George Wythe defeats Rural Retreat 39-7

By JIM CUNNINGHAM/Staff

The George Wythe Maroons moved one step closer to winning the Hogoheegee District title by defeating the Rural Retreat Indians 39-7 Friday night at Pendleton Field.
The Maroons improve their district mark to 4-0 (6-3 overall) and gives them the opportunity to win the district championship with a win over Northwood this coming Friday in Wytheville.
Rural Retreat fell to 2-2 in the district and 3-6 overall.
GW scored 32 unanswered points, including a 20-point outburst in the third quarter to put the game away, but it was close throughout the early going.
“We knew they (the Indians) were going to play hard,” said George Wythe Head Coach H.S. Ingo. And he liked the way his team responded to the challenge.
“And now we’ve got to go out and take care of game 10,” said the coach, referring to this Friday’s regular season final game against Northwood.
Brandon Atwell led the Maroons in rushing with 177 yards on 14 carries (12.6 avg.). Those yards put Atwell over the 1,000-yard mark for the season.
Aaron Wheeler rushed for 93 yards on 11 carries (8.5 avg.), and Randy Divers picked up 35 yards on eight carries (4.4 avg.).
GW quarterback Tristan Boysaw added 24 yards on three carries (8.0 avg) and completed two of his four passes for 42 yards. Both passes went for touchdowns, one to Atwell and one to Nathan Cline.
Rural Retreat was led in rushing by Travis Anderson with 102 yards on nine carries (11.3 avg.). Tyler Caudill rushed for 69 yards on 13 carries (5.3 avg.). Zayne Williams added 38 yards on eight carries (4.8 avg.), and Adam Evans had 35 yards on eight carries (4.4 avg.).
Williams also completed three of his 12 passes for 63 yards, all were caught by Travis Foster.
The Indians took the game’s opening kickoff and moved from their own 37-yard line to down inside the GW 20 before losing the ball on a fumble.
The Maroons were forced to punt on their first series, but got the ball back quickly on downs at their own 40.
Good runs by Atwell, Boysaw and Wheeler steadily moved the ball downfield with three first downs to make it first and goal.
After the RR defense pushed the ball back to the 13, Boysaw connected with Atwell running down the left side for a touchdown. Atwell also kicked the PAT to put GW up 7-0 with 2:43 left in the first quarter.
The teams traded punts on their next possession over the rest of the first and into the second quarter.
But Travis Anderson put a charge into his team and into the large visiting crowd by taking a handoff and sprinting 75 yards up the middle for a touchdown. Travis Foster kicked the PAT to tie the score at 7-7 with 10:16 left in the first half.
The Maroons responded quickly when Atwell broke free for a 45-yard TD run with 7:42 left in the half. After a penalty backed up the team, his PAT kick try missed the mark, but GW had regained the lead at 13-7.
On its next series, GW quickly got into good field position after a blocked RR punt at the Indian 35.
A 30-yard run by Divers set up Atwell on the next play, who took it over from five yards out. The run attempt for two was short, but the Maroons were now up 19-7 with 4:48 left in the half.
The GW defense forced Rural Retreat to turn the ball over on downs on its next series. Atwell then made a 40-yard plus run into Indian territory. Atwell then ran for an apparent TD, but it was called back due to a penalty.
The Maroons ended the first half with Atwell attempting a long field goal that missed the mark.
GW’s opening drive of the second half was successful with Wheeler capping it off with a 20-yard run with 7:29 left in the third.
The Maroons went back to work quickly in RR territory after recovering a fumble. The possession ended with a 29-yard TD pass from Boysaw to Nathan Cline at 4:30. The PAT kick by Hawks extended the lead to 32-7.
GW added another score after forcing a punt. Tanner Price did the honors on a five-yard run with only three seconds left in the third period. The PAT kick by Hawks made it 39-7.
Alex Willis intercepted a pass for GW late in the game to stop a RR threat at the GW nine.

Rural Retreat 0 7 0 0 – 7
George Wythe 7 12 20 0 – 39

Scoring:
GW – Brandon Atwell 13 pass from Tristan Boysaw (Atwell kick)
RR – Travis Anderson 75 run (Foster kick)
GW – B. Atwell 45 run (kick failed)
GW – B. Atwell 5 run (run failed)
GW – Aaron Wheeler 20 run (pass failed)
GW – Nathan Cline 29 pass from Boysaw (Hawks kick)
GW – Tanner Price 5 run (Hawks kick)

Team RR GW
First downs 12 19
Yards rushing 39-244 49-377
Yards passing 63 42
Comp-Att-Int 3-12-1 2-4-0
Punts-avg. 3-26.0 3-40.7
Fumbles-lost 5-2 1-0
Penalties-yds 5-30 7-45
(Stats courtesy of Kenny Sayers)
(T – 2:12)