Month: August 2015

Fort Chiswell Gets Blanked by Rural Retreat

Photography courtesy of Tina Quesenberry

Rural Retreat…The Indians of Rural Retreat shutdown the Fort Chiswell Pioneers 27 – 0 in the season Photo courtesy of Tina Quesenberryopener for both teams. Fort Chiswell was stymied for most of the game on offense as they were held to under 100 yards.

Rural Retreat was lead by senior running back Hunter Ward as he scored two touchdowns and had 18 rushes for 134 yards. Fellow running back Jarred Richardson finished with ten carries for 47 yards.

Fort Chiswell, when they did move the ball, had turnovers that stopped two of their best drives. The Pioneers committed four turnovers of which two were fumbles and two were interceptions.

In the second quarter, the Indians Dalton Arnold returned one interception 20 yards for a touchdown putting the Indians up 20 – 0 at half-time.

A very disappointed Fort Chiswell Pioneer head coach, Todd Tiller, said, “We got our tails kicked. They (Rural Retreat) were more physical on both sides of the ball than we were. Our youth and inexperience showed.” Coach then remarked, “We had a couple of drives in the first half that were stopped by our mistakes. We will go back to work on Monday. We have a lot of work to do.”

The Pioneers offensively ran just 36 plays to Rural Retreat’s 55. Sean Morgan and Mitch Armbrister were held to 18 yards rushing between them. Sophomore, Tanner Bailey caught four passes for 62 yards, and Davin Odum had two receptions. Fort Chiswell will have their home opener next Friday, September 4, as they take on arch rival George Wythe Maroons. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
FC 0 0 0 0 0
RR 6 14 7 0 27

FC-rushing-Morgan 6-9, Armbrister 5-9, Moore 4-2
RR-rushing-Ward 18-134, Richardson 10-47, O’Neil 6-29, Sowers 4-(-6)

FC-passing-Moore 6-17-73
RR-passing-Sowers 2-5-36

Bobcats trounce George Wythe

Heth Grant
Heth Grant

Wytheville…Radford behind running back Grant Heth’s six touchdowns and Qb Marcus Finley’s throwing for 248 yards and four touchdown passes, trounced the Maroons of George Wythe 55-27 in the opener for both teams. Grant caught two touchdown passes of 45 yards each, scored on runs of 25 yards, eight and five yards. He top his night off with a 93 yard kickoff return. He finished with 96 yards rushing on 16 carries and five receptions for 146 yards. Finley was 11 0f 15 passing on the night .

George Wythe running back Rashad Wells carried the pigskin 18 times for 189 yards and scored two touchdowns. Tyler Harden had 107 yards on nine rushes and scored a touchdown. Qb Deacon Beamer scored a touchdown on a 10 yard run.

Marcus Finley
Marcus Finley

The Bobcats jumped early onto the scoreboard as they drove 65 yards on seven plays, and after holding the Maroons scored again on just four plays covering 59 yards. The Maroons would cut the lead in half on a Wells 28 yard run but Radford answered with a 67 yard drive on four plays to go up 20-7 after one quarter. They put the game out of reach in the second quarter outscoring the Maroons 27-0 . Their last score, as the first ended was a bit of trickery. Finley took the snap from center and handed of to Dontae Billings. He would then handoff to receiver D.J.Baylor on a end around, but he then would flip the ball back to Finley and he would find Grant over the middle for a 45 yard pass for a touchdown to go up 48-7. Radford would use their second string and junior varsity players for the most of the second half for the victory.

Radford head coach Matthew Saunders said,” I thought we played very well tonight. Some of the fellow coaches from other teams had said to me that we looked in mid-season form earlier in the day. This group of young men have had the ability to go things that we have told them.” coach then said,”We got everyone into the game tonight and gave them some experience. It was very good for the sophomores and freshmen.”

Note: the Radford junior varsity beat the George Wythe JV’s 14-6. Jeremy Chadwick and Trace Shepherd scored for the Cats.

Radford will have their home opener next Friday at Bobcat Stadium as they host the Galax Maroon Tide. Kickoff is slated for 7pm.

 

Bobcats to travel to George Wythe

Friday night the action gets real. The Radford Bobcats will travel South on Interstate 81 to Wytheville. There the Cats will kick off their football season facing their rivals the Maroons of George Wythe, The two teams kicked off last year playing each other with the Bobcats winning 35-14 at Radford. Last year Radford went 6-6, while the Maroons finished 9-4. Radford head coach Matthew Saunders was asked about this years edition of the Maroons and he replied,” Offensively I think they will try to control the ball against us. I look for them to run at us and then try to get to the outside on us. The Beamer kid ( Deacon) will be their quarterback.” Coach then said,” Running back Tyler Hardin is a hard runner and we will see him a lot . Dylan Anderson is perhaps their best lineman .”

Coach then was asked about the Maroons defensively and he said, “They will line up in a 4-2-5 look. Their linebackers will blitz from different positions. Sometimes they will play man to man on one side of the ball and zone on the other side.The secondary likes to play man to man but will switch to zone but not often.”

Radford comes into the game pretty healthy after playing Independence (WV) , Virginia High and Christiansburg. The Bobcats will start Marcus Finley at QB, Heth Grant, Dontae Billings, D.J.Baylor, Nathan Dobos and Mike Vick at the skilled positions. Shawn Reed gets the start at center. Brett Armentrout and Wes Parcell the guards. The tackles will be Nick Ridpath and Hunter O’Brien. Others that will see some time on the offense will be Markell Thompson, Bradley Davis . Parker Griffiths will see action on the line as will Roman Bonet. Defensively their will go with Thompson,Ridpath and Davis on the line. The linebackers are Grant, Parcell, Bonet, Armentrout and Mitch White. The secondary will consist of Baylor, Finley and Billings. Kickoff is slated for 7pm in Wytheville.

Pioneers to open season at Rural Retreat

Max Meadows… Friday night the action gets real. The Fort Chiswell Pioneers, under new head coach Todd Tiller, will travel to their county rival, the Rural Retreat Indians. The Indians last season finished 5-5 in the regular season and were defeated in the first round of the playoffs by George Wythe 37-6.
The Pioneers went 7-4 overall, losing in the first round of the playoffs as well. They were defeated by the Eagles of Auburn 25-20. These two teams met in the opening week last season with the Pioneers coming out on top, 50-22.
“Rural Retreat is very much improved from last year,” said Coach Tiller. “They will offensively run the split back veer. Out of that they will run the dive, option, spin trap and counter,” remarked Tiller. Coach then said, “Their quarterback is Wyatt Sowers. He runs the veer extremely well. They will use Trent O’Neil and Hunter Ward as the running backs. They all are returning players and have experience.” Coach Tiller then said, “They have a lineman by the name of Quante Ford. He is very good player and will be a handful for us.” Ford is a 5-10 senior and weighs in at 240. He will be at guard on offense and at tackle on defense.
Fort Chiswell comes into the opening of the season with some injuries. Lineman Devin Newman is out for this week’s game. Devin Bain is questionable as is Logan Hart. Colby Rider will be a game time decision. Davin Odum will be in action.
When asked about any more injuries from last Friday’s scrimmage versus John Battle, Coach Tiller remarked, “We came out of that scrimmage in good shape. We will have Odum back and probably Bain. Rider and Hart will be game time decisions.”
Coach then remarked, “Rural Retreat defensively will show a 40 or 44 defense. They like to blitz and bring pressure up the middle. They want to confuse your offensive line and their blocking assignments.”
The Pioneers offensively will start Grant Milgrim at center. Logan Smith and Jacob Coake at tackles. The guards will be Billy Shrewsberry and Patrick Crawford. Colby Rider will play tight end. Warren Moore gets the nod at quarterback, with Mitch Armbrister and Davin Odum as the running backs. The receivers will be Tanner Bailey and Lucas Edmonds. That’s three seniors, five juniors, two sophomores and one freshman starting on offense. Coach said, “Look for sophomore Sean Morgan to see action at running back, with Noah Widelo playing some at wide receiver and Hunter Parrott at tight end.” Both Widelo and Parrott are juniors.
Fort Chiswell will go defensively with Coake and Crawford at tackles. Rider and Andrew Stoots at the ends. Odum, Armbrister, Logan Hart and Morgan will be the linebackers. T.J.James and Edmonds will start at cornerbacks, with the safety being Bailey. So defensively the Pioneers will go with three seniors, six juniors and two sophomores.
Kickoff is slated for 7 pm at Rural Retreat High School Friday night.

Radford Bobcats: Athletic, Quick and Experienced

Radford Bobcats 2015

(Photography courtesy of Jim Wheeler)

Radford… Coming off of back-to-back 6-6 seasons, the Bobcats are more experienced and looking for a longer extended playoff run. Head Coach Matthew Saunders is starting his 9th year at Radford. He owns a 55-40 mark and is 64-51 overall as a head coach. He served two years at Castlewood High School, 2001-02. Saunders graduated from Radford High School and Radford University.

The Bobcat staff returns mainly intact except for one. Ken Keister has taken an administrative job and will be replaced by David ” Murdock” Meredith. Meredith comes to Radford from Grayson Co. where he served as line coach and defensive coordinator. He is in charge of the defensive line for the Bobcats. Coach Saunders has Pierson Prioleau as the defensive coordinator along with Josh Woods. Prioleau is in his fourth year and is a former VA Tech Hokie and New Orleans Saints defensive back; he works with the defensive backs. Woods, in his third year, works with the linebackers . Daniel Hill is in his fifth year and works with the outside linebackers while Roger Hollins is starting his third year and works with the offensive line. Greg Ridpath, who works with the quarterbacks, is starting his eighth year on the staff. Darden Freeman is in charge of the running backs and slot players. This is his seventh year with Coach Saunders. Rounding out the staff is Shannon Wohlford and Josh Smith. Wohlford in his second season and works with the slot and quarterbacks as well. Smith, in his second year, works with the wide receivers.
Radford will have 13 seniors, 10 juniors and nine sophomores on their roster. They have recorded 599 victories in the history of football and will be one of only a few schools in the state to have 600 wins with their next victory.

Coach Saunders said, “We will run some option, spread and rocket on offense, and defensively, we will look at going to a 35 scheme. Our secondary ,we play a lot of man-to-man and at times some zone, depending on who we are playing.”
Offensively the ‘Cats return Nick Ridpath , Wes Parcell , Marcus Finley, Heth Grant, Dontae Billings, D.J.Baylor, Parker Griffith and Nathan Dobos. Defensively the “city kitties,” as Coach Saunders likes to call them, returns six on that side of the ball.
Radford will likely start Shawn Reed at center. He’s a 5-6 205 junior. The guards are Brett Armentrout and Wes Parcell. Armentrout, a junior, is 5-10 210 and Parcell is a senior who is 5-10 185. Nick Ridpath and Parker Griffith are the tackles. Ridpath, a senior, is 6-4 245 and is being recruited by Richmond and William and Mary, just to name two. Griffiths is 5-10, 200 and a junior.
Marcus Finley, a 5-10, 155 senior, will start at quarterback. Senior Heth Grant, 5-10, 180, rushed for over 1,200 yards his junior year. He ,is the running back. D.J. Baylor and Dontae Billings are the slots . Baylor a junior, is 5-6, 145 and Billings is 5-3, 135 and is a senior. The wide outs are Nathan Dobos and Blacksburg transfer, Mike Vick. Dobos is 6-4, 160 senior and Vick, also a senior, is 6-2, 190.
Coach Saunders remarked, “We will also use Hunter O’Brien , Nathan Cox and Roman Bonet on the line. Kaleb Smith, Mitch White and Markell Thompson will see action at slot, wide out and at fullback.”
On defense they will start Ridpath, Thompson and Bradley Davis on the line. Davis is 6-3, 220 and a senior. Thompson, a junior, is 5-10 190.
The linebackers will be Grant, Parcell, White. Armentrout and Bonet. The secondary will consist of Finley, Billings and Baylor. White, a junior, is 5-5, 135. Bonet is a sophomore and is 5-10, 185.
Radford will play a very difficult schedule. Six of the teams made the playoffs last year, as well as the last two state champions, Glenvar and Giles. Coach Saunders was asked about the schedule and remarked, “George Wythe is always tough and physical. They will be athletic and talented. Galax is well-coached. Coach Dixon does a great job and returns a lot of players and will have great line play and a running back that will be very good as usual. ”
Coach then said, “Fort Chiswell will have a new coach and will play physical and strong. James River will have a new coach as well, and we will have to see what they will do on offense and defense. Craig Co. is a new team on our schedule, and they like to run the football.”
Coach then talked about his Three Rivers opponents, “Floyd is young and is well-coached. Winfred Beale does a great job for them. They will play hard. Eastern Montgomery will play real hard . They are not the biggest team size-wise but are athletic at the skilled positions. Auburn is going to be tough. Coach Jack Turner has done a great job there. They love to run the football and are very physical and big.”
Coach Saunders then talked about Giles and Glenvar. “Giles runs the single wing and lost some good players, but lot of good players are returning and are very well coached. Glenvar is the defending state champs and are extremely well-coached and return 17 players.”
Radford has made the playoffs the last two seasons finishing 6-6. As usual they can’t afford injuries. That’s the way it is in Group 1A football. They are returning a lot of starters on both sides of the ball. They also have a lot of players going both ways. Coach Saunders said, “We have a good group of young men. I’ve been pleased with unity and work ethic with this group.”
If the Bobcats go 6-6 again this year, they will be disappointed more than likely. The experience and athletic ability of this team is hard to match. If they avoid the injury bug and turnovers, they may be going deep into the playoffs. Offensively they are very talented and if the defense can get some stops, they can be a dangerous team to deal with. A lot of things are in place for them: good coaching staff, good players with speed and athletic ability. Their defense is the key to just how far they will go this season. If the ball bounces the right way, we shall see how far.

