Month: August 2016

Pioneers prepare to enter Maroon Territory

Fort Chiswell… The Pioneers this past Friday night stopped a losing streak and have already won more than they did all of last year. This Friday that will go up Interstate 81 to play the George Wythe Maroons.

The Maroons opened up last week with a 56-0 thrashing of Radford. This will be their home opener, and it’s against county rival Pioneers. You could say they don’t play well together.

George Wythe is huge, experienced, athletic and have a lot of depth on their offensive line. That line helped lead them to a 12-2 record that took them to the state semifinal. Head Coach Brandon Harner is in his third season and has recorded a 22-6 record. On offense the Maroons big offensive line is led by 6-4 265 senior Dylan Anderson, Parker Coe a junior is 6-3 275,and Larry Isaac a senior is 6-0 280. Others that will see time on the line is Gavin Gray who’s 6-3 285 and a junior. Jason Jones a junior comes in at 6-0 215 and see’s action at center. Behind that big line are some very athletic skilled players. Quarterback Deacon Beamer, running back Jordan Harber and Kane “ Booger” Owens. At one wide receiver is a speed burner Markell Moss. Walker Nowers is the other wide out and both him and Moss will carry the ball, too. The Maroons are returning eight starters on offense.

Pioneer head coach Todd Tiller remarked,” George Wythe is huge up front. The thing about them is they are very athletic and experienced with them being that big. Beamer, Moss, Harber and Nowers all can hurt you on offense. They all can run and catch the ball. Beamer is very experienced at QB and he can run and threw the ball.” Coach then added, “ They will run the sweep, counter and quarterback power run. They will pass but they are a run oriented team.”

George Wythe will use a 4-2- 5 scheme on defense. Coach Tiller said, ”They like to use zone in the secondary, primarily. They didn’t blitz that much against Radford. Sometimes they will bring an outside backer. They are a handful and are the front runners who more than likely will get to Salem to play for a state title.” The Maroons return three starters on defense, Coe, Isaacs and Jones. Anderson will also see time on the “D” line. Nowers and Harber are the main linebackers, with Moss and Owens the players to watch in the secondary. The Maroons have had 19 consecutive winning seasons and they have lot of returning talent.

The Pioneers came out of the victory over Rural Retreat in pretty good shape. The only player that is out with an injury is senior lineman Jacob Coake. He got rolled up on in the scrimmage versus John Battle and will miss his second game. Friday will be the first time in 12 games under Coach Tiller reign, that he will start the same five linemen. Those lineman will be Logan Smith, center, Grant Milgrim and Billy Shrewsberry at guards. Patrick Crawford and Alex Brooks will be at tackles. Warren “Pookie” Moore will start at Qb. Sean Morgan will be running back with TJ James and Andrew Stoots splitting time at the H back. Colby Rider starts at tight end, with Tanner Bailey and Anthony Morris at wide receivers. Hunter Parrott, Tyler Jakubiak, Chris Crigger, Logan Newman and Jarrett McGee getting playing time.

Kick off at George Wythe is slated for 7 pm.

Fort Chiswell breaks the losing streak

QB Warren "Pookie" MooreFort Chiswell…Coming into the start of the season, Fort Chiswell had lost eleven straight ball games. That all ended when the Pioneers defeated county rival, Rural Retreat 27 – 13. Lead by Colby Rider’s two touchdown runs and a backbreaking 56-yard jaunt by Warren Moore. Fort Chiswell finished with 303 total yards and held the Indians to 186 yards. The Pioneer conditioning showed in the second half as they worn down Rural Retreat.

Leading 14 – 13 with eight minutes remaining in the contest, Moore, from his own 44 yard line, rolled out to his left to pass, but did not find anyone open. He then reversed his feel, broke a couple of tackles down the Rural Retreat sideline, and broke two more tackles around the 15-yard line. He went on to score.

Rural Retreat was lead by Tanner Kincer who rushed for 89 yards on 21 carries and scored a touchdown. Quarterback Trent O’Neil rushed for 51 yards on ten carries and scored on a 17 yard run early in the fourth quarter to pull the Indians to within one, 14 – 13. They then went for a two-point conversion, but the run was stymied by the center of the Fort Chiswell defense.

