Week 2 NRV Game

Fort Chiswell shows up big in 41-19 win over Auburn

Christiansburg HS, Christiansburg, VA – Fort Chiswell made the trip up I-81 to take on the Auburn Eagles on a chilly, windy, and sunny Saturday afternoon. But they didn’t travel to Riner, where Auburn high school resides. The Pioneers made a left to Christiansburg instead of the left they would have need to make east towards Riner. C-burgs artificial turf has become a popular spot for local teams to play to avoid tearing up their own grass fields in the spring growing season. Once everyone made it to the venue, Fort Chiswell went on the attack. The Pioneers ousted Auburn 41-19 when the smoke cleared.The shortened spring season has affected different teams in different ways this year. Not having time to get offense and defenses in, scrimmages didn’t happen, schedules change daily it seems, and injuries unfortunately happen. Auburn is not exception to that rule. Coach Akers remarked about the shortened season after the game, “It’s hurt us from an injury standpoint. We are not going to use that as an excuse. (We’re) Not pad ready. Got to find a way to keep our kids healthy. In this compact season we have to find a way of keeping things moving forward.” Auburn may have lost the game on Saturday but they never quit on the prospect of winning to the end. That’s a mark of a well coached team.

The Eagles were led by RB 11 John Keith with 98 yards on six carries and a score. Seventy four of that came on one big run in the fourth quarter for a touchdown. RB 32 Ronnie Worth also had a good day with 60 yards on five carries and a score. The big call out of the day though was Fort Chiswell’s balanced offensive attack.

The Pioneers had four different ballcarriers score touchdowns with their QB 4 Dylan Bailey accounting for two scores on the ground, while picking up 87 yards on eight carries before leaving with an ankle injury.

First Quarter –
Fort Chiswell got the scoring started quick in this one. They took the opening kickoff and needed only five plays for QB 4 Bailey to take it in from nineteen yards out. The big play on the drive was a 33-yard pass into the wind on third and four down to the Eagle nineteen.

That set up the score two plays later. K 3 Jacob Kiger hit the point after and Fort Chiswell led 7-0 with three minutes gone in the game.
Auburn had a chance on defense a series later to tie it up but it just wasn’t in the cards. DB/RB 5 Rusty Marshall broke on a short pass in the right flank and had it in his hands but couldn’t hang on to it. There was nothing but green between him and the endzone. That could have changed some things early. The first quarter ended 7-0 Pioneers.

Second Quarter –
The Eagles answered the Pioneers with their best sustained drive of the day. Starting at their own thirty four, the drive ended with QB 6 Payson Kelley bulling his way in from the one for six points. RB 11 John Keith, who led Auburn’s rushing attack on the day with 98 yards, had two big runs of thirteen and eight yards to help the Eagles get into position. The point after hit the right cross bar and bounded away no good. Fort Chiswell still had the lead 7-6.

Auburn’s defense didn’t play too badly early on. Coach Akers was complimentary of his defensive unit, “They did a good job. Coordinator did a good job. A couple missed tackles here and there and we’ve got to continue to execute.” The Eagle defense got some stops but Fort Chiswell has some many guys that can hurt you, it’s hard to track them all.

The next two Pioneer drives put the visitors up 21-6. Directly following Auburns score, QB/DB/KR 4 Bailey bounced the kickoff return up the middle then outside and 81-yards later he was in the endzone. Fort Chiswell added to their lead with only :54 left after that on another big play. RB/QB/DB 7 Isaac Dunford broke off a run 66 yards for another score.

Third Quarter –
Things got worse for the Eagles in the second half. On Auburn’s opening second half drive, QB 6 Kelley fumbled the ball back to the Pioneers at their own thirty one. Two plays later, QB 4 Bailey broke off a 37 yard run to paydirt. K 3 Kiger’s point after made it 28-7 Fort Chiswell.

Akers thought the more physical team won the contest, “They’re a good football team, well coached, and physical. That was kind of the premise of the game. They were more physical than we were.”

Fourth Quarter –
The Pioneers would add two more scores before Auburn broke into the scoring column again. Junior RB 10 Ezra Varney took it up the middle from 24 yards out followed by a 1 yard TD run by RB 2 Jude Reigelsperger with 2:35 left in the game.

Auburn wouldn’t quit though, and scored twice in the last two and a half minutes of the game to make the score closer. Eagle RBs 11 John Keith and 32 Ronnie Worth broke off big scoring runs. Keiths went for 74 yards while Worth’s was a 42 yard scamper. Coach Akers was proud of his team’s fight on the day, “I am always proud of our players resiliency. That’s something we preach in our program. They kept playing and I think that’s good. We have some things to get cleaned up.

Auburn (1-1) will travel next Saturday to take on Grayson County at noon on Saturday. – Cap’n Crunch

Offense: Rushing– Fort Chiswell – Bailey 8-87, 2TDs, Dunford 6-72, TD, Varney 11-54, TD, Reigelsperger 6-47, TD, Stoots 3-10, Kennedy 3-(-5)  Auburn– Keith 6-98, TD, Worth 5-60, TD, Kelley 18-29, TD, Marshall 10-25, Young 5-17, Thompson 1-10   Passing– Fort Chiswell – Bailey 1-7, 33   Auburn- Kelley 0/2, INT  Receiving– Fort Chiswell – Poole 1-33  Auburn – 0 Punting– Fort Chiswell – Bailey 4-16.5  Auburn – Kelley 4-28

Scoring:

• FC: Bailey 19-yard TD run: Kiger PAT
• A: Kelley 1-yard TD Run: PAT no good
• FC: Bailey 81-yard kickoff return for a TD: Kiger PAT
• FC: Dunford 66-yard TD run: Kiger PAT
• FC: Bailey 37-yard TD run: Kiger PAT
• FC: Varney 24-yard TD run: Kiger PAT
• FC: Reigelsperger 1-yard TD run; PAT no good
• A: Keith 74-yard TD run: PAT no good
• A: Worth 42-yard TD run; Tickle PAT