Holston hammers PH
Patrick Henry's Jeb Stewart eludes a George Wythe defender.
Patrick Henry's Jeb Stewart weaves through the Virginia High defense.
Senior Eli Tweed rushed for two touchdowns – including a crucial score in the fourth quarter – as Holston posted a marquee 28-14 win over Washington County rival Patrick Henry on Friday night.
Glance atop the Hogoheegee District football standings and you’ll see that the Cavaliers (5-2, 2-0) are in a deadlock with Chilhowie (6-0, 2-0) for first place.
That’s even more noteworthy when you consider Holston was picked to finish tied for last in the league’s preseason coaches poll.
As for their performance on Friday, the Cavs never trailed, using some big plays on offense in the first half and key stops on defense over the final 24 minutes to prevail.
Just like one would figure, huh?
Well, not exactly.
“Nobody expected us to win this game,” Tweed said. “We were predicted to lose by everybody. This team is very strong. We’ve all played together since we were little and we’re just a team that has fun playing.”
Tweed and Patrick Henry’s Jeb Stewart traded 44-yard touchdown runs in the first quarter, but momentum shifted to Holston’s side with 10:57 remaining in the second quarter when Stewart hobbled off the field with an ankle injury following a 4-yard gain.
Southwest Virginia’s leading rusher had amassed 101 yards on 13 carries and caught one pass for five yards when he departed and he didn’t return.
“It kind of took the wind out of the sails for us a little bit and we were able to come back after halftime and respond,” Patrick Henry coach Austin Cooper said.
However, Holston held a 21-7 lead at the break as junior Liam Maness raced to the end zone for a 68-yard touchdown run with 4:47 remaining in the second quarter and 5-foot-5, 140-pound senior speedster Desmond Mickens scored on an 81-yard dash with 1:38 left in the opening half.
“You take those three big runs away and it’s 14-14 if not a 14-7 ballgame,” Cooper said. “We have to understand how to play through adversity and learn that when someone goes down it is next man up and we can’t shut down as a team.”
Those first-half touchdown runs by Tweed, Maness and Mickens combined to account for 193 of Holston’s 283 total yards of offense.
“All three of ‘em are home run hitters,” said Holston coach Chris Akers. “We needed it.”
Tweed’s most important play, however, went for just three yards.
Clinging to a 21-14 lead and failing to get in an offensive flow for most of the second half, Holston faced a 4th-and-2 at Patrick Henry’s 27-yard line near the midway point of the fourth quarter.
The direct snap that Tweed received went awry, but he corralled the pigskin and was able to scramble past the first-down marker.
“I just grabbed the ball and as soon as I turned around [Patrick Henry senior] Kolby Hicks was in my face,” Tweed said. “I shed him off and just went.”
Two plays later, Tweed tallied a touchdown on a 7-yard run with 5:13 remaining.
“He’s a heck of a football player, man,” Cooper said. “We touched him almost as soon as he touched the football on that play, we just didn’t make the tackle. Plays like that you have to have in close games at the end. We’ll learn from it and get better.”
His coach has seen Tweed turn busted plays into big ones plenty of times before.
“That’s what happens when you have a good athlete,” Akers said. “He makes bad plays good. That was just a tremendous play by him.”
With Stewart sidelined, Patrick Henry wound up throwing it 26 times in the game as Kolby Hicks completed nine of those throws for 113 yards.
“We were ready for Jeb all week and when they started passing it so much that might have thrown us for a loop a little bit,” said Holston senior Owen Rouse. “But we came back stronger. I’m very glad with how we played.”
The 6-foot-4 Rouse recovered a fumble and was a factor on defense.
“We put him out at the five-technique to get some length and he made some plays for us,” Akers said.
Rouse did not play a major role for Holston last season but has stepped up in 2026.
“I’m very excited for this,” Rouse said. “I have a bunch of brothers on my team. They might not be blood, but I sure love them.”
Patrick Henry (5-2, 1-1) got inside Holston’s 5-yard line on its final drive but couldn’t convert. The Rebels had a field goal blocked in the second quarter as well.
PH is entering its bye week and closes the season with key games against Honaker, Chilhowie and Northwood.
“We told our guys at halftime that whatever happened tonight, we still have more games to play and if we’re healthy when playoff time rolls around, we’ll be all right,” Cooper said.
Zayne Bolen rushed for 63 yards for the Rebels, while rugged senior Colton Frye played hard as usual on both sides of the ball. Kallum Gobble of Patrick Henry scored in the third quarter when he alertly scooped up a fumble by a teammate on the 3-yard line and dove into the end zone.
Meanwhile, Mickens rushed for 131 yards for Holston and Brodie Richardson also made some clutch plays in the defensive secondary.
“I thought Holston played extremely well,” Cooper said. “They were physical and I think they beat us up front. Tweed’s an excellent ballplayer.”
Holston all but secured a playoff berth on Friday and visits Northwood (4-2, 0-1) on Oct. 16.
“A big part of that first half tonight we were good and then we were kind of sloppin’ around the rest of the game,” Akers said. “We did just enough to hang on. … Our kids play hard.”
As the talk of Holston and Patrick Henry perhaps consolidating in the near future continues to make headlines and spur debates, the teams are still rivals on the gridiron.
The Cavaliers (and their loyal fans) showcased plenty of pride and passion on Friday as Holston won the latest round with the Rebels.
“Absolutely,” Tweed said. “That was the main motivation going into the game. We needed to show this community what we were capable of.”
Patrick Henry 7 0 7 0—14
Holston 7 14 0 7—28
Scoring Summary
H – E. Tweed 44 run (Sanchez-Medina kick)
PH – Je. Stewart 44 run (Ratliff kick)
H – Maness 68 run (Sanchez-Medina kick)
H – Mickens 81 run (Sanchez-Medina kick)
PH – Gobble 3 run (Ratliff kick)
H – E. Tweed 7 run (Sanchez-Medina kick)
Team Stats
First Downs: PH 20, H 10; Rushes-Yards: PH 43-204, H 31-275; Passing Yards: PH 113, H 8; Comp.-Att.-Int.: PH 9-26-0, H 2-4-0; Fumbles-Lost: PH 3-1, H 0-0; Penalties-Yards: PH 12-110, H 7-59; Punts-Average: PH 1-44, H 3-27.