Sean Morgan on the moveTwo plays later, Moore took off on his 56-yard run to put the game away. He finished with 53 yards rushing and threw for 50 more yards. A very happy Fort Chiswell head coach Todd Tiller said, “What a great win for these kids. This is all about them. A lot of them suffered through last season and have worked their tails off.” He then added, “Moore’s run there in the middle of the fourth quarter was a broken play. But he’s very athletic, and he can beat you by his feet or his arms. Rural Retreat came out in an unbalanced line. We didn’t adjust on their first score of the game. Overall, I’m very proud of the way our defense played. We held on when we had to.” Coach Tiller was asked about going for it on fourth and five on his own 47-yard line with still nine minutes to go in the third quarter. He replied, “I went for it because I believe in them, and the kids believe in me.”

Fort Chiswell will travel to George Wythe to take on their other county rival. Kick off is slated at 7 PM.

Photos: Courtesy of Tina Quesenberry- ( 3# Moore, #9 Morgan)

FC 7 0 7 13 – 27

RR 0 0 7 6 – 13

 

FC – Rider 3 run, T Dunford PAT – 7 – 0

RR – Kincer 4 run, D Arnold PAT – 7 – 7

FC – Rider 2 run, T Dunford PAT – 14 – 7

RR – O’Neil 17 run, run no good – 14 – 13

FC – Moore 56 run, kick no good – 20 -13

FC – Stoots 8 run, T Dunford PAT – 27 -13

 

 

Rushing – RR O’Neil 10 – 51, Kincer 21 – 89, Dix 8 – 20, Fisher 4, (-4)

FC Morgan 20 – 78, Rider 9 – 80, Moore 4 – 53, Stoots 1 – 8, Jakubiak 1 – 6, Bailey 1 – 6, James 3 – 11

 

C – A int td yds

Passing – RR O’Neil 2 – 9 2 0 30

Kincer 0 – 1 0 0 0

 

FC Moore 5 – 15 1 0 50

BaiLey 1 – 2 0 0 11

 

Receiving/yds

RR Foster 1/11

Hayes 1/19

 

FC Rider 3/31

Stoots 1/13

James 1/11

Morgan 1/6

Floyd Co. coach suspended

Floyd Co. head football coach Winfred Beale has been suspended for seven days due to a “rules violation.” The Buffaloes open their season Friday against Carroll Co. Assistant coach Freeman Nester will handle the head coaching duties. Beale is in his 36th season. He is still teaching at the school as the suspension is for his football duties only.

Pioneers kick off the season with Rural Retreat

Max Meadows… This Friday night the Fort Chiswell Pioneer football team will open their football season with county rival the Indians of Rural Retreat.

The Indians have a new head coach in Casey Stewart. Stewart comes from Patrick Henry-Roanoke where he was their defensive coordinator. The Indians are known for the split back veer on offense.

Fort Chiswell head coach Todd Tiller remarked, ”From what we have seen in their pre-season they are still running the split back veer on offense. Their quarterback is Trent O’Neil. He’s a real good athlete back there and is quick.” Coach then added, ”Their tight end to watch is Cory Hayes, and Tyler Foster is a wide receiver that we’ll have to keep an eye on.”

O’Neil for the Indians is a senior as is Hayes and Foster. O’Neil is 5’10” 165, Hayes 5’11” 160 and Foster is 5’9” 140.

On defense Coach Tiller said. ”Rural Retreat has been in a 4-3-4 look. That’s in pre-season they have. Once again the O’Neil kid at safety is very athletic for them and Cade Rouse is extremely talented on the line.“ Rouse is a 5’11” 240 senior. Coach Tiller said, ”Now in pre-season they haven’t been sending their linebackers, but they probably will against us.”

The Pioneers will start on offense with Logan Smith at center, Patrick Crawford and Grant Milgrim at guards. The tackles will be Billy Shrewsberry and Alex Brooks. Colby Rider starts at tight end with Hunter Parrott and Anthony Morris as the wide receivers. Sean Morgan will be the tail back, TJ James the H back. Tanner Bailey will get the start at quarterback. Warren Moore, Andrew Stoots, Tyler Jakubiak and Jarrett McGee will all see action on offense.

