Unbeaten TA Handles ‘Cats

RC Avoids Shutout With Two Late TDs

The Rockbridge County High School football team suffered a 56-13 road loss to Valley District leader Turner Ashby on Friday night in Bridgewater.

The Wildcats (1-8 overall, 1-4 district) scored all of their points late in the fourth quarter, with freshman Cole Hartless and junior Marshall Earhart each scoring on 3-yard touchdown runs.

RC was missing four starters due to injuries, giving younger players a chance to step up. “I think even without those players, we still managed to have some bright spots, and some kids got to do some things they haven’t done before,” said RC head coach Martin Cox. “We’re gonna hang our hat on that.”

“Let’s be honest,” said Cox “We’re already facing the best team in the Valley.”

The Knights (9-0, 5-0) led 50-0 at halftime, but, playing against mostly reserves, RC outscored the home team 13-6 in the second half.

Running back Beau Baylor led TA with 154 rushing yards on five carries, scoring three TDs. Wide receiver Micah Matthews scored two TDs for the Knights and led TA with 22 receiving yards on three catches.

The Knights racked up 321 total yards of offense while holding the Wildcats to 136 yards. Hartless led RC with 22 rushing yards on eight carries, Earhart ran the ball four times for 20 yards, and Gabe Wade rushed for 19 yards on four totes.

Throughout the game, the Knights had success sacking RC sophomore quarterback Elijah Watkins, who completed 8-of-16 passes for 69 yards and rushed for minus-6 yards on 12 carries.

After honoring their 14 seniors before the game, the Knights wasted no time getting going. Their defense stopped the Wildcats on a three-and-out on RC’s first drive, and Baylor returned the punt by Tyler Woods to the RC 38-yard line. On the next play, Matthews sprinted away from defenders for a 38-yard TD. Baylor then made a two-point conversion run to put TA up 8-0 just over two minutes into the game.

The Knights again prevented a first down on RC’s next drive. After the Knights regained possession, TA quarterback Zachary Grove completed a couple of passes to get TA to the RC 29. Ethan Farrish then made a 27-yard run before going two more yards into the end zone on the next play. The extra-point kick by Solomon Kisembo extended the Knights’ lead to 15-0 with 8:01 left in the first quarter.

With Watkins completing short passes, the Wildcats advanced the ball into TA territory on their next drive, but Watkins was sacked for a 7-yard loss back to the RC 47, forcing the Wildcats to punt on fourth-and 15. TA ran the ball down the field to set up Baylor for a 25-yard TD, and Kisembo’s PAT stretched the Knights’ lead to 22-0 with 2:27 left in the first quarter.

After another three-and-out by RC, Baylor ran for a 58-yard TD, and Kisembo’s PAT made it 29-0 with 2:05 left in the first quarter.

The Knights carried the momentum into the second quarter, adding another TD on a 13-yard pass from Grove to Matthews with 7:23 left in the first half, and Kisembo’s PAT extended TA’s lead to 36-0. With its dominant running game, TA didn’t go to Grove much, as the quarterback completed 3-of-4 passes for 22 yards.

Following another three-and-out, Baylor returned RC’s punt 41 yards for a TD, and Kisembo’s PAT made it 43-0 with 5:42 left in the first half.

TA scored on another punt return just 20 seconds before halftime when Devin Smiley ran the ball back 50 yards for a TD, and Kisembo’s PAT made it 50-0.

The Knights’ only TD of the second half came on the first drive of the half. After a series of runs and milking the clock, David Bondurak made a 14-yard TD. Instead of attempting an extra point, TA chose to take a knee, leaving the score at 56-0 with 3:02 left in the third quarter. Because the Knights’ lead was 35 points or more, the teams played the entire second half with a running clock.

RC finally got a spark late in the fourth quarter when lineman Caleb Robinson recovered a TA fumble at the Knights’ 19-yard line. From there, Earhart and Watkins made runs to set up Hartless for a 3-yard TD run. Aiden Meyers then converted the PAT kick to cut TA’s lead to 56-7 with 3:30 left.

On the Knights’ next drive, the Wildcats recovered a TA fumble at the Knights’ 27. To set up the final TD, RC senior backup quarterback Devin D’Antonio completed a 24-yard pass to Woods. Earhart then made a 3-yard TD run as time expired.

Pleased with how his team played, TA head coach Scott Turner said, “It was Senior Night. We wanted to come out here and play for those guys. They’ve done an incredible job in our program since they’ve been in it. They’re a great group of young men that work incredibly hard and do things right in school and the community, on and off the football field. We wanted to start fast for them and have a good night for those guys.”

TA will travel to Spotswood (6-3, 4-1) to play for the district title on Friday. Last year, Spotswood beat TA for the district rival, but the Knights overcame Spotswood in the Region 3C semifinals before falling to Liberty Christian Academy in the regional championship game. “We’re gonna enjoy this one, and we’ll get to work on Monday,” said Turner.

The Wildcats will conclude the season when they play host to district rival William Monroe (2-7, 1-4) on Friday at 7 p.m. at Prasnicki-Ross Field at Veterans Stadium in Lexington. Before the game, the Wildcats will honor their 10 seniors.

Looking ahead to the final game, Cox said, “We’ll have to get a little better this week. William Monroe’s one of those teams. They’ve got some fighters, and they play to the end. It’s gonna be one of those games where we’re gonna have to put our best foot forward.”

RC 0 0 0 13 13

TA 29 21 6 0 56

First Quarter TA – Matthews 38 run (Baylor run) TA – Farrish 2 run (Kisembo kick) TA – Baylor 25 run (Kisembo kick) TA – Baylor 58 run (Kisembo kick) Second Quarter TA – Matthews 13 pass from Grove (Kisembo kick) TA – Baylor 41 punt return (Kisembo kick) TA – Smiley 50 punt return (Kisembo kick) Third Quarter TA – Bondaruk 14 run (took knee) Fourth Quarter RC – Hartless 3 run (Meyers kick) RC – Earhart 3 run (no attempt; time expired) RC TA

First downs 8 7 Rushes-yards 31-67 21-299 Passing yards 69 22 Comp-Att-Int 8-16-0 3-4-0 Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-2 Penalties-yards 0-0 1-5

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING – RC, Hartless 8-22, Earhart 4-20, Wade 4-19, Meyers 2-11, Wells 1-1, Watkins 12-(-6). TA, Baylor 5-154, Bondaruk 9-59, Matthews 1-38, Farrish 2-29, Fields 2-12, Grove 2-7.

PASSING – RC, Watkins 7-15-0 45, D’Antonio 1-1-0 24. TA, 3-4-0 22.

RECEIVING – RC, Woods 1-24, Welsh III 1-14, Dorey 2-13, Wade 2-12, Meyers 1-11, Earhart 1-(-5). TA, Matthews 3-22.