Bland County defeats Fort Chiswell

By L.L. WIMMER/Correspondent

When the Fort Chiswell football team boarded the bus Friday evening for Bland County, two things were on the line for the Fort: A chance to be Mountain Empire District champions and a berth in the Division 2 playoffs.
After 48 minutes of football, both of the above were washed away down Wolf Creek at Bastian as the Bland County Bears mauled the Pioneers 26-6.
The Fort was its own worst enemy as six turnovers doomed the Pioneers in what might have been their worst outing of the season.
FC took the opening kickoff, and Jacob Henley returned it to the Pioneer 25. Dieter Chandler, Chris Rodriguez and Hody Viars team for a first down at the FC 36.
Two plays later, Rodriguez fumbled and Cody Green recovered for the Bears at the Fort’s 36.
Josh Shrader passed to Josh Pennington for a first and 10 at the Fort’s 24. On the next play, Shrader broke three tackles and hit pay dirt for the first score of the evening. The PAT was no good as Bland led 6-0 with 8:45 to go in the first quarter.
The Pioneer offense went to work once again on their own 35, and Rodriguez showed great moves and power running to the Bear 30. But then four plays netted a minus three yards for FC as Bland took over on downs.
Bland County then went to work as Shrader hooked up with Nicholas Leighton on a nice pass and catch to the BC 44. Korey Kennedy ran for five, and a pair of passes from Shrader to Leighton gave BC a first down on the Pioneer 14.
Three plays later Kennedy finished the drive with a three-yard run up the gut to add to the Bear lead. The Pioneers stopped a two-point conversion, but with 4:19 left in the first, BC led 12-0.
The Pioneers took the ensuing kickoff and on the next six plays both teams turned the ball over three times with Bland in control on its own 22 as the first period came to an end.
The second period saw the Pioneer defense stiffen as it forced a three and out as Leighton punted to the FC 32.
A late hit on Bland County gave the Fort a first and 10 and two plays later Viars hooked up with Michael Dunford with what seemed to be a Pioneer TD. But Pennington caught Dunford and knocked the ball loose and the Bears recovered in the end zone for a touchback.
The Bears took over on their own 20 and put together a 13-play drive to take command of the game. A personal foul on FC aided the Bear cause and a run by Shrader gave the Bears a first and goal at the eight.
Lambert ran for seven, and Shrader crossed the chalk for the touchdown. Leighton added the PAT as the Bears extended their lead to 19-0 with 2:19 left in the half.
The Pioneers kicked to the Bears to open the third quarter and behind Shrader and Kenney, BC moved to its own 43. Parker Mabe then came up with a fine defensive play as he picked off a Shrader pass on the Fort 47 with 7:44 left in the period. Viars and Rodriguez teamed for six yards on three plays and on fourth, Rodriguez punted to the Bland 20, and Lambert returned it to the Bear 36.
Knowing that they were up 19 points and with their defense holding the Fort at bay, the Bears went to their running game to take time off the clock. Kennedy carried three times for the Bears, but the Pioneer defense came up with fine plays as Leighton punted to the FC 23 with 3:03 left in the third.
Once again the Bear defense growled and stood strong, forcing FC to punt to the Bear 43.
Two runs by Kennedy netted three yards and an incomplete pass forced Bland to punt as the period ended with the Bears on top 19-0.
Rodriguez gained 11 yards to the FC 41, but four plays later Bland took over on downs at the FC 44.
Lambert, Shrader and Kennedy then went to work for the Bears as the trio teamed to move the ball to the FC one. Shrader then juked a would-be FC tackler and scored his third TD of the evening. Leighton added the PAT and for all intents and purposes, the game was out of reach for FC with 4:12 left in the contest.
Once again the Pioneers took the Bland kickoff and Henley returned it to the Pioneer 30. Will Freeman took over at quarterback and on fourth and 10 hooked up with Mabe at the FC 46 for a first down. On the next play, Lambert picked off a pass attempt to thwart the FC drive.
The Pioneer defense forced a Bland punt and once again Freeman went to work. Freeman connected with Mabe on a 20-yard gain, but the play was called back.
With 20.8 seconds left in the contest, Freeman connected with Henley on a 25-yard pass play to put the Pioneers on the scoreboard. The two-point conversion was intercepted by the Bears’ Dylan Kidd with BC on top 26-6.
FC then kicked off to Bland who ran out the clock.
With the win, Bland County stands at 8-1 and with a victory over winless Grayson County this week, the Bears will be MED championship. Fort Chiswell will need a victory over Narrows this week to have a winning season.

Fort Chiswell 0 0 0 – 6
Bland County 12 7 0 7 – 26

Scoring:
BC – Shrader 24 run (kick failed)
BC – Korey Kennedy 3 run (run failed)
BC – Shrader 1 run (Leighton kick)
BC – Shrader 1 run (Leighton kick)
FC – Henley 25 pass from Freeman (pass failed)