Botetourt shuts our Blue Demons in first round of the playoffs
Lord Botetourt High School, Daleville, Va. – One thing was clear on Saturday afternoon in the Region 3D Semi Finals. The Lord Botetourt Cavaliers are on a mission. The Cavs beat a good Christiansburg team soundly, 55-0. Coach Alex Wilken’s Blue Demons came into Daleville with hopes of containing the Cavs, but the home team was having none of that. Lord Botetourt’s offense scored on their first five possessions before the visitors stopped them on a first down sack as time on the clock ran out on the first half. The Cavalier offense was impressive, highlighted by two TD tosses from QB 1 Sammy Peery to TE 44 Zach Horton for the game’s first two scores. It’s hard to account for a big TE who can catch it and run like Horton. Two more scores were provided by Senior RB 22 Dylan Wade on the ground. LB Coach Jamie Harless was glad to advance but also complimentary of the Blue Demons, “Christiansburg is a good football team. They’ve played some tough opponents, Salem, Pulaski, Patrick Henry…” Botetourt will now move on to face Abingdon at home 
who was a 42-0 winner over Carroll County.
First Quarter – Lord Botetourt kicked the ball to Christiansburg to start the game. A brisk wind was behind the Cavs to start, and that would play into the game early on. Junior K 6 Bryson Harvey booted the ball into the end zone, so Christiansburg took over at their own twenty. The Cavalier defense established themselves right from the jump.
New River Valley Crunch Cover of same game
On first down Blue Demon QB 8 Casey Graham lost four yards. On second down, MLB/RB 10 Hunter Rice tackled TE/LB 9 Drew Lloyd for no gain after a short pass. Then on third the pressure came and DL 52 Troy Everett tackled RB 42 Kenyon Johnson-Buchannon for a six yard loss. Botetourt’s defense is an aggressive, all out unit. They pin their ears back and come after you.
Lord Botetourt’s defense swarms to the ball
DB/QB 10 Avery Chaffin and the rest of the Floyd County defense join together to get a stop on fourth down
This would prove true all day long. After a 29-yard punt by WR/DB/P 7 M.J. Hunter, and a 
Cavalier 10-yard penalty, Botetourt took over at the Christiansburg forty nine. It took Coach Jamie Harless’ squad just six plays to start the scoring. Starting in the wildcat, two big carries by RB 10 Hunter Rice for eight yards apiece moved the ball to the Blue Demon thirty-three. After a LB holding penalty on a run by RB 22 Dylan Wade, Cav QB 1 Sammy Peery found one of his favorite targets, WR 4 Kyle Arnholt for thirty one yards down to the Christiansburg fourteen. The Blue Demons held RB 22 Wade on two carries for short gains, pushing the Cavs to third down.
But then stepped in “ole reliable” – TE 44 Zach Horton. Horton caught the Peery toss out into the flat and took it the balance for six points. K 6 Bryson Harvey banged through the point after and at the Cavs led 7-0 at the 7:13 mark. Christiansburg second offensive series went much like the first. A Cavalier sack of QB 8 Graham for a five yard loss by LB/FB/TE 24 Nic Pitzer and DB 8 Cade Lang put the Blue Demons behind the sticks looking at second down. Two plays later, the Demons would punt it back to LB to their own forty-five, giving them another short field. The wind didn’t help Christiansburg, as P 7 Hunter did a good job keeping his punts low. The combination of no first downs by the Blue Demons and then having to punt into that wind worked in the Cavalier’s favor.
Botetourt TE/DE 44 Zach Horton scores the games first TD
Botetourt TE 44 Horton scores his second touchdown
Floyd County’s defense stood tall on Thursday night against the Cougars
It took the home team only five plays to make it a two touchdown lead. Again, the combination of QB 1 Peery to TE 44 Horton turned the trick for Botetourt. This time the toss, catch and run covered sixteen yards.
Second Quarter – Botetourt added to their lead on their third drive which ended in the second quarter.
The Cavalier offensive line opens up a hole for RB 22 Dylan Wade’s 1-yard TD
The Floyd County defense was really the star of the first half and possibly the game. The Buffalo defense held the ‘run minded’ Cougars to only 38-yards in the first half, and 114 total yards on the night.