Defensively the Pioneers will lineup with Brooks at nose tackle, Crawford and Devin Newman will be the tackles. The outside linebackers will be Stoots and James. The inside backers are Rider, Milgrim and Chris Crigger. The secondary will consist of Morris and Logan Newman at cornerbacks, with Bailey the safety. Ethan Woods, Moore, Shrewsberry and Morgan seeing time as well on defense. The place kicker is Tyler Dunford and handling the punting will be Bailey. Kickoff returns and punt returns will be Jakubiak and Morgan.

Last year Rural Retreat defeated the Pioneers at Rural Retreat 27-0. The Indians went on to post a 7-3 regular season and finished 8-4 losing to J I Burton in the second round of the playoffs.

Kick off is slated for 7 pm Friday night at Fort Chiswell High School.

Bobcats 2016 Football Preview

Coming off a 9-4 season and a run to the state quarterfinals, this year the Radford Bobcats are younger and inexperienced. The big thing is they are still athletic, quick and have skilled personal.

Head coach Matthew Saunders is starting his 11th year being the headman. As he has a 64-44 record at Radford. His overall mark stands at 73-55 with his two years at Castlewood.

Radford lost a couple assistant coaches with experience, but their staff still has lot of experience. Pierson Prioleau is in his fifth season. He will be the co-defensive coordinator and work with the defensive backs. A position he knows all too well playing that position at Virginia Tech and in the NFL with the Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints.

Josh Woods is in his 4th year and will be the co-defensive coordinator and helps with the quarterbacks. Greg Ridpath is starting his 9th year and will help with the quarterbacks and serve as head junior varsity coach. In his third year will be Roger Hollins. He works with the offensive and defensive lines. Shannon Wohlford in his 4th season and will work with slot backs and quarterbacks. Josh Smith starts his second season and will help with the wide receivers / defensive backs. The two new assistants are Cameron Sellers and Galen Weyer. Sellers helps with the offensive line and Weyer works with slots and fullbacks.

The Bobcats have only three returnees on defense and four on offense. Coach Saunders remarked, ”We will run option, rocket and pass option. We like to be diverted on offense. On defense we will go with 3-4-4 look. We will be very young, especially on the line. We will rotate on the line and will go with two safeties.”

Radford will dress 46 kids on Friday nights, as they will have 10 seniors, 11 juniors, 15 sophomores and 10 freshmen. “We lost a lot of very good seniors and have a lot of holes to fill,” said Coach Saunders. He then stated, “I believe we will still be competitive and this group has worked hard to get better.”

Radford’s schedule has six teams that made the playoffs last year. One is defending state champion, a final state semifinalist.

They will start the season against rival George Wythe. Coach Saunders said, ”They have a huge line returning, a lot of returnees. They will be a very good club and should go deep in the playoffs.” Next they play the defending State Champions Galax. Coach Saunders said, “Coach Dixon does a great job. They are always tough upfront. Their line play is always physical.”

Coach then went on to talk about Fort Chiswell, Craig Co. and James River.

“Fort Chiswell played us as tough as any one last year. They should be improved and have some real good kids. Coach Tiller will have them playing hard. Craig Co. has some good players back and they will play hard. James River beat us last year at their place. They are well-coached, but they lost a lot of players.”

Coach was then asked about district play and he gave these comments on each team. “Floyd is very well-coached. Coach Beale does real good job. He has some big kids and some athletic players. Auburn has a new coach. They will probably still run the wing T like Coach Turner did. Coach Akers played and coached under Turner, so they will be tough and physical.”

He then talked about Giles. “They lost some good players but their single wing is always challenging. Coach Williams does a great job with them. Glenvar had a real good junior varsity that will replace a lot of players they lost. They will be very tough to deal with.” Coach then was asked about Eastern Montgomery and he remarked, ”They return some very good, skilled players. They are well-coached.”

Radford on offense will go with Shawn Reed, Brett Armentrout, Dillon Whitt, Charlie Lefew and Nathan Cox on the line. Senior DJ Baylor will start at quarterback. Josh Alley and JW Bethea will be starting wide-outs. The running back/ slots will be Markell Thompson, Trace Shepherd and Mitch White. Others that will see action will be Kamryn Edwards at wide out, with Trace Shepherd seeing some time at quarterback. Roman Bonet, Dale Stanley, Jeremy Chadwick and Elijah Duncan seeing time at the skilled positions.

