Elizabeth Kanipe photos/Patriot Publishing
Trenton Carter dives into the endzone for the TD.
By Rodney Young
NRVSports.net
Playing on a pleasant evening in Radford, the Bobcats got a hard-earned victory over the visiting Buffaloes of Floyd County, 20-17.
Bobcat wide receiver Trenton Carter caught touchdown passes of 10, 36, and 76 yards. He finished with 183 all-purpose yards. Quarterback Peyton Dobbins and running back Matthew McGuire rushed for 65 yards each.
Floyd Co. received the opening kickoff and drove to the Bobcat 13-yard line before settling for a 30-yard field goal by Gavin Jackson. The Buffaloes had the ball for 6 minutes and 45 seconds on a 14-play drive to take a 3-0 lead.
Radford would strike fast as they went 80 yards in just four plays, taking just 2 minutes and three seconds, with Carter hauling in a 10-yard touchdown pass from QB Dobbins, but the point-after kick was ruled wide left, 6-3 Bobcats.
The Bobcats would score with 9:59 in the second quarter, with Dobbins hitting Carter this time on a 36-yard pass for six. Luciano Pugliese kick made the score 13-3. Radford would have one more attempt to score in the first half, with 2:15 before intermission, but a 46-yard field goal would just fall short.
Radford (7-2) would receive the second-half kickoff and would start their possession at their own 24. Dobbins would drop back and hit Carter on a short pass out in the flat, and he raced down the Bobcat sideline for a 76-yard touchdown with just 19 seconds off the clock to open the third quarter. Radford point-after would have them up 20-3 and taking what looked like a command of the game.
Floyd Co. would, on their next drive, get a score from quarterback Noah Underwood on a one-yard plunge, and Jackson’s kick pulled the Buffaloes to within ten, 20-10, with 8:22 remaining in the third quarter.
Matt McGuire takes it up the middle for a big gain in yards.
Radford and Floyd would both fumble on their next possessions, and the game went into the final quarter. The Bobcats would drive down to the Floyd nine-yard line, and Pugliese would attempt a 26-yard field goal with 10 minutes left in the game. But the kick would be blocked, and the ball would roll around the Floyd 28 as the Radford coaching staff hollered to fall on the live ball or tackle someone as Floyd would try to pick the ball up. While all this was going on, Radford staff were way out on the field, and the Floyd Co. staff and players would also be out onto the field. Finally, the Buffaloes Ethan Fegley eventually picked the ball up, raced down the Floyd sideline, and went into the end zone with yellow flags flying all over the field.
The head official would then rule a sideline warning on both Radford and Floyd Co. They also ruled an unsportsmanlike penalty on Floyd for having 15-20 players out on the field on the play.
The Buffaloes (6-3) would take the ball over at their 14 and drive to the Bobcat 32. J J Huff would then catch a 32-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone to make the score 20-17 with three minutes to go.
Radford would then, on their next possession and on third and one, pick up a huge first down to ice the contest and get a hard-earned victory. Radford head coach Michael Crist said, “ That was a hard-earned win. We beat a really good football team.” He then remarked. “ I’m proud of how the guys fought, and it was a gutsy performance. We missed a field goal, had a field goal, blocked, as we had our chances to get points and didn’t. “
Radford had 397 total yards while Floyd Co. had 238.
These two teams came into this game as the top two teams in Class 2 Region C. Floyd Co. was ranked one, and Radford second in the all-important power point rankings.
Radford will host Martinsville next Friday, with kickoff slated for 7 pm.
Radford 6 7 7 0 -20
Floyd Co. 3 0 7 7 -17
Rushing– Radford – Dobbins 14-65, McGuire 10-65, Carter 2-61, Garner-Rollins 2-3, Williams 5-23, Dehart-Lewis 2-9, Kissee 1-2, Floyd – Leroy 8-56, Fletcher 3-14. Bakely 1-13, Slaughter 5-18, Webster 2-15, Underwood 3- minus (-4), Huff 1-0
Passing – Radford – Dobbins – 9-15- 1 Int. – 3 Tds. – 171 yds., Floyd – Underwood- 17-27- 2 Ints.- 1 TD- 126 yds.
Receptions – Radford – Carter 3-122, Rollins 3-24, Williams 2-21, Blaney 1-4, Floyd – Dunford 7-52, Huff 6-64, Bakely 1-7, Leroy 1-2, Slaughter 2-1
First Downs – Radford 17, Floyd Co. 16
Fumbles-Lost– Radford 1-1, Floyd 1-1
Penalties – Radford 6-46, Floyd 2-19
Total Yds. – Radford – 397, Floyd – 238
Punts- Avg. – Radford 0-0, Floyd 4- 34.0
Total TOs – Radford 2, Floyd 3
Arion Kissee sacks the Floyd QB.
