Maroons get hard fought 35-7 win over Giles in Pearisburg
Ragsdale Field, Pearisburg, VA – It was an uncharacteristically quiet night at Giles High School during the Spartans – Maroons match-up. The stands were still packed and students were out in droves; but the iconic Giles train horn was silent thanks to an impressive 35-7 victory on the road by George Wythe.
Both Giles and Wythe were run first, pass if we have to teams on Friday. However, each squad took a different approach. Giles operated as if they’re backs were living pieces in a shell game, making the Maroons guess as to who had the ball. The Spartans three main options, RB 4 Khalik Saunders, RB 23 Jackson Parsell and RB 5 Christian Ratcliffe were all big play threats. George Wythe found the Giles coin more times than not, but it only takes one slip-up to get burned.
Ratcliffe scalded the Maroons defense early on, breaking free for the Spartans only score of the game on a 69-yard TD run early in the 1st quarter.
George Wythe’s Coach Harner was impressed with his team’s adjustments against the stacked Spartan backfield, “We had to change up everything we do to break them down, our kids really stepped up… on both sides of the ball, I’m just proud of how they played.”
The Maroons had to overcome an injury to starting QB 2 Luke Jollay. Twin brother RB 6 Ben Jollay, RB 1 Laden Houston and RB 10 Leyton Fowler all picked up their game to compensate, combining for 338 rushing yards and three TD’s. “Luke Jollay isn’t just a quarterback, he’s a leader,” Coach Harner emphasized, “These seniors, they’re a special bunch and we could be really good, I just hope we can get Luke back on the field.”
Most of the scoring action occurred during the first quarter, three possessions in a row to be exact. Luke Jollay punched in the first score of the night and Ratcliffe slipped through the George Wythe defense to tie up the game a minute later. Ben Jollay muscled through the Giles kick-off squad for a 34-yard kick-off return and Fowler broke inside the Spartan 20-yard line leading to Tandom Smith’s first score. Five minutes later, Smith was in the end zone again, rounding out the first quarter by contributing to the majority of the 21-7 Maroon lead.
The second quarter moved much slower due to both squads’ defenses stepping up. GW punted the ball away after a host of Spartans stopped Smith’s third down QB sneak and Maroons countered Giles’s deceptive backs forcing a punt. The only score of the quarter came by way of Ben Jollay. Over six rushes, Jollay advanced his squad from the Maroon 23 to the end zone rushing for 73 yards.
The 3rd quarter was all about long drives with no pay outs. GW again leaned on Jollay during an 11 play drive but the Spartan defense lead by 34 Jacob Edwards and 35 Jaylan Baylor stopped the Maroons around the Spartan 30 yard line. Giles responded with a 14 play drive that carried into the fourth quarter but a combination of penalties and George Wythe “D” stopped the Spartans at the edge of the red zone.
GW opened the fourth by sticking the ball into the hands of Fowler who trucked forward for 37 yards over six consecutive carries to put his team in a position to score. Houston finished the drive off with a clean 26 yard TD run, slipping through the Giles defense virtually untouched.
With seven minutes left in the contest, Giles needed to score quickly, but
the football gods weren’t in the home bleachers tonight. A sloppy snap was recovered by GW’s Fowler and the Maroon’s maintained control for the rest of the game. During their last drive Freshman TE Camden Skeens got to give running back a try, picking up 13 yards over a handful of carries.
With no time on the clock, GW emerged victorious 35-7, remaining undefeated in the Mountain Empire district. Next week the Maroons head to Carroll County to take on the Cougars and the Spartans head to Narrows to take on their Green jersey rivals. – Graham Whitaker
Offense:
Rushing – George Wythe – Ben Jollay 17/142, TD, Laden Houston 8/112, TD, Leyton Fowler 11/84, Tandom Smith 7/18, 2TD, Camden Skeens 5/17, Caleb Campbell 1/10, Luke Jollay 1/3, TD, Giles – Christian Ratcliffe 11/121, TD, Khalik Saunders 5/19, Jackson Parsell 13/16, Jaylan Baylor 1/6, Kenneth Griggs 1/3
Passing – George Wythe – Tandom Smith 4/8, 69, Luke Jollay 2/2, 20 Giles– Jackson Parsell 1/4, 16
Receiving – George Wythe – Laden Houston 3/62, Brady Walters 3/27 Giles – Aaron Miller 1/14
Punting – George Wythe – Leyton Fowler 1/45 Giles – A.J. Caldwell 5/28
Scoring:
First Quarter –
• George Wythe: L. Jollay 3-yd run; Mitchell PAT (8:08)
• Giles: C. Ratcliffe 69-yd run; Edwards PAT (7:11)
• George Wythe: T. Smith 5-yd run; Mitchell PAT (5:43)
• George Wythe: T. Smith 12-yd run; Mitchell PAT (0:32)
Second Quarter –
• George Wythe: B. Jollay 6-yd run; Mitchell PAT (3:09)
Third Quarter –
Fourth Quarter –
• George Wythe: L. Houstan 26-yd run; Mitchell PAT (7:23)