On defense the Bobcats will go with Lefew, Reed and Adam Simpkins upfront. Eric Burdette, Roman Benet, Armentrout and Justice Marshall at the linebackers. The defensive backs will be Baylor, White, Shepherd and Elijah Duncan. Dillon Whitt and Jesse Shelor will get time on defense as well.

Charlie Lefew will be the punter and Michael Hill will do the placekicking. Baylor, White and Chadwick will do a lot of the kick-off returns.

Radford’s schedule is tough as they face the last three state champions in Giles, Glenvar and Galax. The youth and inexperience will decide on how this team fares this year. They have some experience that returns. It will be tough to replace Finley, Grant, Parcell and Ridpath from last year. Don’t underestimate these athletes’ quickness and speed. With some luck and lack of injuries this team can be dangerous. Will a playoff bid be there at the end of the season? There are enough players that saw action from last year that have athletic ability to say the layoffs aren’t within reach. Should be a fun a team to watch.

Fort Chiswell 2016 Football Preview

What happens after you have gone 0-10 in a season? The Pioneers of Fort Chiswell are hopeful that for the first time in four years the same head coach and staff are the first steps to a better season. Some good fortune instead of bad luck would also be very helpful.

The Pioneers will be under the direction of second year head coach Todd Tiller. To say his first as head coach for the Pioneers was trying would be a giant understatement. To begin, all 10 teams the Pioneers faced made the playoffs. If that fact wasn’t tough enough, the adversity of injuries compounded the situation. Fort Chiswell didn’t have the same five offensive linemen to start a single game–

10 games, 10 different lineups! To say things were bad is being nice. They used five, yes five, different quarterbacks in a game at Narrows. They had 12 starters in street clothes in the game versus Radford. There were times you had to ask who can play this coming Friday! Coach Tiller remarked, ”I’ve been in football for 15 years. It was the darnedest thing I’ve ever experienced.”

Coach Tiller has his coaching staff back this season with the addition of Josh Shrader. Shrader comes to Fort Chiswell from Bland County where he was an assistant for three years. He will be in charge of the running backs and linebackers. He will also serve as head junior varsity coach. Seth Padgett is back as the offensive coordinator and will help with the quarterbacks and defensive backs. James Whitlock who is the veteran of veteran coaches also returns for his second year under Tiller. Whitlock used to help former Pioneer head coach Stephen James. This is his 13th year coaching, his second with Coach Tiller. He will handle the offensive and defensive lines.

Josh Wingate will be in his second year and his fifth overall for the Pioneers. His duties will pertain to the wide receivers and linebackers. Head coach Todd Tiller is in his second year and serves as the defensive coordinator, along with helping with offensive line and linebackers. Other coaches that will be returning are Chucky Brown, Danny Dunford, and Chris Hanks. Brown is in his fifth season and will help with middle school and serve as junior varsity assistant. Dunford will be the middle school head coach and Hanks will be middle school assistant. Steve Lowe and Ricky Poole will be volunteer middle school assistants and Mark Arnold will do the filming of games for Coach Tiller.

Coach Tiller said, ”I’m glad we got our assistant coaches back and got Coach Shrader to come and help. He is very knowledgeable and the kids like him.”

When ask about last year, Coach Tiller said, ”Well it’s a season to forget and to remember. It brings humility and a sense of needing to work harder and trying to understand what was right and what went wrong. Like I’ve said before I’ve never seen so many injuries, and if it wasn’t for back luck, we didn’t have any luck at all. I know you make your own luck, but that’s as bad as I’ve ever been a part of.”

The Pioneers have six returnees on offense and six on defense. “It’s hard to figure returnees,” said Tiller. ”We had to play so many kids because of the injuries, but basically six and six return.”

Coach was asked about this year’s schedule and he gave a thumbnail look at his opponents. “Rural Retreat has a new coach, and hard to say what they may do. They have a veer running team for years and will continue to be. They will employ a 40 defense or a 43/44 look. They’ll have some good athletes and the O’Neal kid will be tough at quarterback.”

“George Wythe will be one of the best teams around. Lot of players back. Huge upfront on both sides of the ball. The Beamer kid at quarterback is very good. Coach Harner has done a good job there.”

“Radford will once again be athletic, fast and quick. Coach Saunders does a great job there. I know they lost Finley, Grant and the Ridpath kid but still will be tough. They replace athletes with athletes.”

“Parry McCluer returns a lot of players. They had two real good backs and now they have the Nelson kid in from Auburn. That’s three real tough runners. They will be a handful. They will run double tight ends and run it down your throat.”

The other non-district game for Fort Chiswell will be James River. Coach remarked, “They lost some good players and last year they liked to run the spread. They like to run zone block and Coach Phillips has done a good job there.”

The Pioneers will play their usual Mountain Empire teams of Galax, Graham, Grayson Co., Bland Co. and Narrows. Coach has these comments about each. “Galax is the State Champions. They have one of, if not, the best coach in the state in Coach Dixon. He has done a marvelous job. Galax will run and run, as they will get excellent line play. They will be physical and Coach Dixon has my respect for what he’s done.”

“Graham may have the best back in Cousins. He’s Division material. They seem to always give Fort Chiswell trouble in football.”

“Grayson Co. is always well prepared. Coach McPherson does a fine job with the kids. They will be tough and will have some very good athletes.”

“Bland Co. has a lot of players coming back. Their quarterback is athletic–the Watters kid. He played last year as a freshman. Coach Hart has done a good job in a difficult situation. He doesn’t always have a lot of kids out but he does a good job.”

“Narrows has a very athletic quarterback returning. He is a good passer and runner. They will be tough.”

The Pioneers on offense will probably go with Logan Smith at center. He’s 6’1” 325 junior. The guards will be Grant Milgrim and either Patrick Crawford or Devin Newman. Milgrim a senior is 6’ 0” and 185. Crawford is a 6’1” 250 senior, while Newman a senior is 6’1” 200. The tackle positions are manned by senior 6’0” 280 Alex Brooks and senior 5’10” 245 Jacob Coake. Warren Moore a senior and Tanner Bailey a junior will be at quarterback. Moore is 5’8” 140 and Bailey 5’11” 180. The one not at QB will be at wide receiver. Hunter Parrot 6’0” 195 senior or Anthony Morris 5’10” 175 junior will see action as the other receiver. Sean Morgan a 5’10” 155 junior and Tyler Jakubiak 5’11” 155 junior will be at tailback. The tight end will be 6’4” 235 senior Colby Rider. TJ James and Andrew Stoots will get action at the H back. James is 5’9” 165 senior and Stoots is 5’9”175 senior. Billy Shrewsberry 6’1” 215 sophomore and Cody Craggier 5’6” 205 senior will see action on the offensive line.

On defense the Pioneers will line-up in a 3-5-3 look. Alex Brooks will be the nose tackle with Devin Newman and Jacob Coake the tackles. Patrick Crawford will also see time on the line. The linebackers will be Colby Rider, Grant Milgrim, Andrew Stoots, T J James and Chris Crigger, a senior who’s 6’0” 215. The secondary will consist of Anthony Morris and Jarrett McGee a 5’10” 145 junior at cornerbacks. The safety will be Tanner Bailey. Warren Moore, Logan Newman, Cody Crigger, Logan Smith, Ethan Woods, Sean Morgan and Tyler Jakubiak all will get time on the defense. Tyler Dunford will do the placekicking as well as kickoffs. Tanner Bailey, Warren Moore and Anthony Parrott are in a battle for the punting duties.

Fort Chiswell has a new principal and assistant principal. Coach Tiller remarked, ”The new administration here at the school has been very supportive. They want this program and other programs here to succeed. They and myself want Pioneer Pride to be here.” Both Mr. Baker and Mr. Walker have played sports in the past.

The Pioneers have 13 seniors, 7 juniors, 11 sophomores and 4 freshmen to dress out on the varsity. Coach Tiller when asked about the off season he remarked, ”We are stronger and our conditioning is much better than last year. I’ve had them since last season ended. I know we are stronger. I want us to be more physical on both sides of the ball. We need to avoid all the injuries we had last year and we need to be more mentally tough. After last year I also know you have to surround yourself with real good people. I have real good people.“ Coach was asked about what last year told him on a persona basis, and he said, ”The years I was an assistant I hated to lose. It bothered me. But being the head coach it’s twice as hard. Adversity is tough but you have to fight through it. I have had many, many, many sleepless nights after the games and practices. What could I have done different. It’s a totally different feel being the head coach.” He then said, ”I know we are further along than this time last year. I know we’re stronger and in better condition. Does that mean we will win? I don’t know. That’s why we play the games. We as a coaching staff are better prepared.”