Fort Chiswell Pioneers Football Facing Another New Staff as well as Inexperience

(Photography by Tina Quesenberry)

Photography by Tina Quesenberry

Max Meadows…Coming off a 7-4 season, Coach Hale stepped down after his only season as Pioneers coach. Tiller has been defensive coordinator at Grundy and Castlewood high schools. He played under legendary coach, Colley, at Haysi. He played at Emory & Henry until an injury ended his playing career. Coach Tilller will keep himself on as defensive coordinator.
“I’m a head coach for the first time at football, but I’ve been head coach of other sports and been around football most of my life,” said Tiller. ” I think being here last year was and is very helpful. The players know me and I know them.”

Photography by Tina Quesenberry

Coach Tiller has had to find a new coaching staff. He first hired offensive coordinator, Seth Padgett. Padgett was offensive coordinator at Patrick Henry-Glade Spring last season. He and Tiller played against and coached against each other at Castlewood and St.Paul respectfully. Padgett played college football at Union College. He is offensive coordinator as well as defensive backs coach for the Pioneers in his first year.
One of the leftover coaches for the Pioneers from last year will be Josh Wingate. He was junior varsity head man last year. He will be in charge of the wide receivers and outside linebackers under Coach Tiller; this is his fourth season at Fort Chiswell.
Josh Jones is a new addition to the staff, and he also is the resource officer at Fort Chiswell. Coach Jones played at Pulaski Co. for Joel Hicks. He will coach the linebackers and running backs and help with the junior varsity. This is his first year at Fort Chiswell.
A new old addition the the staff will be James Whitlock. Whitlock has been out of coaching the last three-four years. He worked for former Pioneer head coach, Stephen James. Last job he held for James was defensive coordinator. Offensive and defensive lines will be his responsibility.
Zach Bowers will join the staff and help with the junior varsity and help with offensive and defensive lines. This is his first year with football, but he has been at Fort Chiswell helping with basketball and other responsibilities.
Ben Caudill is new assistant for the Pioneers and comes from Rural Retreat. He will lend a hand with the secondary and receivers.
Coach Danny Dunford and Chucky Brown are returning after last season. Dunford will be head man for the middle school and Brown his assistant. This is both their second years.
Coach Chris Hanks will join the middle school staff; it will be his first year.
Two other coaches that will be helping mainly on game night are no strangers to the Fort Chiswell football program, Will Freeman and Jonathan Grimes. Freeman has been over the middle school, and Grimes has been head junior varsity coach. This is Coach Freeman’s fifth year. He will be the defensive spotter on Friday nights. Grimes will be sideline assistant on Fridays.
Fifty-four players showed for the opening of practice, not bad for a Group 1A school. 18 of those kids are freshmen, 12 sophomores, 14 juniors and 10 seniors. A lot of the seniors are inexperienced and will be getting playing time for the first time.
Coach Tiller remarked, “Defensively we will be multiple in our formations. We will play a 40 and 50 scheme. Our game plan will depend some on who we are facing. We will attack on “D”. We will show some eight in the box looks. Our secondary will feature two coverages behind the 40 or 50 scheme.”
Offensively. “We will do zone scheme blocking. I like to be a power running team. We will throw to keep teams honest. I’d like a 60 to 40 running mix. We can and will go 60-40 pass if we need to,” said Coach.
When asked about the schedule the Pioneers will be facing, Coach Tiller said, “I will put our schedule against anyone in 1A football. It is going to be very tough schedule. Six of the ten teams we face were in the playoffs last year!” He then gave a short synopsis of each opponent. “Rural Retreat is very much improved. Like to pound the ball and are well coached and are always well prepared.”
“James River has a new coach and don’t know that much about them or what they will do as of now. They were a spread team offensively the last few years. Parry McCluer likes to run the ball down your throat . They lost some good players from their playoff team from last year. The Fighting Blues have been in the East Division but move to the West of Group 1A this year. They will be hard to handle and our farthest trip we have to make!”
Radford and George Wythe are the other two teams that the Pioneers face in their part of the out-of-district teams. Coach Tiller said, “Wythe is just a natural rival for us. Emotions are always running very high. They will be ready to play and have good athletes and are well coached. Radford will be as good as any team we will face,” coach remarked. “They are talented, experienced, athletic, fast and quick. I think they are ranked high in the pre-season and for a good reason.”
