By Cody Dalton
Sports Correspondent
RADFORD – With the Three Rivers district crown on the line Friday, both Radford and Giles left everything on the football field. When it was all said and done though, the Bobcats used a comeback effort in the fourth quarter to get by Giles and capture the district title, 23-19.
Radford (7-3, 5-0) would get on the board first in the first quarter, as Michael Goodman would connect on a 38-yard field goal for only score of the quarter. It was 3-0 Radford after one quarter of play.
Giles (6-4, 3-2) would come back in a big way though, scoring 13 straight points to take a 13-3 lead into the halftime break. Justin Gautier would score on a 1-yard run and the extra point was good. Teammate Travis Robertson added a 22-yard run, but failed on the extra point attempt.
The Bobcats came out in the third quarter and ate into the Spartan lead with the running game. Quarterback Dontae Carter would score on a 1-yard run on the last play of the 51 yard drive to pull Radford within a field goal at 13-10.
It wouldn’t take long for Giles to answer the score, as they would put together a scoring drive on their next possession. They would eat up the clock on a long possession, scoring a touchdown on an Andrew Eppling quarterback sneak from one yard out. A two-point conversion run failed, but Giles still led 19-10.
With just over 11 minutes remaining in the game, Radford had their backs up against the wall by being down nine points. However, they wouldn’t let that get them down and just seconds later, Radford would be back in the game.
Kevin Adkins, who has been a staple in the Radford running attack, broke free on a 59-yard touchdown run. The Goodman extra point would be good and it was suddenly a whole new ball game at 19-17.
With momentum on their side, the Bobcat defense clamped down on the Giles offense, as Radford scored in dramatic fashion. Corey Dark intercepted Giles quarterback Andrew Eppling and returned it 70 yards for the game sealing score.
The win marks the second straight season with 7-3 record. The Bobcats finish undefeated in district play (5-0), with the win against Giles giving Radford the Three Rivers crown outright.
It will be déjà vu next week in Radford, when the two teams meet again. This time, a potential state championship will be on the line for both teams. The winner of that game will either play George Wythe or Chilhowie on the road the following week.
Mustangs use big first half to motor by Eagles
By Cody Dalton
Sports Correspondent
RINER – Eastern Montgomery used their season finale against Auburn as a tune up for their upcoming Division 1 playoff appearance. After scoring 41 points in the first quarter alone, the Mustangs easily moved past Auburn for the impressive 61-8 win on the road.
Eastern Montgomery (8-2, 3-2) got stellar play from both the quarterback and running back positions in the first quarter. Shawn Christian would get three touchdowns on three passes for three touchdowns in the quarter, two to wideout Julian Stewart.
Running back Michael Shelor would also have three touchdowns, two on the ground and one from Christian through the air. The Mustangs also added a safety on defense, as they took a commanding 41-0 lead to start the game.
Eastern Montgomery continued to add to their lead before the half. Stephen Lilly would score two different times, once from one yard out and another run of 28 yards, as Eastern Montgomery held a huge 54-0 lead going into halftime.
The third quarter would remain scoreless, but in the fourth quarter, both teams would reach the end zone once. It started with a strong defensive effort, as Caleb Woods would return an Auburn fumble 25 yards for a score.
Auburn’s (1-9, 0-5) lone score of the game would come with just under four minutes left, as Zak Blankenship would find his familiar target in Ryne Scott for a 57-yard touchdown pass. The two-point pass play failed, as Auburn’s season slowly ticked away.
Eastern Montgomery improves from last season’s 5-6 overall and 2-3 district record and goes 8-2 overall and 3-2 in district play. Auburn finishes the season just a game worse than last year’s 2-8 overall record.
The Mustang’s will have a bye next week in Division 1 and await the winner of either the Bath County-Narrows or Covington-Rural Retreat games, depending on who wins. They will look not to repeat their “one and done” performance from last year, when they lost to Holston in the first round of the playoffs.
(11-11-09)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment