Devils dominate Raiders 55-20 to retain the Lantern
Rustburg High School, Rustburg, VA – Dominating defense, superior offense, and key coaching led to a strong lead in the first half for Rustburg, and the Red Devils never looked back.
Rustburg received the opening kickoff of the game. The Devils drove the field culminating in an early 31-yard run touchdown by RB/LB 24 Marshaun Rosser. Later in the first half, Rosser was at it again, scrambling for a 61-yard score. Rosser has a combination of size and speed that makes him hard to negotiate on the gridiron.
Rustburg’s defense stood strong in the first half as well stopping the run and shutting down the pass. WR/CB 4 Alex Dunn had “a day” with 3 interceptions, all in the first half. Two of them resulting in “pick 6” touchdowns, from 80 and 50 yards, respectively. Rustburg went into the half up 35-0
Appomattox came out in the 2nd half focused on their running game. WR/FS 2 Max Nitti swept around the end for a clear open shot to the end zone. Appomattox put up 2 more touchdowns in the second half, missing on one extra point.
Rustburg, for their part, added two more touchdowns on the ground and then the defense got into the act again with a “scoop and score” fumble recovery by DE 27 JaVaughn Andrews to seal the deal.
Much to the delight of packed Rustburg crowd, the Devils walked away with a 55-20 win over the Raiders.
Rustburg improves to 2-0, as Appomattox falls to 0-2 on the year.
After the game, Rustburg was presented with the lantern, which is the annual trophy the two neighboring schools play for in their series. Rustburg Coach Dustin Russell was happy with the win but also had a message for his team, “this is the platform and structure we need to carry us deep in the season. The aggressive play must continue week-in and week-out. It all starts at practice and plays out to Friday night.”
No truer words were spoken.
When Dunn was asked about the interceptions, he was a bit surprised by his night, “I have never had any in my life, till tonight, had an interception, and to have had 3 with 2 being pick six’s, this is crazy.” – Allen Bailey