Volleyball
Auburn earned a 25-19, 25-19, 25-11 Mountain Empire District win over the George Wythe Maroons.
Reese Patton and Mia Wolfe were the top hitters for GW with eight and seven kills, respectively. Halen Perkins added 13 digs and Julie Patton handed out nine assists in the loss.
The Virginia High Bearcats became the first football team in the Virginia High School League to reach four victories on Thursday night.
Each of those wins has occurred in dramatic fashion.
The latest thrilling triumph for the Bristolians was a 20-15 conquest of the George Wythe Maroons at Pendleton Field.
Virginia High raced out to a 20-0 lead early in the third quarter and then withstood a comeback bid by the Maroons to prevail once again.
“It started with us going into that game believing we could win,” said VHS senior Davy Woolen. “We played the game with the same energy and stayed together at the end of the day. We had seniors step up and lead.”
A 21-6 win over Richlands, a 7-0 victory over Patrick Henry in double overtime, a 28-3 triumph over rival John Battle in which the Bearcats dominated the second half and the latest W have all featured tense moments.
George Wythe (1-2) got the ball into VHS territory late in the game on Thursday, but Virginia High’s defense held strong.
“Once again we kind of had our backs against the wall a little bit,” said VHS coach Derrick Patterson. “I’m really proud of our team and it was really a complete effort in all three phases.”
Three incompletions by George Wythe quarterback Isaac Smith and a sack by Virginia High freshman Andrew Elder ended the final drive for the home team.
“A defense that continues to play well outside of giving up a couple of big plays,” Patterson said. “They played well against a really solid offensive team. [GW has] some athletes and they are big and physical up front.”
Virginia High touchdowns from three different players in building that 20-point advantage.
Alex Campbell scored on a 12-yard run and Davy Woolen outleaped a George Wythe defensive back on a wheel route to snag an 11-yard touchdown pass from Chance Wellington in the second quarter.
On Virginia High’s first drive of the third quarter, Isaiah Jones reeled off a 44-yard touchdown run.
Wellington rushed for 95 yards on 15 carries.
“Offensively, we saw a little more consistency,” Patterson said. “Still not where we need to be. I thought Chance did a really good job of making some good decisions, pulling the ball and making some good runs and explosive plays. The receivers blocked well and we didn’t have a lot of penalties.”
Caden Golliher (24 carries, 106 yards) and Isaac Smith (eight carries, 62 yards) led the way for George Wythe and scored both the touchdowns for the Maroons.
Smith also threw for 98 yards, while Cade Braley had four catches for 44 yards. Ryan Fowler made a team-high 10 tackles for GW.
Yet, Virginia High held the Maroons out of the end zone when it mattered most.
“We were ready for whatever they were throwing at us,” Woolen said. “To be able to step up and win at the end was big.”
Connor Presley had an interception for Virginia High, which has allowed just three touchdowns this season.
The Bearcats finished with three sacks on Thursday.
Virginia High heads to the Stone Castle to face rival Tennessee High on Sept. 18 in the latest installment of the V-T rivalry.
“Some of our younger guys really don’t know how big V-T week is so we have to give them knowledge and encouragement,” Woolen said. “We want to have the same energy and drive. We can’t let no intimidation or history impact us. Our 11 we’re going with we’ll just have to play football like we know how.”
With injuries to key players – Jeremy Quinto hurt his shoulder about midway through the game on Thursday – Virginia High has still managed to be 4-0.
“I give all credit to God and these kids,” Patterson said. “Our players have fought through adversity and work really hard in practice. We get in our own way sometimes and that kind of showed tonight a little bit, but I still see day by day we’re improving and that credit goes to our players. We seem to be taking some steps in the right direction.”
Virginia High 0 12 8 0—20
George Wythe 0 0 8 7—15
Scoring Summary
VHS – Campbell 12 run (run failed)
VHS – Woolen 11 pass from Wellington (run failed)
VHS – Jones 44 run (Daggs run)
GW – Golliher 47 run (Bralley run)
GW – Smith 49 run (Bralley kick)
Team Stats
First Downs: VHS 9, GW 11; Rushes-Yards: VHS 35-199, GW 42-193; Passing Yards: VHS 30, GW 98; Comp.-Att.-Int.: VHS 2-3-0, GW 7-15-1; Fumbles-Lost: VHS 1-1, GW 0-0; Penalties-Yards: VHS 4-20, GW 3-20; Punts-Average: VHS 4-35.5, GW 2-40.
