Friday, Sept. 5 -- Turner Ashby defeated the Rockbridge County High School football team 44-6 in the Wildcats' home opener in Lexington.
Zachary Grove completed 9-of-11 passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns in a dominant first half for the Knights (2-0), who led 38-0 at the break against their former Valley District rivals.
Andrew Kelly rushed for 88 yards on 19 carries for the Wildcats (0-2), and he scored RC's lone touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
After the 'Cats punted on their first possession, TA marched down the field on a 7-play, 58-yard scoring drive, going in front for good on Grove's 29-yard TD toss to Mason Mantz. A missed extra point made it 6-0 with 5:44 to go in the first quarter.
The Knights' next four drives all started in RC territory, and they all culminated in touchdowns. David Bondaruk's 7-yard run and a 20-yard dash from Ethan Farrish stretched the visitors' cushion to 19-0 by the end of the first quarter.
While the Wildcats never turned the ball over, a tough night in net punting -- TA's Cooper Smith had punt returns of 30 and 34 yards in the first half -- kept putting the RC defense in a tight spot. The Knights cashed in again early in the second stanza when Grove's 20-yard pass to Devin Smiley and Gavin Knopp's extra point pushed the margin to 26-0 with 8:25 to go.
Following another RC three-and-out, Colton Pence's 11-yard touchdown plunge extended TA's lead to 32-0 at the 4:44 mark. Later in the quarter, David Breneman punched the ball in from six yards out, capping off a 4-play, 67-yard series -- the Knights' longest drive by yardage in the game -- and completing the 38-0 halftime advantage.
TA opened the second half with another scoring possession, and Brennan Batman's 5-yard TD run with 6:37 left in the third quarter made it 44-0.
The Wildcats responded with their lone touchdown drive. Kelly amassed 66 of his rushing yards on 10 totes on the series, and his 1-yard touchdown run with 9:15 remaining in the fourth got RC on the board.
Pence led TA with 63 yards on just six carries, while Farrish notched 44 yards on five attempts and Batman finished with 10 rushes for 37 yards. Mantz caught four passes for 52 yards, and Smiley added three receptions for 32 yards.
Taylan Tyree completed 4-of-9 passes for 44 yards for RC, and Aiden Meyers caught two of those balls for 37 yards. Overall, though, TA limited the Wildcats to just 108 yards of total offense.
RC will open up Shenandoah District action with a 7 p.m. kickoff at Staunton next Friday.