Fort Chiswell has seen the highs of winning football and they have experienced the lowest of lows last year going winless. If, and that’s a big IF, they can avoid all the injuries and get some good luck and some breaks they can win. They play a schedule that is as tough as any single a school. They are and will be more prepared for victory. The players and coaches are more familiar with each other and with some good fortune that W will come.

Pioneers clubs Trojans

Instead of going to Bristol Friday night to play a benefit game against John Battle, the Fort Chiswell Pioneers hosted them in a scrimmage and came away with a 24-0 victory. With the Battle surface being to wet to play Fort Chiswell got to perform on their practice field in front of hundreds of their own fans. The fans witnessed a good performance as Pioneer quarterback Warren Moore completed seven of nine passes in the two quarters against the Trojans first team for 96 yards a touchdown to Colby Rider. Sean Morgan carried the “pigskin” 11 times for 52 yards, score a touchdown and ran in twice for two,two- point conversions. Andrew Stoots plowed his way into the end zone for their other score and he also caught a two-point conversion pass. The Pioneers offense was controlling the line of scrimmage on that side of the ball, while their defense was also in control limiting the Trojan offense to 72 yards on 17 rushes.

The rest of the scrimmage was limited to set of 10 plays for each team. The Pioneers also won that 12-6 ,with sophomore Tyler Jakubiak scring twice and the only Battle score came on the last play of the game.

Pioneer head coach Todd Tiller remarked,” I’m pleased with our work today. We got better and we performed better than we did last week at Twin Valley. I thought we controlled both sides of the line of scrimmage. We will watch the film and correct our mistakes and get to work on Monday. ” He then added by saying,” We need to get better this week and get ready for Rural Retreat. We need to keep getting better and get on with it. ”

The regular season starts this Friday as the Pioneers will host county rival Rural Retreat. Kickoff is slated for 7pm.

 

Scores from Benefit and Scrimmages

Pulaski Co.17 Rustburg 7

Amherst Co. 33 Pulaski Co. 0

Blacksburg 43 Radford 0

Fort Chiswell vs John Battle – PPD till Saturday

Galax 47 Carroll Co. 16

Eastern Montgomery 21 Holston 13

Bassett vs Floyd Co.- PPD till Saturday

Union 31 Grayson Co. 0

J I Burton 19 Grayson Co. 0

Marion 27 Lee 14

Richlands 65 Honaker 21

George Wythe 49 Tazewell 14

Lebanon 43 Rural Retreat 7

Giles 35 Bluefield 24

Chilhowie 27 Castlewood 14

Narrows 21 PikeView (WV) 7

Ridgeview 21 Northwood 0

Thursday Aug. 18

Graham 27 Glenvar 0

Glenvar 12 Gate City 7

Abingdon 35 PH-Glade Spring 3

 

Blacksburg pummels Bobcats

The Radford Bobcats are young and inexperienced and it showed as the Blacksburg Bruins beat them 43-0 in a benefit game held at Blacksburg. Bruins quaterback Grant Johnston passed for 185 yards and three touchdowns. Will Justus gained 42 yards on six carries and Tiquest Terry had 60 yards on four rushes. The Bruins led 30-0 at half and 17-0 after the first quarter and never looked back. The Bruins finished with 450 total yards to Radford’s 106 .

Radford completed just one of nine passes for just four yards. Trace Shepherd let the Cats with 34 yards in three rushes. Dale Stanley had 22 yards and Justice Marshall had 21. The Bobcats started three freshmen and had three starters out with injuries. Coach Saunders of Radford remarked, “We didn’t black and didn’t tackle. If you don’t do those two things it makes for a long night. We need to coach them up and make some adjustments. We are young and inexperinced and it showed tonight.”

Radford will host the George Wythe Maroons at 7pm next Friday to start the regular season.