Fort Chiswell…The Fort Chiswell Pioneers, coming off a hard fought loss to George Wythe last Friday, will stay on the road as they will go to Radford to play the Bobcats.
Radford, inexperienced and young, have gotten off to a very slow start. They will come into the game with a 0-2 mark. They have lost to George Wythe 56-0 in their opener, and last week at Galax they got bounced 48-3. They have scored only three points in two games, that coming on a Michael Hill field goal. Both Radford and Fort Chiswell have played and lost to George Wythe. Radford lost by a score of 56-0 while the Pioneers lost by a score of 40-13. Last year Radford defeated the Pioneers at Fort Chiswell 52-26.
The Bobcats are coached by Matthew Saunders who’s in his 11th season. He has a 64 – 46 record with the Cats. On offense the Cats will go with Shawn Reed, Brett Armentrout, Charlie Lefew, Nathan Cox and Dillon Whitt. Reed and Armentrout are the most experienced linemen; they both are seniors. Lefew and Cox are juniors and Cox is a sophomore. Radford has been rotating quarterbacks with senior DJ Baylor and Elijah Duncan a junior. The wide-outs are junior Josh Alley and sophomore JW Bethea. Running back and slots will be handled by senior Markell Thompson, with Mitch White a senior and sophomore Trace Shepherd at the other slot. Shepherd may also see action at quarterback. Sophomore Jeremy Chadwick, freshman Chris Carter, sophomore Kam Edwards, and junior Dale Stanley will all see playing time at slots and running backs.
Radford finished last season with a 9-4 record and went to West 1A quarterfinals. They are returning just four starters on offense and three on defense from that squad. The Cats have only one losing season in the last 12 years.
Fort Chiswell head coach Todd Tiller said, “Radford has played two extremely good teams. I know they are young but they are still athletic, well coached and fast. Lots of people are going to lose to Geo. Wythe and the defending state champion Galax. Radford, in their first two games, have been running multiple offenses. They will run rocket, counter and some of what I call flex bone. They look like they are searching for a identity,” said Tiller. He then added, “On defense they’ve been running a 34 scheme, with four in the secondary, and a cover two. They have sent linebackers at times in the first two games. They are well coached and are very quick and athletic. They like to get out into open spaces on you offensively.”
Fort Chiswell will go with Devin Newman, Patrick Crawford and Jon Gregory upfront on defense. Their linebackers will be Colby Rider, Grant Milgrim. Andrew Stoots, TJ James and Billy Shrewsberry. The secondary will consist of Anthony Morris, Jarrett McGee and Tanner Bailey. Anthony Parrott, Sean Morgan, Ethan Woods, Logan Newman and Logan Smith will all see some time on the defensive side of the ball.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 pm at Bobcat Stadium, Norman Lineburg Field.
Wythevillle…Playing on a very pleasant evening, the Fort Chiswell Pioneers were down inside the Maroons 15-yard line twice in the first half but didn’t score. The Maroons made them pay by defeating Fort Chiswell 40-13.
Fort Chiswell foiled the shutout when Colby Rider caught a 33-yard pass in the end zone with two players hanging onto him. Tyler Dunford’s kick was wide right with two minutes left in the quarter. The Pioneers kept battling. The Maroons’ Cole Simmons dropped back to pass and got hit causing the fumble. Jonah “Loopie” Turpin scooped up the pigskin at the Pioneer 30 and rumpled 44 yards to the Maroons 26. On the first play, Brody Crockett threw a pass in the flat to T J James as he ran for six and Dunford’s kick made it 40-13 with six minutes to go in the game.
Head coach Todd Tiller of Fort Chiswell said, “We had two opportunities there in the first half and couldn’t punch it into the end zone. Then we started the second half flat and they scored on three straight possessions.” He then added, ”They are good and they have a big, athletic front line. You know I’m proud of the way my guys played hard to the end. We played physical, but we blew a couple defensive calls that hurt us.”