Galax defeats Bland County

By JERRY SCOTT/Correspondent

Visiting Galax got sterling offensive performances from fullback Jordan Vaughan, quarterback Terrance Mazon, and wide receiver Deion George while riding an equally impressive defensive effort of Maroon Tide pressure that forced three Bland County turnovers as Galax scored a 20-6 win over the Bears on Oct. 30 in Bastian.
The battle to avoid the MED cellar favored the Maroon Tide, who, with the win, improved to 1-2 in the league, with a game versus Narrows remaining, and 2-7 overall. The Bears saw their season draw to a close at 0-4 in the MED, 2-8 through all of their games. Three seniors, Caleb Dalton, Luke Gibson, and Shane Mabe, played their final game for the Bears.
“I really feel for our three seniors,” Bears’ coach Harris Hart said. “I really never know what to say to the seniors. I didn’t know last year and I didn’t know this year. I remember when I played and I was a senior, that last game, you’re kinda lost.”
Vaughan rushed 25 times for 177 yards and two touchdowns for the victors. His three-yard scoring run at the 9:32 mark of the opening period coupled with Omar Rameriz’s PAT kick actually provided the Maroon Tide the only points they would need to score their initial 2009 MED win.
Mazon hit 14 of 23 passes for 230 yards with an interception. One of his completions was a scoring strike to George in the fourth quarter that covered 35 of his 122 receiving yards on five catches. Xavier Rodriquez added three catches and 54 yards for the winners.
“Jordan [Vaughan] did a great job,” Galax’s Jared Van Acker noted. “He’s a young guy, just a sophomore that actually started last year as a freshman. He’s going to be a special player for Galax High School football. He’s a hard-nosed kid who basically says ‘give me the ball, coach.’”
The Maroon Tide mounted a charge that produced 425 total yards. On the flip side, Bland County managed just 183 yards of offense, 134 of which came via the rush. Jacob Lambert had 70 yards on 14 carries while teammate Dylan Kidd added 10 carries for 61 yards in addition to hitting four of 16 passes for 49 yards. Raymond Greene scored the only Bears’ touchdown with a 20-yard catch late in the second period.
In seven of its eight losses this season, the Bears were limited to one touchdown or less, falling victim to critical turnovers at inopportune times. Three came against Galax and the first led to the game’s first score.
Galax was driving in its first possession but Gibson intercepted Mazon at the Bears’ five-yard line. On the return, Gibson fumbled near the 15 and the ball was recovered by the Maroon Tide’s Jerad Brown. Three plays later, Vaughan’s first touchdown coupled with Rameriz’s PAT kick had Galax up 7-0.
The Bears punted away the ensuing possession but Greene’s fumble recovery of Rodriquez’s fair catch gave the Bears life at the Galax 25. The Bears drove as far as the eight before turning the ball back on downs, once again failing to finish in the red zone, a trend that bit the Bears numerous times this season.
Like the Bears, Galax was able to do much either and punted from their own 33 seven plays later. Bland County quickly went three-and-out, punting to Galax to set up the second Maroon Tide scoring drive.
From their own 45, the Maroon Tide needed just four plays to score, the big play coming on a 51-yard pass play from Mazon to George that produced first-and-goal at the Bears’ one-yard line. Following a false start and a Mazon incompletion, Vaughan went in from six yards out as Galax led 14-0 with 50 seconds left in the first period.
After that, Bland County once again squandered a great chance to score, driving from the BC43 all the way to the Galax four-yard line. During the drive, Dylan Kidd’s 29-yard completion to Dalton gave the Bears a first down at the one before back-to-back rushes lost three yards and two incompletions from Kidd gave the ball back to the Maroon Tide.
“Right here at Halloween, my defense spooked me a little bit,” Van Acker said. “Bland County had some passes fall right in that were dropped, plays that could’ve changed things. Giving up just six points, there’s nothing to be shy about there.”
Galax proceeded to embark on a time-consuming drive of 14 plays that covered just 31 yards, punting to the Bears late in the second stanza. Five of Galax’s 17 penalties came during the possession with 40 of their 100 penalty yards being assessed. This led to Bland County’s lone touchdown drive.
Lambert’s 15-yard punt return gave the ball to the Bears at midfield and Kidd bolted 41 yards on first down to the Galax nine. Two plays later, a 15-yard offensive pass interference flag against Greene backed the Bears up to the 20 but Kidd went right back to the sophomore receiver for a 20-yard scoring pass, Greene’s third of the campaign. The PAT by Lambert missed and the Bears trailed 14-6 with 32 seconds left before halftime.
The third quarter and most of the fourth went scoreless for both teams as Bland County fumbled away one possession, punted away two more, and turned the ball over on downs on a fourth one. Galax, meanwhile, missed a field goal, turned the ball over on downs once at the Bland County four and another time at the BC 29. They scored their final time with 3:43 to play, Mazon’s 35-yard scoring pass to George capping a four-play drive that began at the Bears’ 38, a score that produced the closing 20-6 tally.
Moments later, Galax’s Juan Ruiz intercepted a Kidd pass at the Galax 32, adding a 39-yard return to the Bears’ 29 that put this game and Bland County’s season in the books. Galax went on to run out the clock, keeping alive its very slim playoff aspirations.
“We’ve got Narrows next week and I’ve done a few calculations and this and that,” Van Acker said. “There might just be chance we could get in. If we could get three wins, Narrows has three wins, and I think Rural Retreat has three wins, so who knows. It’s too tough to tell right now.”
For the third straight game, Bland County’s defense played well enough for the Bears to get a win. As a team, they spent a total of 70 plays by the Galax offense on the field, amassing some 91 team tackles. Lambert was the Bears’ top tackler with 20 takedowns, eight solo. Jakob Haun had five solo tackles among 12 total. Kidd and Tanner Williams added 11 tackles apiece, six of Kidd’s being solo, and Williams adding 10 assists. Haun, Blaine Fisher, Brady Dillow, and Garrett Mustard had sacks for the Bears.
With the loss, a seemingly disappointing season came to a close as the Bears went winless in the MED and finished 2-8 overall. That’s a far cry from last year’s MED championship banner season. Nonetheless, Hart found positives from it all and is already looking forward to next season.
“You know, when it all becomes about wins and loses, then it’ll be time for me to get out of coaching,” he stated. “We came a long ways as a football team, we did a lot of good things. The way they carry their attitude and present themselves on the field is the way we want them to be. The blocking and tackling, the things we can continue to work on, will get better if they’ll work in the offseason and come back next year. A year older doesn’t guarantee a year better but commitment to ethics will.”
Van Acker sent kudos Bland County’s way as well. This was a game of two teams playing for pride and he noted that the Bears should have plenty.
“Those kids should have tons of pride,” the Galax coach stated. “They came out here tonight, last game of the season, virtually no shot at the playoffs. They played with the true character that the kids here have. They should leave here tonight with their heads held high.”
As the season ends, several tidbits are worth noting, especially for Lambert and Kidd. Lambert set a new Bears’ record for punts in 2009 with 43, two more Brandon Kelley’s 41 in 2000. His 1,451 punt yards this season is also a record and outdistances Nick Leighton’s total of 1,384 in 2008 by 67 yards. Kidd tied a pair of Bland County marks as his 17 kickoff returns tied former Bland County gridders Zane Perkins (1998) and Joshua Neal (2003) and his 318 kickoff return yards matches the same figure that Neal had in 2003.

