Honaker sweeps Russell County rivals
Honaker (31) vs. Castlewood (12)
Written: Aug 31, 2012
BY ANTHONY STEVENS
for the Daily Telegraph
CASTLEWOOD, Va. – It’s early in the season but Honaker has already claimed the mythical Russell County Championship. Last week the Tigers outlasted Lebanon, on Friday Honaker (2-0) was more impressive with a 31-12 win over Castlewood at B.C. White Stadium to sweep the series over county rivals.
“Execution wasn’t as nice as I would like to have it,” Honaker coach Doug Hubbard said. “We missed some assignments, we were better offensively but not as smooth as I would like to be.”
Castlewood (0-2) put up a strong game. The Blue Devils have played well the first two weeks of the season without a victory to show for it.
After the teams traded punts to start the game, Castlewood put together an impressive 5-play, 63-yard drive to take an early lead. The key play was quarterback Dalton Gordon connecting with Reid Edmonds on a 55-yard gain to the Honaker six. Edmonds then tossed a 5-yard TD pass to Jacob Cornett to give the Blue Devils a 6-0 lead.
“We just need to cut down on mistakes and stop shooting ourselves in the foot,” Castlewood coach David Scammell said. “We’re a very capable football team. Honaker is a good football team but we’re a good football team too. We just have to execute and cut down on the mistakes.”
Honaker answered with a good drive. Ty Hall passed to Blake Ray for a 31-yard gain. It set up a 3-yard TD run by sophomore Austin Smith. Mackenzie Phillips booted the extra point to give the Tigers a 7-6 lead.
Blake Ray who had another outstanding game for the Tigers scooped up a Castlewood fumble and returned it 24-yards for a touchdown to give Honaker some breathing room. The Tigers held a 13-6 lead at halftime.
Honaker took the second half kickoff and it was three plays and a punt. The Blue Devils were also forced to punt. The Tigers offense then got in gear. They scored their next three possessions.
Hall threw a 25-yard TD pass to Jordan Hess and a 30-yard TD pass to Randy Horton. Hall finished the night going 8-of-15 through the air for 153 yards and the two TDs.
“Hall does a great job,” said Hubbard. “Horton made some great catches. Hess made some good catches. We have some athletes at wide receiver and they are not afraid to go and get the ball. The offensive line also gives him some time to throw.”
Cody Lester led the Tigers rushing attack with 66 yards on 18 carries. Ray had three receptions for 69 yards.
Edmonds was tremendous for Castlewood. He had five receptions for 104 yards and rushed 12 times to gain 93 yards in the Blue Devils “jet sweep” offense.
Honaker will entertain Eastside next week.
Honaker 0 13 8 10—31
Castlewood 6 0 0 6—12
CAS—Cornett 5 pass from Edmonds (kick failed)
HON—Smith 3 run (Phillips kick)
HON—Ray 24 fumble return (kick blocked)
HON—Hess 25 pass from Hall (Shelton pass from Hall)
HON—Horton 30 pass from Hall (Phillips kick)
CAS—Patrick 18 run (run failed)
HON—Phillips 28 FG
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TEAM STATISTICS
First Downs: HON 15, CAS 11; Rushes-Yards: HON 36-128, CAS 29-80; Passing Yards: HON 153, CAS 121; Comp-Att-Int: HON 8-15-0, CAS 8-16-1; Fumbles-Lost: HON 2-0, CAS 3-1; Penalties-Yards: HON 5-40, CAS 8-66; Punts-Average: HON 3-39, CAS 3-30.5.
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