 to go in the first half.

Winfield went three-and-out and Logan struck again three plays later with Marcum’s 87-yard bomb to Khaleel Reynolds down the sideline for another Wildcat touchdown. Craft’s kick was low, leaving the score at 12-0 Logan with 5:37 left in the first quarter.

With 8:12 to go until the half, Logan reached the end zone again with Marcum’s 30-yard touchdown pass to Brynden “Worm” Street.

Logan then decided to go for the two-point conversion but Marcum’s pass to C.J. Williams fell incomplete. However, Williams was mugged and a pass interference penalty was called on Winfield, moving the ball to the one and a half yard line. That set the table for Logan’s secret weapon — 6-foot-3, 360-pound lineman Teddy Nelson, who lined up as a fullback and took the handoff from Marcum and bulldozed his way into the end zone, ala William “The Refrigerator” Perry, to make it a 20-0 ballgame.

Then on the very next play from scrimmage, Street stepped in front of a Show pass and gave Logan some “Showtime” as he raced to the house for a 55-yard touchdown to make it 26-0 with 7:26 left until the half.

It was two plays from scrimmage and two scores for the Logan junior running back/defensive back.

Winfield tried to make some noise with 4:27 left as Zach Richardson blocked a Craft punt to give the Generals a first-and-10 at the Logan 21.

Winfield’s drive stalled and Logan was able to keep the Generals off the scoreboard as Show’s fourth-and-six pass at the Logan 15 fell incomplete in the end zone.

Two plays later, though, Logan gave the Generals a gift with a fumbled snap at the Winfield 14-yard line.

This time, the Generals capitalized as Show fired a 9-yard touchdown pass to Logan Kennedy to make it a 26-6 game. The PAT hooked wide right.

Winfield was then unsuccessful with an on-side kick as Logan fell on the ball at midfield. Then, after a long 35-yard completion from Marcum to C.J. Williams, the Wildcats reached the end zone one more time with a Marcum-to-Rein 3-yard TD pass to make it 32-6 at the break.

“I thought we did a tremendous job in the first half defensively,” Mullins said. “I think we just got tired in the second half. The turnovers were just unacceptable.”

The Generals would then outscore Logan 22-6 in the second half, taking advantage of LHS turnovers and penalties and moving the ball down field at will.

Winfield cut it to 32-14 with a touchdown and two-point conversion in the third quarter.

Street then put Logan ahead 38-14 with his third touchdown of the game — this one on a 1-yard run. The drive was highlighted by a 39-yard completion from Marcum to Rein on a fourth-down play.

The Generals responded with Show’s 2-yard TD pass on another fourth-down play, trimming Logan’s lead to 38-20 after three quarters. The score was set up by a 90-yard kickoff return.

Winfield then added eight more with a fourth quarter touchdown and two-point conversion to make it 38-28 but that was as close as the boys in green and white would be able to get.

For Coach Mullins, it was his first win on the road over Winfield in three tries.

The Wildcats finished the game with 34 rushes for 130 yards and with Marcum’s 359 yards passing Logan ended up with 489 yards of total offense.

Marcum also led the ground game with 12 carries for 56 yards. Street had seven rushes for 35 yards, while Reynolds had seven attempts for 17 yards and Williams had six totes for 15 yards.

As a receiver Reynolds reeled in five passes for 180 yards and a score. Rein had six catches for 81 yards. Street snared five passes for 63 yards. C.J. Williams had one catch for 35 yards.

Street and Clayton Marcum led the Logan defense with seven tackles each. Nelson had six tackles, Workman five and Tyler Vernatter and Thomas Hunter had four apiece.

C.J. Williams, Chris Marcum and T.J. Tomblin had three tackles each. Dalton, Preston Hepler, Nick Turner, Hammer Browning and Ty Yeager all had two tackles. Brant Williams and Chris Browning had one each.

Hunter and Hammer Browning also had one sack each.

Street, Workman, Hunter and Dalton had one interception each.

In addition, Street had three pass breakups. Workman, Chris Marcum, C.J. Williams and Clayton Marcum had two each. Vernatter had one deflection.

Craft punted six times for an average of 46.3 yards per kick.

Other than Johnson Central (Ky.), the Generals were by far the most successful against Logan’s stingy defense than any other opponent.

Logan went into the game having only given up seven points in four games against West Virginia opponents. The Cats own shutout wins this season over Man (33-0), Lincoln County (48-0) and Chapmanville (20-0). The only previous score was one by Shady Spring in Week 2.