The so-called district play, Mountain Empire, will also be difficult . Coach Tiller said, “Galax will be the squad to beat. Coach Dixon does an excellent job for the Maroon Tide. Their line play offensively is as good as anybody’s. They love to run the ball and are very disciplined. We need to get back to their level of play! ”
Grayson Co., ” is well coached. Coach McPherson does a great job for them. We played them some seven-on-seven this summer . They have a talented quarterback and good receivers. ”
Coach then talked about Graham. “They will have a new coach. Coach Tony Palmer has been there for a long time. They will be athletic and fast. ”
Bland Co. “… are very competitive and will be very well coached. They played us very tough last year and return some real good players. ”
“Narrows,” said Coach Tiller, “is down on numbers. They have some good kids, and the coach does a good job with less players.They will compete very hard.”
Fort Chiswell will start some young and inexperienced players. Junior Warren Moore will see lots of action at quarterback. Senior Davin Odum, last years backup QB, will be pushed for the backup this year by sophomore southpaw, Tanner Bailey. The leaders for the backfield and “H” back are sophomore Sean Morgan, junior Zach Grimm, senior Mitch Armbrister, junior Logan Hart and Odum.
The wide receiver and tight end positions will see senior Lucas Edmonds and junior Colby Rider. Bailey will back up Edmonds at receiver with Odum and junior Noah Widelo seeing playing time. T.J. James, a junior, may see action as well.
Up front the Pioneers will go with junior Grant Millgrim at center, Junior Jacob Coake and sophomore Logan Smith at tackles. The guards are sophomore Devin Newman and freshman Billy Shrewsberry. Senior Devin Bain will get time at tackle and/or guard. Cody Crigger, a junior, senior Devin Shewey and junior Patrick Crawford can get time to perform on the line as well.
On the defense, the Pioneers will go with Millgram, Coake, Rider and Hunter Parrott, a junior, will be the tackles and ends. Odum and Armbrister will be the inside linebackers with Hart and junior Andrew Stoots the outside backers. The secondary will consist of Edmonds and James at the corners, with Bailey at safety.
Morgan may get some linebacker action and Widelo some playing time at cornerback.
Coach Tiller, when asked about players going both ways replied, “We will have five, six or seven going both. We are working in practice to lower those numbers, and I believe we will.
Coach then was questioned about his overall depth. “We can’t afford injuries. Especially on the offensive and defensive lines. We are thin and will be working to shore those up. Coach then said, “We need to get off to a good start of the season. We are at Rural Retreat, come home to face rival, George Wythe, and Radford. That’s a pretty tough way to start the season!
Coach was then told of him being the third head coach in three years for the Pioneers. ‘It’s a little unsettling to the players. The continuity hasn’t been here lately. We have been to the playoffs now for what, the last five years or so? This is a different kind of Fort Chiswell team than what we had last year and the last few years here. The Pioneers have been more times than not, big and experienced. This team is not as big as a lot of those teams. We’re not as experienced as a lot of those teams in the past. I do believe we are a little more athletic and quicker. Of course, that doesn’t mean we will be better!” He then remarked, “I’m proud of how this team has worked and their attitude. They have worked hard in the weight room in the off season. I’m glad to have been chosen for the head coaching position. I do know the kids from last year, and they know me. I expect a lot of them, and I have been fortunate to get Coach Padgett, Coach Jones and Caudill. I finally ghave Coach Whitlock coming back to the sidelines. He will help us with his knowledge. Happy to get Wingate, Freeman, Bowers, Grimes, Dunford and Brown to help. I’m looking forward to the season!”
This may be a season of transition for the Pioneers. They are not as big or as seasoned as the last few Pioneer squads. The players seem to have taken to the new coaching staff. It seems like a family at practice. They work hard . If they stay injury-free and get some breaks, this team may surprise. This team is young. how will they react to adversity? How will the coaching staff react to tough times? More than likely there will be some injuries. How will this affect the season? Who will step up? Who will lead? Will the tough schedule wear them down? Lots of questions are to be answered with this years staff and players. Making the playoffs is a good possibility once again, or is it? Questions abound for this season!

