Youth shows as Tigers fall to Bobcats
Honaker (3) vs. Radford (38)
Written: Nov 20, 2015
BY ANTHONY STEVENS
for the Daily Telegraph
RADFORD, Va. — It was a brutal ending to a good season for the Tigers.
After ending the season for Radford last year in the playoffs, the Bobcats returned the favor in 2015. Radford advanced with a 38-3 rout of Honaker at Bobcat Stadium in the VHSL 1A West playoffs.
Radford returned most of their players from last season, while Honaker graduated 20 seniors and had a young team. It showed.
Quarterback Marcus Finley and running back Heth Grant used their explosiveness to dominate the game for Radford. Honaker (8-4) had trouble getting anything positive established, especially consistently.
“We just did not play well,” Honaker coach Doug Hubbard said. “We got a little shell-shocked by their speed. Bottom line we just played a very good football team.
“Radford is very skilled. The Grant kid, the quarterback, they have great speed. They did a good job and they are well-coached.”
Grant finished with three touchdowns. He scored on runs of seven, 26, and five yards. Finley was 10-of-12 through the air for 246 yards. The two playmakers made the plays for the Bobcats.
“You give them a seam and they are hard to handle,” said Radford coach Matthew Saunders. “Any time we need a yard or two Heth can do it and I thought Marcus threw the ball well. We have some other weapons too, but people definitely focus on those two.”
Radford (9-3) scored on five of their possessions in the first half. The only possession they didn’t score was late in the half when the Tigers turned the ball over on downs with four seconds remaining.
Honaker punted three times in the first half and also had two turnovers, a lost fumble and an interception. The Bobcats had a commanding 31-0 lead at halftime.
“Sometimes we were there and we didn’t make the tackle or didn’t make the play,” noted Hubbard. “When you have a chance to make a tackle for a loss you have to do it. We just didn’t do a very good job tonight.”
The only score for the Tigers came in the third quarter when Jordan Stout booted a 48-yard field goal, breaking his previous record at Honaker of 47-yards. The field goal came after a 13-play drive, easily Honaker’s best of the game.
“This is a very young football team and I think a lot of that showed,” Hubbard said. “We knew what Radford was going to do and we did not respond well. We just never could catch a break.”
Only three seniors started on offense for Honaker and five seniors on defense. Before the season began, not many expected the Tigers to be an eight-win team and advance to the second round of the playoffs.
“I’m proud of this young bunch,” said Hubbard. “I said at the beginning of the year our expectations are always high. I feel we really should have been better than eight and four. We coached the kids extremely hard and they always tried hard and listened. It’s just a matter of time before the get it and everything comes natural and is easy for them.”
While Honaker’s season is over, Radford advances to face George Wythe. They won easily over the Maroons in the first game of the season, but there is more on the line in this match-up.
“I’m sure George Wythe has improved, they may do some thing different,” Saunders said. “It’s a rivalry game for us, it will be a big challenge.”
Honaker.......................0 0 3 0 — 3
Radford......................14 17 7 0 — 38
First Quarter
RAD—Dobos 15 fumble return (Jessie kick), 8:46
RAD—Baylor 20 run (Jessie kick), 2:15
Second Quarter
RAD—Grant 7 run (Jessie kick), 10:16
RAD—Jessie 24 FG, 7:14
RAD—Grant 26 run (Jessie kick), 1:53
Third Quarter
HON—Stout 38 FG, 3:41
RAD—Grant 5 run, 0:59
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