At 10:22, RB 22 Dylan Wade took in on the ground from a yard out. As the Cavs rested RB 10 Rice on offense, Wade took over the reigns at running back. He toted the ball four out of the last five carries behind the big Offensive line of the Cavs. Lord Botetourt would add two more scores before the break – another one-yard TD run by RB 22 Wade
Botetourt RB 22 Wade scores from a yard out again
and a perfectly thrown and caught, 65-yard pass from QB 1 Peery to WR 4 Arnholt racing down the middle of the field. The Senior caught it in stride and was gone.”
Cav WR/DB 4 Kyle Arnholt finishes off a 65-yard TD pass from QB 1 Sammy Perry
Arnholt would leave the game before half with an injury. Botetourt’s defense was equally impressive holding a very good Christiansburg team to zero first downs in the first half. Lord Botetourt’s led 35-0 at the break.
Christiansburg Head Coach Alex Wilkens directs his troops
Third Quarter – The Cavs added to the margin at the beginning of the second half. It took four plays for their next score, but two of them were called back due to penalties. Their worst enemy on the day may have been themselves as they were flagged seven times for seventy yards on the day. All that was erased on the drive when QB 1 Peery found Sophomore WR 28 Cameron Orange for forty seven yards. On the next play, RB 22 Wade took it in on the ground from twenty yards out.
Botetourt RB 22 Dylan Wade scores his third touchdown
Adding insult to injury, on Chrisiansburg’s next possession the Demons looked like they would get something established after a QB 8 Casey Graham to TE 20 Tyrique Taylor for twenty one yards out to the thirty five. But it just wasn’t the Blue Demons day. After a yard loss, and a DE 44 Horton sack of Graham back to the twenty eight, the LB defense got into the scoring act for red and gray. Botetourt’s Peery, also a defensive back, picked up a Blue Demon fumble at the C-burg twenty two and motored that same distance for a defensive score.
Cavalier DB/QB 1 Sammy Peery completes a ‘scoop and score’ on a Blue Demon fumble
K 6 Harvey had a rare miss on the point after and it was 48-0 Botetourt.
Fourth Quarter – Botetourt backup QB/DB 7 K.J. Bratton added the finishing touches on the day’s scoring with a four yard TD run half way through the fourth quarter to make it 55-0.
Backup QB 7 K.J. Bratton scores the games final points for Botetort
Christiansburg had a tough day, but that shouldn’t take anything away from Coach Alex Wilken’s Blue Demons and their season. C-burg faced maybe the toughest schedule in the area during this crazy, Covid-marked spring football season starting with Salem, Pulaski County, Patrick Henry, and now Lord Botetourt. Out of their seven games, four were playoff teams.
Lord Botetourt will now go on the face their Coach’s alma mater, Abingdon, next Friday night. The Falcons got the 42-0 win over Carroll County on the other side of the bracket. – Cap’n Crunch
Coach Harless and Coach Wilkens shake hands after the game
Offense:
Rushing –
Lord Botetourt – Wade 16-100, 2TDs, Bratton 7-62, TD, Overbay 7-53, Rice 2-16, Peery 3-15, Nicely 2-6, Carter 2-3
Christiansburg – Graham 8 -(-21), Johnson-Buchannon 6-0, Lloyd 4-17, Cunningham 3-6, Evans 3-7
Passing –
Lord Botetourt– Peery 13/15-227, 3TDs Christiansburg – Graham 5/12-38, Evans 1/2-32, Hunter 0/1-0
Receiving–
Lord Botetourt – Arnholt 5-128, TD, Horton 7-73, 2TDs, Orange 1-27 Christiansburg – Altizer 3-19, Lloyd 2-30, Taylor 1-21
Punting–
Lord Botetourt – No punts
Christiansburg – Hunter 7-32 yd avg
Scoring:
• Lord Botetourt: Peery 9-yd TD pass to Horton; Harvey PAT good
• Lord Botetourt: Peery 16-yd TD pass to Horton; Harvey PAT good
• Lord Botetourt: Wade 1-yd TD run; Harvey PAT good
• Lord Botetourt: Wade 1-yd TD run; Harvey PAT good
• Lord Botetourt: Peery 65-yd TD pass to Arnholt; Harvey PAT good
• Lord Botetourt: Wade 20-yd TD run; Harvey PAT good
• Lord Botetourt: Peery 22-yd fumble return for a TD; PAT no good
• Lord Botetourt: Bratton 4-yd TD run; Harvey PAT good