COEBURN, Va. – "King Keldan" is back on the throne.
Eastside senior Keldan Hamilton, who carries the nickname "King Keldan" on the football field, missed the Spartans season-opening game two weeks ago because of an injury. After a bye week last week, Hamilton had a night Thursday.
He scored five touchdowns, four rushing scores and an interception return, to lead Eastside to a 56-29 non-district win over Rural Retreat at Carl McConnell Stadium.
Hamilton carried the ball 23 times for 243 yards to lead an Eastside ground game that racked up an even 400 yards.
The effort by Hamilton came, in part, from his excitement of being able to get back on the field after watching from the sideline two weeks ago as the Spartans were upended by the Wise County Central Warriors.
"It was awful," the senior said of not playing against the Warriors. "I never missed a game in my high school career and missing my first one in my senior year was definitely devastating."
There was plenty of motivation for Hamilton to put the pads back on Thursday to make his senior-season debut.
"There was a ton. Coming off a loss like that to our county rival, there was so much motivation," he said. "And knowing what we all have done this summer and what we're trying to accomplish this year, it just kind of really motivated us."
Hamilton was one of four Eastside players that played Thursday after not being able to play against Central in the season opener because of injuries. Two are still on the DL for the Spartans. But Eastside coach Mike Rhodes was happy to have the four back on the field.
"It's good to get healthy," Rhodes said. "It made a big difference. It's good having (almost) everybody back and having that cohesion back."
While it was good to have most of the team in uniform and playing on the field, Rhodes knows Hamilton makes a big difference for his squad when he's on the field. Needing Hamilton healthy for the season, Rhodes said he wanted to make sure he was ready to go after getting banged up in the Spartans final preseason game.
"He's been itching (to get back on the field). We could have rushed him back, but with this being his senior year we didn't want anything lingering. So, we took a little extra time and he was fresh tonight. You can see what a difference it makes when he's on the field," Rhodes said.
Hamilton put the Spartans (1-1) ahead just seconds into the second quarter, after a scoreless opening frame, with a 2-yard touchdown run. Isaiah Adkins added the PAT kick to put Eastside up 7-0.
Eastside went up 14-0 with a 3-yard run from quarterback Landon Pannell.
Rural Retreat answered quickly before the intermission when Jake Rollyson returned a kickoff to the Eastside 33 with just 18 seconds left before the end of the second quarter. The Indians (2-1) moved 33 yards for their first score of the game in 16 seconds. Rural Retreat quarterback Brody Allen capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Eli Atwell.
Indians coach Quinton Hensley was pleased with his team's first-half performance, but he said his squad lost the battle in the trenches in the second half. Eastside's strong showing up front on offense in the second half opened up the door for Hamilton, who highlighted the Spartans first two possessions in the second half with touchdown runs of 57 and 51 yards.
"We kind of got whipped up front on both sides. They're big, strong, they're experienced and we didn't handle their physicality very well in the second half," Hensley said. "I thought in the first half we got some stops and made some plays and really they just ran one play at us in the second half and we didn't handle it very well. And it just wore us down."
"We've just got to keep working and we can better," Hensley said. "We've got a football team. We've just got to get more physical in practice and get ourselves better and improve our physicality. We'll get there."
Eastside's dominance on the defensive line held the Indians to just 14 rushing yards and led to a fumble recovery and an interception that Hamilton returned 33 yards for a score.
Despite the running woes, Rural Retreat's Allen had a good night through the air. The junior quarterback completed 15-of-19 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns.
In addition to his first-half TD pass, Allen also connected with Rollyson and Dawson Williams for scores in the second half.
In addition to Hamilton's four second-half touchdowns, Eastside scored in the final two quarters on a 48-yard pass play from Pannell to Noah Hamilton and a 4-yard touchdown run by Ryder Hall.
