Bobcats stunned by Maroons, prepare for Maroon Tide

By Cody Dalton
Sports Correspondent

After an extremely defensive first half in which the Bobcats scored three touchdowns and forced two turnovers, it seemed as if Radford would pick up their first victory on the season.

However, after taking a 19-7 lead into the halftime break, Radford was unable to score in the second half and unable to stop the George Wythe offense, who scored two touchdowns in the final 8:22 to stun the Bobcats, 21-19, at Pendleton Field on Friday.

Both teams started out the game physical and traded several possessions before Radford finally got their offense going. Dontae Carter helped power the Bobcats from their own 35-yard line.

He completed two-of-four passes on the drive for 25 yards and rushed for nine yards, capping off the drive with a 1-yard plunge for the early 7-0 lead.

Maroon mistakes helped lead to another score. George Wythe quarterback Tristan Boysaw was intercepted by Michael Goodman on a drive that looked like the Maroons would score.

It would be the Bobcats would score though three plays later, as Kevin Adkins broke free on a 29-yard touchdown run. The extra point snap was fumbled, leaving the score at 13-0 in favor of the away team.

“That’s what we want to do is to get turnovers and a score,” said Radford coach Matthew Saunders.

Yet another mistake by George Wythe opened up the doors for the Radford offense in the second quarter. Zac Johnston recovered an Aaron Wheeler fumble. Once again, Carter led the drive to a score, as he ran 12 yards for the touchdown. The Bobcats failed on a two-point conversion, so the Radford lead was 19-0.

Boysaw powered the Maroons to a score before the break, connecting on passes of 19, 32, and 35 yards to Brandon Atwell, the latter of which was a touchdown. It was 19-7 at the halftime break.

“He [Boysaw] is a good player,” Saunders said. “If you don’t get your hands on him, he does things and then you are in trouble.”

An uneventful third quarter of play, which saw both teams trade possessions four times, led to an amazing fourth quarter for George Wythe. The Maroons first possession of the quarter led to a turnover on downs. However, their second possession would be much different.

On the first play of the possession, Boysaw found Atwell yet again for the 33-yard touchdown pass. The extra point closed the gap to 19-14.

Radford would take possession and try to score, hoping to stay out in front of their rivals. A lengthy Bobcats drive would stall, giving the ball back to George Wythe though. Boysaw would take control, driving his team down to 11-yard line before scoring a diving touchdown into the end zone to take the 21-19 lead after the extra point.

With the Bobcats trailing, DJ Palmer was determined not to let his team lose. He would return the kickoff to the 50-yard line and just when his team stalled on a fourth down and five, he would help to convert and lead the Bobcats into field goal range.

Unfortunately, Michael Goodman’s 35-yard field goal attempt would be blocked by the Maroon defense, sealing the incredible comeback win.

Boysaw was 16-31 for 205 yards and two passing touchdowns, while Atwell caught six of his passes for 116 yards and both scores.

“He [Atwell] is just an athlete and a player,” Saunders said. “We stressed all week that you have to stay with him wherever he goes. We didn’t coach them up enough. I didn’t coach them up enough.”

Radford will be on the road again next week to take on a winless Galax team, who has suffered losses to Northwood (42-38), Alleghany from Sparta, North Carolina (31-12), and Three Rivers District power Eastern Montgomery last week (41-6).

“We are going to have to lick our wounds a little bit, but we’ve just got to keep plugging away,” Saunders said. “You don’t have to win all the games to make the playoffs, but you’ve got to win the right five. That is what we are going to keep telling them.”












Mustangs march to third win, look for fourth on Friday

By Cody Dalton
Sports Correspondent


Eastern Montgomery earned their third victory of the season on Friday, impressively knocking off the Galax Maroon Tide on the road, 41-6.

Quarterback Shawn Christian led the Mustangs with 210 yards of passing offense and four touchdowns, while running back Michael Shelor ran for 151 yards on 14 carries with a touchdown.

While the Mustangs had an impressive showing by only allowing 105 total yards of offense by Galax, they also committed 23 penalties for 235 yards. The game remained deadlocked for the first 16 minutes before Eastern Montgomery’s Brian Deare blocked a Justin Fisher punt.

Defensively, the Mustangs only allowed 21 yards of total offense in the second half, as they shut down the Maroon Tide and sealed their third win of the year. Justin Brammer once again was the showcase of the Mustang’s defense, as he recorded 15 tackles and 2 sacks.

The defense line, which consisted of Justin Fisher, Christian Leonard, and Adam Sisson, also racked up 18 tackles (five for a loss) and 4 sacks.

The Mustangs will look for win #4 on the season this Friday as they face winless Craig County. The Rockets lost two straight games early this season by close scores of 16-13 against Auburn and 28-21 to Bland. Last week, they were shut out on the road against Narrows, 35-0.

They are led by senior quarterback Adam Howard and wide receiver Jacob Rickett. To protect Howard, senior linemen Jarod Deel and Christian Persinger anchor the veteran offensive line for the Rockets. All four players are captains for Craig County.

Such senior leadership will provide a huge test for the Mustangs in this early season in preparation for their upcoming district schedule, which starts in two weeks at Radford.













Eagles rested and ready for James River

By Cody Dalton
Sports Correspondent

After suffering a hard 41-0 loss to Fort Chiswell two weeks ago, the Eagles had a week to forget about the game, rest up their wounds, and focus on their next target – the James River Knights.

Auburn will not play another home game for three weeks, so they will look to pick up some crucial momentum in their match up with the Knights.

The Eagles did not play James River last season, so they will be a new and interesting test for Auburn on Friday. The Knights are winless so far in this young season, as they’ve dropped games to Lord Botetourt (21-6), Glenvar (29-20), and Altavista Combined School (32-14).

Michael Spencer leads the Eagles so far this season with 136 rushing yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Derrick Duncan has also completed 8 of 30 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown to wide receiver Ryne Scott.

Defensively, Scott has nine tackles and 1.5 sacks, as well as three forced fumbles (one recovered). Josh Toney and Justin Huff lead the team in tackles with 15 each.

(9-23-09)