Fort Chiswell Pioneers defeat Auburn 41-0

By JIM CUNNINGHAM/Staff

The Fort Chiswell Pioneers dominated the game in nearly every way in rolling to a 41-0 win over the Auburn Eagles in a non-district varsity football game played Friday night at C.F. McKinney Memorial Stadium at FCHS.
The Pioneer offense looked potent through most of the game, and the FC defense completely shut down the Eagles. Auburn had only 34 yards of total offense in the game and never threatened to score.
Fort Chiswell Head Coach Stephen James noted that his team showed improvement over its first game of the season last Friday (a 38-7 win over Rural Retreat) but said the team still has plenty of room for improvement.
The coach said it felt good for his team to be 2-0 on the season. It was the first time since 1996 that the team has begun the season with two straight wins.
“Our kids took control of the game in the second half,” said James.
Indeed, after taking a 21-0 halftime lead, the Pioneers scored on their first two possessions of the second half to take a commanding 41-0 lead.
Fort Chiswell’s offense was led by running back Chris Rodriguez who scored three touchdowns and kicked five extra points. Rodriguez ended up with 77 yards rushing on 10 carries.
FC quarterback Hody Viars completed three of his six pass attempts for 70 yards, including two touchdowns. Viars also rushed for 54 yards on three carries.
“The offensive line did a good job of opening up holes for our runners,” said James.
And the team’s defense stood out as well. While the Eagles did gain 34 yards on offense, if you factor in several attempted punts in which the snap forced the team backwards, Auburn actually had a minus 23 yards of total offense.
One of the leaders on defense was Josh Cain who made 11 tackles. Viars was next with eight tackles and also had a sack and a forced fumble. Zack Cook also forced a fumble for FC.
Auburn took the game’s opening kickoff and picked up a first down on a deflected pass on a third and seven play.
The FC defense allowed only one yard on Auburn’s next series to force a punt.
The Pioneers also quickly punted but got the ball right back on an interception by Michael Dunford, his third in two games.
A face mask penalty against Auburn on the interception put the Pioneers on the Auburn 40-yard line.
On second and five, Rodriguez ripped off approximately 15 yards to put the ball on the 21. Rodriguez then ran up the middle on the next play for a 21-yard touchdown. He kicked the PAT to put FC up 7-0 with 4:38 left in the first quarter.
The Eagles moved backwards on their next possession after Viars sacked the AHS quarterback to force a punt. The snap sailed over the punter’s head, however, and the Pioneers took over on the Eagle four, first and goal.
Rodriguez did the honors again with a four-yard TD run around the left end. His PAT kick made it 14-0 with 1:21 left in the first quarter.
A FC pass interference penalty allowed the Eagles to pick up a first down near midfield on their next series, but Will Freeman later tipped away a pass to force a punt on fourth and 11.
The Pioneers moved down inside the Auburn 10-yard line but lost a fumble.
The Eagles returned the favor shortly after, however, on a fumble caused by Zack Cook.
The Pioneers took over at the Eagle three-yard line. An illegal block penalty pushed FC back to the 16, but on second down, Viars passed to Michael Dunford for a 10-yard touchdown. The PAT kick by Rodriguez put the Pioneers up 21-0 with 4:26 left in the first half.
The Eagles had another bad snap on a punt attempt on their next possession, but the Pioneers couldn’t take advantage due to a fumble.
A full moon came out from behind the clouds in its entirety on the warm night shortly before halftime. But the Fort Chiswell offense and defense put the lights out for any hopes of an Eagle comeback quickly in the second half with two straight scores.
Viars set up the first score on the opening drive of the half with a run of approximately 60 yards on a keeper to set up first and goal. Rodriguez then carried it over. Rodriguez’s PAT kick hit someone in the line, but the ball ricocheted off and went through the goal posts anyway for the conversion to make it 28-0 with 10:59 left in the third quarter.
The Pioneers struck quickly when Viars recovered a fumble. Then he connected with Zack Cook for a five-yard touchdown pass. The PAT kick made it 35-0 with 9:00 left in the third quarter.
The 35-point margin meant the clock went into continuous mode and prevented the outcome from becoming much worse.
The Pioneers added another touchdown with 6:30 left in the fourth quarter on a 10-yard run by Ray Rodriguez.

Auburn 0 0 0 0 – 0
Fort Chiswell 14 7 14 6 – 41

Scoring:
FC – Chris Rodriguez 21 run (Rodriguez kick)
FC – Rodriguez 4 run (Rodriguez kick)
FC – Michael Dunford 10 pass from Hody Viars (Rodriguez kick)
FC – Rodriguez 6 run (Rodriguez kick)
FC—Zack Cook 5 pass from Viars (Rodriguez kick)
FC – Ray Rodriguez 10 run (run failed)
(T – 1:59)