The Holston Cavaliers and Abingdon Falcons gave their playoff hopes a boost, Honaker held off Rye Cove in a small-school showdown and the quarterbacks at Ridgeview and Sullivan East at the controls of high-powered offenses were among last week’s high school football highlights in the area.
After suffering a gut-wrenching 31-30 defeat to Narrows the week before, Holston bounced back in a big way with a 13-12 overtime win over John Battle.
Senior Merrick Buchanan, who hadn’t been given the job as kicker for the Cavaliers until Thursday, converted the walk-off extra-point boot in the first OT session after Noah Tweed’s 4-yard touchdown run knotted the score.
“I’m just glad this one came out a little better than last week,” said Holston coach Chris Akers. “I told our kids all week that we had two choices – we could sit around and feel sorry for ourselves or we can do what winners do and take care of business and take it personal.”
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Holston (2-1) also avenged last season’s loss to Battle.
“We really had fire in our hearts,” Buchanan said.
So did Abingdon as the Falcons went into Legion Field and earned a stunning 17-14 win over Gate City. Abingdon had lost its first two games to John Battle and Christiansburg and few people gave head coach Garrett Amburgey’s club a chance in the Mountain 7 District matchup.
Owen Barr (104 rushing yards) and Luke Honaker (118 passing yards, 71 rushing yards) were among the standouts who made it possible for AHS.
“I am really proud of our team bouncing back, when nobody believed in them,” Amburgey said. “We coach to teach our young men resilience and that’s what our players showed. This game was a total team effort. We made some big plays defensively and our offensive line played really well. We took care of the football and Luke Honaker and Owen Barr made some big plays.”
Honaker needed every big play it could get in earning a memorable 40-32 road win over Rye Cove in a high-scoring battle between two of Region 1D’s top teams.
Peyton Musick threw a single-game school-record six touchdown passes for the Tigers, the last of which went to Parker Bandy with 1:56 left to seal the deal.
“This was a real slobber knocker,” Rye Cove coach Gary Collier said. “I don’t know if it was the big-game atmosphere but we made a lot of mistakes early. Going into halftime, we felt like we couldn’t have played any worse. Everybody grew up in the second half and we battled to the end.”
Honaker (3-0), Patrick Henry (3-0), Graham (3-0), Ridgeview (3-0) and Twin Springs (2-0) are Region 1D and Region 2D teams that still have unbeaten records.
Ridgeview is averaging 48 points per game as quarterback Ryan O’Quinn is the maestro of the attack. He threw for 229 yards and two touchdowns to Hayden “Shake and Bake” Baker in Friday’s 44-7 win over Wise County Central.
Over in Northeast Tennessee, Sullivan East is 3-1 and putting up 29.8 points per game as quarterback Drake Fisher and his contingent of pass-catchers cause problems for opposing defenses. Fisher flung the ball to the tune of 271 yards and four touchdowns in Friday’s 26-13 win over Unicoi County.
While Honaker’s win over Rye Cove was the major game in Region 1D last week, the spotlight will shine on Region 2D this week when Graham tangles with Union at Mitchell Stadium in Bluefield.
Now, here’s a brief look at some other games played last week involving local teams. Complete recaps and coverage are available at HeraldCourier.com:
THURSDAY
Thomas Walker 36, Castlewood 14: Landon Lowe scored two touchdowns in the final 2:18 of the first half to put the Pioneers firmly in control.
FRIDAY
Narrows 34, Chilhowie 15: Asher Chapman threw for 177 yards and two touchdowns for Chilhowie, but the Warriors suffered their first loss of 2023.
Hurley 39, Van (W.Va.) 14: The duo of Peyton Hurley and Landon Bailey combined to rush for 226 yards and four touchdowns as the Rebels recorded their first win of the fall.
Patrick Henry 60, J.I. Burton 7: Camron Goodspeed of PH had another strong week with three rushing touchdowns, a punt return for a score and an interception return for a TD.
Radford 43, Virginia High 3: Radford head coach Michael Crist had a happy homecoming in his return to Gene Malcolm Stadium as his Bobcats rolled. Crist was the head coach at Virginia High from 2013 through the spring of 2021.
Graham 37, George Wythe 0: Dalton Roberts passed for 228 yards and three touchdowns and the defense was dominant as the G-Men prevailed.
