Tazewell spoils George Wythe’s season opener 21-19

By JESSE DINGER/Correspondent

The George Wythe Maroons’ football team opened up its 2008 campaign with a nail-biting 21-19 loss to the Tazewell Bulldogs Friday night in Wytheville.
Since 2005, the visiting team has won every match-up between the two teams in this series.
From a statistical standpoint, GW (0-1 overall) dominated the game, gaining 192 more yards on offense than Tazewell (1-0 overall.) Leading the Maroons was quarterback Jacob Sharitz, who threw for 241 yards, completing 15 of 25 pass attempts.  Sharitz also ran for 27 yards and a touchdown.
Sharitz’s favorite target on the night was Tyler Wood, who is a senior transfer from Auburn High School.  Wood caught six balls for 76 yards.  Will Sawyers and Brandon Atwell each had four catches, going for 88 and 61 yards, respectively.
The leading rusher for GW was freshman Jonathan Turpin, who carried 7 times for 75 yards. Sawyers also gained 31 yards on 3 attempts and Aaron Wheeler picked up 16 yards on three carries, including a seven yard touchdown.
Senior Matt Muncy led the Bulldogs, who went 1-9 last season.  Muncy, who verbally committed to Wake Forest University in May, showed just how athletic he is, gaining over 215 total yards, including two touchdowns.
Quarterback Cody Lockhart was 7 for 15 passing, picking up 171 yards.  On the receiving end of four of those attempts was Brandon Pauley, who gained 134 yards and also picked up a touchdown.
Neither team’s offense showed much life until Tazewell got the ball on their second drive in the later part of the first quarter.  Starting on their own 42, the Bulldogs were able inside GW’s 20 yard line after a 35 yard catch by Pauley.
The Maroons defense then stiffened up, forcing Tazewell to a third and long on the 31 yard line.  The Bulldogs were up to the test, however, as Lockhart found Muncy for a 29 yard gain.  On the next play, Muncy powered his way into the end zone for the first touchdown of the game with 14 seconds left in the first quarter.  Colton Cook added the extra point kick to put THS up 7-0.
Each team then exchanged punts until GW got the ball on its own 35 yard line.  After no gain on first down, Sharitz found Sawyers for a 35 yard gain, which was then followed by a 23 yard catch by Atwell two plays later.  With the ball on the three yard line, Sharitz called his own number and sneaked his way into the end zone.  The Maroons’ extra point attempt failed, however, and they trailed 7-6 with 5:30 left in the second quarter.
Tazewell had a good drive going on the ensuing possession, getting all the way into GW territory before it was put into a 4th and 10 situation on the 42 yard line.  Lockhart dropped back to pass for the first down, but before he could throw the ball, he got sacked, and also fumbled the football, which junior defensive lineman Drew Lester picked up and hustled his way 51 yards for a touchdown. 
The Maroons went for a two-point conversion, but Sharitz’s pass in the corner of the end zone fell incomplete, leaving GW with a 12-7 lead.
Any momentum the Maroons may have had from getting 12 straight points was soon lost, as on the ensuing kickoff, Muncy received the kick and showed his speed, returning it 96 yards for a touchdown.  Cook added the extra point, putting Tazewell back on top 14-12, after losing the lead for only 16 seconds.
GW tried to drive down the field to have a chance to get points on the board before the end of the first half, but Sharitz got picked off, and the Bulldogs instead got the chance to score going into the locker room, which they did, as Lockhart found Pauley streaking down the field for a 49 yard touchdown, giving THS a 21-12 lead at half.
The Maroons defense stepped up in the second half, forcing Tazewell to punt both times it got the ball in the third quarter.  Late in the period, GW began a drive on its own 32 yard line. 
Big pass plays from Sharitz to Atwell and Sawyers as well as a nice 11 yard run by Turpin got the ball down to the seven yard line.  This set up Wheeler for a touchdown two plays later.  After an extra point by Michael Jones, the score was 21-19 with over 11 minutes left in the contest.
After the Bulldogs went three plays and punted the ball, GW began driving the ball down the field.  The drive suddenly halted, however, after a 19 yard pass play had the Maroons inside the 10 yard line, but on the play, they fumbled the ball, which Tazewell recovered.
The Maroons defense stopped Tazewell, making it again go three and out, and again the Maroons started driving down the field. Wood touched the ball on the first three plays of the drive, picking up 28 total yards on two runs and one catch.  Sawyers then scampered 14 yards, and after a 5 yard penalty, the Maroons again were inside the 10 yard line.
GW was unable to find the end zone, so it attempted a 25 yard field goal.  Tazewell got a heavy rush, however, and was able to block it, halting another scoring opportunity for the Maroons.
GW finally got the ball back with 51 seconds left on its own 36 yard line.  On a bizarre play with just a few seconds left, the Maroons completed a pass inside of the Bulldogs 20 yard line as the clock expired.
However, Tazewell had committed a penalty, giving the Maroons one more play, but GW also had a penalty on the play, so that pushed the ball back to the 38 yard line.
With no time on the clock, the Maroons lined up for a 54 yard field goal, which fell short, sealing the victory for the Bulldogs.
George Wythe will have two weeks to regroup before taking on their next opponent, the Radford Bobcats, on Sept. 5, at Radford High School.

Tazewell 7 14 0 0—1
George Wythe 0 12 0 7—19

Scoring
Matt Muncy 2 run (Colton Cook kick)
Jacob Sharitz 3 run (kick failed)
Drew Lester 51 fumble return (pass failed)
Muncy 96 kickoff return (Cook kick)
Brandon Pauley 49 pass from Cody Lockhart (Cook kick)
Aaron Wheeler 7 run (Michael Jones kick)

Stats THS GW
First Downs 14 16
Rushing Attempts 27 28
Rushing Yards 51 173
Att-Comp-Int 15-7-0 25-15-1
Passing Yards 171 241
Punts-Avg. 6-36.5 4-47.8
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-1
Penalties-Yards 8-61 11-90
(Stats courtesy of Kenny Sayers)