 

Pioneers- John Battle play to stalmate

Max Meadows… Playing at home under a new head coach and a new coaching staff, the Pioneers fought back to tie the John Battle Trojans 7-7. Battle running back Seth Leonard rammed in from one yard out and Seth Jones kick made it 7-0 late in the third quarter.

Fort Chiswell would drive back down the field and score on a quarterback run from sophomore Tanner Bailey from 11 yards out . Placekicker Tyler Dunford split the uprights to tie the game .

The Trojans would try a 35 yard field goal late in the fourth quarter but the kick was no good after the Pioneers defense had stiffened.

The Pioneers couldn’t muster enough offense late and the game finished in a tie.” I’m pleased in some areas of our team and not in other areas,” said Pioneer head coach Todd Tiller. ” I thought Andrew Stoots played well. He had three sacks and recovered a fumble. Defensively we played well. Offensively we got to take care of thr football. We had three turnovers and also recovered two of our own also. We were just to careless with the ball !”

Fort Chiswell was missing Colby Rider, Devin Bain, Davin Odum, Logan Hart and Devin Newman all out due to injuries. Bailey was nine of 20 passing for 135 yards. Lucas Edmonds had seven receptions for 56 yards. Sophomore running back Sean Morgan rushed seven times for 38 yards but fumbled twice.

The Pioneers kick off their regular season at 7 pm Friday when they travel to county rival Rural Retreat.

 

Bobcats win both scrimmages

The Radford Bobcats traveled to Christiansburg and took on the Bearcats of Virginia High and the host Blue Demons of Christiansburg. Their first action of the night was Virginia High. The Cats looked sharp as they scored three touchdowns the first three times they possessed the ball. Marcus Finley scored on a 20 yard run and Heth Grant scored on a eight yard run for the first two scores. Grant then scored on a 46 yard pass from Finley and Michael Hill hit all three kicks as they went up 21-0 after one quarter. Radford would strike on the first play of the second quarter as Finley ran in from 17 yards but the kick failed to make it 27-0.