Science Hill 27, Union 6: Union trailed just 13-6 after three quarters, but the Hilltoppers from Johnson City eventually pulled away to win in their first visit to Bullitt Park in Big Stone Gap.
Marion 40, Lebanon 20: Ethan Campbell scored two touchdowns as head coach Jack Ginn’s Marion Scarlet Hurricanes earned their second straight win.
Eastside 14, River View (W.Va.) 6: The duo of Keldan Hamilton (20 carries, 127 yards) and Luke Trent (13 carries, 103 yards) led the rushing attack for the Spartans.
Eastern Montgomery 22, Northwood 16: Freshman Brody Waddle scored both of Northwood’s touchdowns.
West Ridge vs. Lakeway Christian, ccd.: The West Ridge Wolves had their trip to White Pine wiped out due to weather.
SATURDAY
Grayson County 24, Rural Retreat 14: Aaron Peterson (25 carries, 167 yards) helped the Blue Devils pull away late from Rural Retreat and move to 3-0. The game was suspended on Friday with 33 seconds remaining in the first half and resumed Saturday at noon.
Now, for a brief look at the games on this week’s docket:
MONDAY
Tazewell 39, Richlands 36: The game known as the “Backyard Brawl” was suspended on Friday due to lightning and resumed Monday with Richlands holding a 30-19 halftime lead. Tazewell dominated once the game continued as quarterback Carter Creasy led the way.
FRIDAY
Union (2-1) at Graham (3-0): These teams have combined to win the last six Region 2D championships.
Ridgeview (3-0) at Virginia High (1-2): Ridgeview rolled to a 42-0 win over Virginia High in the second round of last year’s Region 2D playoffs.
Tazewell (1-1) at Fort Chiswell (2-0): Zane Quesenberry is off to an impressive start in his first year as Fort Chiswell’s head coach.
Marion (2-1) at Gate City (2-1): Marion attempts to win its third straight game, while Gate City tries to bounce back from last week’s stunning loss to Abingdon.
Lebanon (0-3) at Castlewood (0-3): These Russell County teams need a win in the most desperate way and one of them will get the W.
Tennessee High (1-2) at Sevier County: It will be a busy week week for Sevier County, which posted a 45-8 win over Cocke County on Monday.
William Blount (4-0) at West Ridge (2-1): Entering the season on a 16-game losing streak, surprising William Blount is undefeated.
Patrick Henry (3-0) at Grundy (0-2): Grundy posted a 30-19 win over Patrick Henry in the 2022 Region 1D championship game.
River View, W.Va. (1-2) at Hurley (1-2): This is the third of Hurley’s four games against West Virginia opponents this season, while River View faces the second of its three VHSL opponents on its schedule.
Twin Valley (1-1) at Northwood (0-3): It will be the Twin Valley Panthers against the Northwood Panthers in the 11th all-time meeting between the programs.
Carroll County (1-2) at George Wythe (0-2): George Wythe head coach Brandon Harner is a Carroll County graduate and is 3-0 all-time against his alma mater.
Eastside (2-1) at Chilhowie (2-1): This is a matchup between two of the area’s most improved squads.
Rye Cove (2-1) at Thomas Walker (2-1): Rye Cove prevailed in double overtime over the Pioneers last season as Luke Jessee and Logan Barnette made clutch plays.
J.I. Burton (0-3) at Twin Springs (2-0): Colten Kilgore showcased his speed as the Titans trounced their first two opponents.
Holston (2-1) at Honaker (3-0): After moving from the Black Diamond District, Honaker plays its first Hogoheegee District football game as a member of the league since Nov. 6, 1987, which coincidentally enough was also against Holston.
Grainger (2-2) at Sullivan East (4-1): These schools have had alumni make their Major League Baseball debuts this summer – Grainger grad Trey Cabbage with the Los Angeles Angels and former Sullivan East standout Hunter Stratton with the Pittsburgh Pirates – and the football game between the Grizzlies and Patriots will have major playoff implications.
SATURDAY
Abingdon (1-2) at Richlands (0-3): Abingdon tries to maintain the momentum of last week’s win, while Richlands has a short turnaround after finishing its game with archrival Tazewell on Monday.