The Next Level -- Week 8

Week 8 was a big one for several former local high school football standouts, including a couple of true freshmen who found the end zone. Three-time Baltimore Sun All-Metro Player of the Year Tavon Austin (Dunbar) wasted no time in scoring his second touchdown of the season for West Virginia. The freshman took the opening kickoff of the Mountaineers’ home game against Connecticut 98 yards to the house. It was West Virginia’s longest play of the season, and the Mountaineers went on to win, 28-24. Freshman defensive back Terence Garvin (Loyola) assisted on a tackle on kickoff coverage for West Virginia in the first quarter. Huskies starting safety Jerome Junior (Archbishop Curley) was playing in his first game since fellow defensive back Jasper Howard was stabbed to death early Oct. 18 on Connecticut’s campus in Storrs. The redshirt freshman made five tackles (three solo, two assists).