Galax 14 0 0 6—20
Bland County 0 6 0 0—6

SCORING—
First quarter:
Gx—Vaughan 3 run (Rameriz kick) 9:32
Gx—Vaughan 6 run (Rameriz kick) :50
Second quarter:
BC—R. Greene 20 pass from Kidd (kick failed) :32
Fourth quarter:
Gx—George 35 pass from Mazon (kick failed) 3:43

TEAM STATISTICS—
Gx BC
First downs 19 7
Rushes/yds 47/195 27/134
Comp/Att/Int 14/23/1 4/16/1
Passing yds 230 49
Total yards 425 183
Returns/yds 6/70 5/95
All-purpose yds 495 278
Penalties/yds 17/100 4/40
Fumbles/lost 1/1 2/2
Punts/avg yds 2/34.5 4/37.3

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS—
Rushing:
Galax—Vaughan 25/177, Rodriquez 4/9, J. Brown 1/6, Mazon 17/3. Bland County—Lambert 14/70, Kidd 10/61, Parker 3/3.
Passing:
Galax—Mazon 14/23/1, 230 yds. Bland County—Kidd 4/16/1, 49 yds.
Receiving:
Galax—George 5/122, Rodriquez 3/54, Ruiz 2/30, Vaughan 3/13, J. Brown 1/11. Bland County—Dalton 1/29, R. Greene 1/20, Parker 1/3, Lambert 1/-3.
Returns:
Galax—Ruiz 2/44, Rodriquez 3/16, Mazon 1/10. Bland County—Lambert 3/64, Kidd 1/21, L. Gibson 1/10.
Bland County tackles:
Name-solo-assists-sacks—Kidd 5-6-0, Lambert 8-12-0, Williams 1-10-0, Dillow 4-2-1, Parker 0-3-0, Haun 5-7-1, R. Greene 1-2-0, C. Greene 2-4-0, Fisher 1-4-1, Collins 1-5-0, Stowers 2-0-0, L. Gibson 2-1-0, Mustard 1-0-1, Dunn 0-1-0, Dalton 1-0-0. Total 34-57-4.