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By BILL ARCHER
Bluefield Daily Telegraph staff
BLUEFIELD — One hundred yards separate the goal lines on a football field, but a matter of inches was the difference between the talented Charlotte Country Day School Buccaneers and the homestanding Bluefield Beavers.
Michael Radford, Day’s junior signal-caller, was under pressure and headed out of bounds when he heaved a desperation 41-yard pass to Tripp Mulligan near the end of the end of the first half.
Mulligan gathered it in over the outstretched fingers of a pair of Beavers and landed on the 2-yard line. Day’s Robert Engel blasted up the gut of the Beaver defense, and scored 6 with 54 seconds left in the half — breaking a 7-all tie, and powering setting the stage for the visitors from North Carolina to earn a 31-14 victory from their Mountain State hosts.
“We had some problems holding on to the ball, but Bluefield reciprocated and we were able to capitalize in the second half,” Charlotte Day head coach Bob Witman said. “I think Coach (Fred) Simon and his staff did an excellent job preparing a game plan for us. This is just a great game for us to play.
“Two years ago when they played us at home, we went up by 17 in the first half, and they came back in the second half, beat us in every play phase and we were fortunate to come out with an 8-point victory,” Witman said. “That game taught us a lot about closing out an opponent and really helped us out and made us a better team.
“We love the enthusiasm up here, the hospitality and we get a chance to get out of the heat,” Witman said. “It’s a fun game.”
The teams traded possessions in the first quarter, but on Bluefield’s second possession penetration by Day’s defensive line forced a bad exchange and Marcel Souffrant pounced on the pigskin to give the Bucs possession at the Beaver 28. Six plays later, Radford executed a quarterback sneak from 2-yards out for the games first score at 3:59 remaining in the first quarter.
On their next possession, the Buccaneers appeared to be marching for another score. With the ball at the Beaver 3-yard line, Radford connected on an out-route to Jack Hambrick, but Bluefield’s D.J. Edwards put a hit on the receiver that knocked the ball loose. Justin Carter picked it up on one hop and galloped to the Beaver 39 and got out of the shadow of the goal post.
Beaver failed to capitalize on that possession, but after a punt, Bluefield’s Danny Blankenship hammered Day’s William Roberts, gaining separation between him and the ball. Tyler Myers recovered at Charlotte’s 34, and Beaver’s fleet-footed Montel Leggett spun free from a would-be tackler and out ran Charlotte defenders for a 44-yard gain to the visitor’s 23-yard line.
Five crazy plays later — crazy because of a flipper-roni bounce that Edwards reversed his field on and carried to a first down at Charlotte’s three, Leggett pounded inside for a 3-yard touchdown. Justin Mariotti’s extra point with 4:11 remaining in the first half knotted the score at 7-7, and set the stage for Radford’s late half heroics.
“I am so proud of these kids,” Bluefield head coach Fred Simon said. “They played their guts out every minute of this game. I can’t take anything away from Charlotte Country Day
“Coach Witman runs a great program and they were ready for us. This is a good game for us to play, and even though we weren’t successful tonight on the scoreboard, I think we learned a lot about who we are.
“We have a tough schedule,” Simon continued. “It’s going to be tough for us to travel to play Charlotte Latin next week. They’ll be hard to beat down there. But I really think that if we can make the playoffs, me might be pretty good this year.”
Beaver fumbled on its first offensive possession of the third quarter, and the Buccaneers’ Mike Stanback recovered at the Bluefield 32. Radford drove the team down the field and wandered into the end zone untouched with 4:28 left in the quarter. Alex Gakenheimer’s kick made the score 21-7.
On the ensuing kickoff, Leggett was stopped at the 22, but pushed ahead for a few more post-whistle yards. A Charlotte Day tackler twisted Leggett’s ankle on the play, and that ended Leggett’s productive evening. He sat out the rest of the game with ice on his ankle. Leggett finished the evening with one touchdown and 83 yards on 14 carries, unofficially.
Beaver’s offense sputtered without Leggett, and after an exchange of possessions, Edwards was hammered on a 7-yard scramble just two plays into the fourth quarter, forcing him to watch the rest of the game from the bench a few feet away from Leggett. Edwards was 4 of 8 passing for 18 yards.
“They’ll be fine,” Simon said of his backfield starters. “They just need a little R&R right now.”
Charlotte Day scored with 33 seconds left in the third quarter on another 4-yard keeper by Radford; then notched its last score on a 22-yard field goal by Gakenheimer with 6:43 left in the game. Radford was 13 of 19 passing with 172 yards and no interceptions, along with three rushing touchdowns on 53 yards rushing on 15 carries.
Bluefield mounted an 80-yard 11-play scoring drive capped by a 19-yard pass from Carter to Brad Fox with 2:05 remaining in the contest, but Beaver ran out of time and the Buccaneers ran out the clock. Carter went 4 for 4 passing with 36 yards and a touchdown.
Beaver drops to 2-2 on the season and travels to Charlotte Latin next week. Charlotte Country Day improves to 3-1 and will host Ravenscroft School.
At Mitchell Stadium
Charlotte Country Day........7 7 14 3 — 31
Bluefield............................0 7 0 7 — 14
Scoring Summary:
First Quarter
CC—M. Radford 2 run (A. Gakenheimer kick) 3:59
Second Quarter
BF—M.Leggett 3 run (J.Mariotti kick) 4:11
CC—R.Englel 2 run (A. Gakenheimer kick) :54
Third Quarter
CC—M.Radford 4 run (A.Gakenheimer kick) 4:28
CC—M.Radford 4 run (A.Gakenheimer kick) :33
Fourth Quarter
CC—A. Gakenheimer, 22 field goal 6:43
BF—B.Fox 19 pass from J.Carter (J.Mariotti kick) 2:05