Virginia High would get on the board after David Arthur returned he kickoff 85 yards to the Bobcat three yard line. Caleb Stone would plunge into the end zone and after the kick it was 27-7. They would stop Radford and score again ,this time on a 38 yard pass from Ryan Bradley to Jordan Sewell. Evan Harr point after made the score 27-14. Radford would put the game away on their next possession when Finley faked a handoff and rolled around left end and scored on a 38 yard jaunt to make the final 34-14.

The nightcap saw the Bobcats playing Christiansburg and would fall behind seven to nothing when the Demons scored a a three yard run by Mitch Walters and and Neal Rahmes point after.

Radford answered with a eight yard run by Finley but the kick was blocked and the Demons were up still 7-6. Radford’s “D” started to shut the Demons down and would get the ball back. Heth Grant took the snap from center a ran in from nine yards out but the two point conversion pass was incomplete for a 12-7 score. Radford the scored the last touchdown of the game as Dontae Billings ran around the right side and raced 21 yards and Hill’s pat made the score 19-7 for the final. ” We played okay,” said radford head coach Matthew Saunders. ” Our kicking game needs work along with our coverage of kickoffs. I was pleased the way we answered Christiansburg as we fell behind early. We got work to do! ” Radford will prepare for their opener this week as they travel to rival George Wythe. Kickoff is slated at 7 pm in Wytheville.

Bobcats win scrimmage

RadfoHead Coach Matthew Saundersrd… The Radford Bobcats took on the Patriots of Independence (WV) at Norman G. Lineburg Field and won the scrimmage 4-0. Marcus Finley raced 66 yards for a score, and D.J.Baylor ran in from 29 yards out to put the Cats up 2-0 after just six plays. They scored again on the third set of 10 plays as Nathan Dobos caught a five yard pass in the corner of the end zone from Finley. Their final score came in the fourth set of plays as third string quarterback Elijah Duncan scampered 55 yards on a quarterback keeper. Marcus Finley had 93 yards on just three rushes. Dontae Billings had 46 yards on two receptions. Radford finished with over 300 yards rushing and 95 yards of passing. Finley was four of five for 72 yards and Baylor went two for three for 23 yards passing. He also has 56 yards rushing. Coach Matthew Saunders said, “We have a lot of work to do. We have to tackle better, and we need lot of work on special teams. Good job today, but we’ve got to get better!”

Pioneers Improve in Jamboree

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Wide receiver, Lucas Edmonds

The Fort Chiswell Pioneers, under the direction of new head coach, Todd Tiller, started slow and shaky in a jamboree played at Tazewell. They got better as the jamboree went along and finished up winning two of three contests. Tazewell, the host school, Central-Wise, Rye Cove and the Pioneers participated in the jamboree held Saturday, August 14.
Fort Chiswell took on the Bulldogs of Tazewell and came out on the short end, losing four scores to two. Davin Odum and Hunter Parrott had the two scores in the contest. QB Tanner Bailey was four of seven for 56 yards with a touchdown pass.
The second contest saw the Pioneers defeat the Eagles of Rye Cove three to two. Odum scored two rushing TDs, and Zach Grimm rushed for one. Grimm finished with 40 yards and Odum had 33. Anthony Morris had 22 yards in receptions.
Last game of the night saw the Pioneers score a three to two win over Central-Wise. Mitch Armbrister and Odum each rushed for a touchdown, and Sean Morgan caught a 30 yard pass from Bailey for the other score. Odum had 24 yards on the ground . Morgan had 30 yards of receptions. Parrott had 31 yards, and Lucas Edmonds 20. Bailey was five of seven for 72 yards.
Coach Tiller said, ” I thought the third game versus Central was our best by far. We started real slow against Tazewell, and we looked like what we are – young and inexperienced.” Coach then said,” We will look at the film and correct some things and some personnel if need be. Overall, I’m pleased with our effort and aggressiveness. Our secondary had some problems, and we will address that in practice this week.
Fort Chiswell will host the Trojans of John Battle Friday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7pm.

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Quarterback, Warren Moore, and running back, Zack Grimm