Max Meadows…What a great week for football for the Fort Chiswell Pioneers. Last Saturday they upset Galax, the defending state champions. That stopped the Maroon Tide’s 15-game winning streak. Then they took on Narrows and their vaunted quarterback Cole Blaker. They handled Blaker and the Green Wave 27-18. It made homecoming for the Pioneers very pleasant on a great night for football.

The Pioneers were led by senior Colby Rider as he scored three touchdowns, rushed for 127 yards on 11 carries and had 14 tackles. He recovered a fumble and caught two passes for 10 yards; one of those was a touchdown. As if that were not enough, he was also named homecoming king. The senior had a night to remember.

Narrows got two touchdowns from Austin Evans on 47 and 48 paid passes from Blaker. He finished with 178 yards passing and 64 rushing. The 6-4, 205 pound senior was 12 of 26 passing, two touchdowns and with two interceptions.

Fort Chiswell (5-2, 2-0) scored after just three minutes had ran off the clock at the start of game as Rider took the snap and rammed his way in from six yards out. Tyler Dunford’s point after made it 7-0. The score went to 14-0 in the second quarter as Rider took the snap from center at his own 14-yard line, went off right tackle, broke three tackles, headed down the Pioneer sideline. He out-ran the Narrows secondary for an 86-yard score with 8:34 left in the first half.

On their next possession Narrows scored when Blaker dropped back and found Evans wide open over the middle for a 47 yard score, but Kaleb Normansell’s kick was wide left to leave the score at 14-6. The Green Wave recovered a Pioneer fumble. On their second play Blaker hit Evans down the sideline for a 48-yard strike. This time the run for two was stopped for a 14-12 halftime Pioneer lead.

The Pioneers would score again, this time at the 5:53 mark of the third quarter as Rider caught a eight-yard pass from Warren Moore, and Tyler Dunford’s kick upped the score to 21-12.

After their defense held Narrows (5-2, 1-1) to three plays and out, Fort Chiswell took over on their 35. Two running plays would garner seven yards out to their 43. Then Moore dropped back and threw a pass to Tanner Bailey in front of the Pioneer bench. Bailey broke a tackle at midfield and raced to his 15. He then cut back across the grain and picked up a devastating block from Hunter Parrott and ran in from there for a 57-yard score. The kick was then blocked for a 27-12 lead.

Narrows scored their last touchdown with 9:26 left in the game as running back Mikey McKinney ran in from one yard out but the two point conversion passed failed.

“Rider (Colby) had one heck of a game for us,” said a happy Pioneer head coach Todd Tiller. “Our offensive and defensive lines did one whale of a job tonight. Blake can hurt you in lot of different ways. I thought we really made him earn his rushing yards.” Coach added, “I’m pleased with our performance except for the turnovers; I’m not happy with those. They made a couple big plays on us in the first half, and we made a couple changes in our defense the second half.”

Fort Chiswell has won three consecutive games for the first time in a couple of years. They finished this game with over 360 yards of offense.

The Pioneer schedule doesn’t get any easier as they will play their last regular season home game against familiar foe Grayson Co. Kickoff will be at 7:00 pm next Friday. It will be senior night for the Pioneers.

 

 

Narrows 0 12 0 6-18

Fort Chiswell 7 7 13 0-27

 

 

FC- Rider – 6 run – Dunford kick 7- 0

FC- Rider – 86 run – Dunford kick 14- 0

N – Evans- 47 pass from Blaker – Kick failed 14- 6

N – Evans – 48 pass from Blaker – Run failed 14-12

FC- Rider – 8 pass from Moore – Dunford kick 21-12

FC- Bailey – 57 pass from Moore- Kick blocked 27-12

N – McKinney- 1 run – Pass failed 27-18

 

First Downs -N – 8, FC- 12

 

Penalties- N- 5-40, FC- 8-63

 

 

Max Meadows…Coming off a huge upset of the defending state champions Galax and stopping their 15 game winning streak, the Pioneers need to get back to work to get ready for the visiting Narrows Green Wave.

Narrows will come into the game with a 5-1 record and coming off a win over Bland Co. 47-20. Narrows is averaging over 41 points per game, while giving up under 14 a game. Their lone loss was to arch rival Giles 28-14. They have beaten not only Bland Co; they have wins over Auburn, Eastern Montgomery, Montcalm, WV and Craig Co.

Kelly Lowe is their head coach and is in his 14th season. His overall record is 55-87. Last year they finished 5-6 and made the playoffs, losing to Galax 48-18. It was the first time since 2009 they had made the playoffs. They return five offensive starters and six defensive starters.

Offensively senior quarterback Cole Blaker leads them. Blake is 6-5, 205 pounds and can beat you with his arm and legs. Austin Evans, a 6-1, 200-pound senior, leads the running backs, and Landon is a big target at his wide receiver position. Neal is a 165-pound senior. Two other skilled players to watch are running back Mikey McKinney and tight end Matthew Mullins. Their offensive line is big in Jake Martin a junior who is 6-3 and 275 pounds. Tyler Riddle is 225-pound lineman as is Derrick Stinson a 280-pound junior.

On defense Blaker who is their safety also leads the Green Wave. Neal also is a starter in the secondary. The linebacker positions are Evans, McKinney and TJ Yopp. The anchor on the line is Martin. He gets help from Cam Honaker, Mullins and Riddle.

Fort Chiswell head coach Todd Tiller said, ”Narrows is a very sound football team. Blaker can beat you in two ways. He is big and is an excellent runner. He has a strong-arm thrower. The Evans (Austin) kid is a fine looking back and so is McKinney. It seems on film that Neal is the main target for Blaker by way of the pass.” Coach then said, ”Narrows will use a pro-style attack. Likes to run out of an I-formation as well. On defense they will show a 50 scheme. They stay with their basic defense with two safeties. The linebackers like to read and then react. They are well coached and we have to get to work to be ready.”

It is the Fort Chiswell Pioneers homecoming, and they are in seventh this week in the VHSL power point ratings.

Last year the two teams met at Narrows with the Green Wave coming away with a 53-20 blowout. The game was close for three quarters but the Pioneers suffered some injuries. In that game the Fort Chiswell team used not one, or two, or three and not four but five quarterbacks. All five of them completed at least one pass. They had eight players out with injuries before the game even started.

Kick off is slated for 7 pm at C F McKinney Stadium at Fort Chiswell High School.