Radford Wins Region First-Round Opener

Radford Bobcats logoBy RODNEY YOUNG

NRVSports.net

RADFORD – It was a cold, breezy night as the Radford Bobcats defeated the Patrick County Cougars 35-14 in a Class 2 Region C  playoff game at Bobcat Stadium.

The Bobcats totaled 446 yards of offense, and their defense limited the Cougars to 189 yards.

Radford running back Matthew McGuire had 142 yards rushing on 16 carries and scored a touchdown. Wide receiver Tucker Williams caught six passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns, and Trenton Carter scored a touchdown as he caught four passes for 53 yards. QB Peyton Dobbins threw three touchdowns and 189 passing yards.

The Bobcats (9-2) opened the scoring at the 8:49 mark of the opening quarter as Carter caught a five-yard pass and Luciano Pugliese made it 7-0.

The second quarter saw  Arion Kissee ram his way into the end zone from three yards to put the home-standing Bobcats up 14-0.

Patrick Co. (4-7) would answer as Ethan Errichetti took the kickoff and returned it 90 yards as he was finally brought down at the Radford seven. Three plays later, QB Jayden Corns would sneak in from one yard, cutting the Bobcat lead to 14-7 with 6:08 left in the second quarter.

Radford would score on their next possession to go up 21-7 when Tucker Williams hauled in an eight-yard pass with 4:21 left before intermission.

Patrick Co. would score with just 39 seconds before halftime as Josiah Shelor scored on a two- yard run, cutting their deficit to 21-14.

Radford would receive a short kickoff and drive to the Patrick Co. 14 and would try a 31 -yard field goal, but they would be called for an illegal procedure, and making  the field goal try from 36 yards. The kick would be wide left as the clock hit all zeros.

The Bobcats would get back onto the scoreboard with 5:01 left in the third quarter, with Williams catching a 57-yard pass from Peyton Dobbins over the right hash mark, as he raced into the end zone, 28-14 Bobcats.

They would put the finishing touch on the game with 8:23 to go in the game as Matthew McGuire took the handoff, went off  the right tackle, and scampered into the end zone for a 15-yard score to put the score at 35-14.

Radford head coach Michael Crist said, “I’m proud of the guys up front. They got it rolling there in the second half. Matthew McGuire ran really hard tonight.” Coach then remarked, “We got in our way at times tonight. We made some mistakes. The big kickoff return against us, missed opportunities, and we have to correct those mistakes. Our defense played well, and we move on to next week.”

Patrick Co. was led by quarterback Jayden Corns with 93 rushing yards, and Noah Cain had nine rushes for 61 yards.

Radford will play the Raiders of Appomattox next Friday at home. Kickoff is slated for 7 pm. It always seems these two teams meet somewhere in regional play.

 

Radford  –   7  14  7   7 – 35

Patrick Co.- 0 14  0   0  -14

 

Rushing – Radford – McGuire 16-142, Dobbins- 12-75, Prioleau 3-24, Kissee 4-14, Williams 1-2, Patrick Co. – Corns 10-93, Cain 9-61, Handy 8-7, Shelor 4-2

 

Passing – Radford -Dobbins- 14-19- 1 Int. 3 Tds.- 189 yds., Patrick Co. – Corns – 4-12-2 Ints.-0 Tds. – 26 yds

 

Receptions– Radford – Williams 6-104, Carter 4-53, Kissee 1-14, Garner -Rollins 2-7, Carpenter 1-11, Patrick Co. – Becker 2-12, Cain 1-7, Handy 1-7

 

First Downs – Radford -24, Patrick Co. – 10

Fumbles-lost– Radford 2-1, Patrick Co. 2-1

Penalties – Radford – 9- 57 yds., Patrick Co. 5-19

 

Total Yds.- Radford 446, Patrick Co. 189

Total TOs – Radford – 2 , Patrick Co. – 3

Punts- avg– Radford 1-49.0, Patrick Co. – 1- 29.0