The shorthanded Rockbridge County High School football team suffered a 55-9 home loss to Shenandoah District rival Buffalo Gap on Friday night at Prasnicki-Ross Field at Veterans Stadium in Lexington.
Missing several starters due to injuries in the firstever meeting between the two teams, the Wildcats (0-6 overall, 0-4 district) struggled to keep up with the single wing offense of Buffalo Gap (2-4, 1-3), which led 13-0 after the first quarter and increased its lead to 27-2 by halftime.
It was RARO Night, with the Rockbridge Area Recreation Organization’s youth football players and cheerleaders recognized on the field before the game, but the Wildcats didn’t do much to impress the extra home fans who showed up to support youth sports.
The Bison, whose lone win prior to last Friday night was a 50-0 nondistrict trouncing of Bath County on Sept. 5, wasted no time in getting their offense going. Gap went to running back Isaac Goff on its first drive, who carried the ball four times before making a 33-yard run to the end zone. RC sophomore linebacker Asher Wells stopped the attempted two-point conversion run by BG’s Bradley Shiplett, but the Bison led 6-0 just under three minutes into the game.
On the ensuing drive, the Wildcats made several runs to reach midfield, but the Bison forced a turnover on downs. After a series of runs, BG scored on a 4-yard TD run by quarterback Cooper Reed, and Maddox Roach converted the extra-point kick to extend the Bison lead to 13-0 with 1:05 left in the first quarter.
The Wildcats enjoyed success in moving the ball down the field on their next possession, with quick runs by RC freshman quarterback Taylan Tyree, who led the Wildcats with 72 rushing yards on 10 carries. After Tyree connected with Andrew Kelly on a 6-yard pass to get the Wildcats to the BG 20-yard line, Tyree made a 17-yard run to put RC three yards from the end zone. Tyree then got them a yard away, but he was tackled for a 1-yard loss, and the Wildcats would turn the ball over on downs at the BG 2-yard line.
Despite the missed opportunity to score a TD, the Wildcats used the field position to their advantage, as RC’s defense pushed the Bison back to their 1-yard line and then sacked Reed in the end zone for a safety that cut BG’s lead to 13-2 with 7:01 left in the first half.
After stopping the Wildcats near midfield on their next possession, the Bison went back to their running game, with Reed making a 66-yard dash into the end zone. Roach’s PAT extended BG’s lead to 20-2 with 4:10 left in the first half.
On RC’s next possession, the BG defense stepped up again when Dalton Coffey intercepted Tyree and ran the ball back 52 yards for a TD, with Roach’s PAT extending the Bison lead to 27-2 with 1:42 before halftime.
The Bison continued to apply their running game in the second half, scoring two more rushing TDs to extend their advantage to 41-2 in the third quarter.
BG started the second half with a successful onsides kick to bring the Bison to the Wildcat 22-yard line. From there, Reed connected with Shiplett for a TD pass, and Roach’s PAT made it 34-2 just 38 seconds into the half.
The Bison then intercepted Tyree again, with Zane Emurian picking him off before going down at the RC 30-yard line. After a series of runs, BG would score again on a 2-yard run by Emurian, and Roach’s PAT extended the visitors’ lead to 41-2 with 8:41 left in the third quarter.
BG scored another TD just under two minutes into the fourth quarter on a 6-yard run by Brandon Argenbright, and Roach’s PAT made it 48-2.
However, the Wildcats weren’t done battling. On the ensuing drive, Kelly and Tyree made a series of runs to get RC into Bison territory. After a penalty pushed the Wildcats back to the BG 28-yard line on secondand- 19, Tyree escaped defenders and ran into the end zone from there for RC’s lone TD of the game. Aiden Meyers converted the extra-point kick to cut BG’s lead to 48-9 with 5:23 left.
The Bison added one more rushing TD with 1:26 left, on a 1-yard run by Walker Thompson, and Roach’s PAT completed the scoring.
Assessing his team’s effort, RC head coach Zack Rhodenizer said, “Considering the number of injuries we had tonight, I thought the guys played as hard as they could. We had a couple 10th-graders come out and start, gave us everything they had. No complaints there.”
Among the RC starters out with injuries starting running back Marshall Earhart, linebacker Grayden Brown and tight end Cole Hartless. Eli Watkins stepped in at tight end for Hartless, and Wildcats stepping up defensively included Wells, making several tackles, Shayde Tomlin and Piercen Knick. Wells and Tomlin are sophomores, while Knick is a junior.
Although he was sacked several times and threw two interceptions, Tyree had the best offensive game of any Wildcat. In addition to his 72 rushing yards, he completed 10-of-17 passes for 72 yards. Meyers led RC’s receivers with six catches for 56 yards. Kelly made three catches for 15 yards and rushed for 43 yards on 10 carries, but he and Tyree were the only two Wildcats to run the ball.
The Bison, meanwhile, put up monstrous offensive numbers, led by Reed, who rushed for 126 yards on five totes and completed 2-of-7 passes for 35 yards. Goff carried the ball 10 times for 105 yards, and Argenbright rushed for 48 yards on four carries.
As a team, the Bison racked up 409 total yards of offense, with 374 rushing yards and 35 passing yards, while the Wildcats managed just 187 yards, 115 rushing and 72 passing.
Giving credit to the Bison, Rhodenizer said, “They’re embedded in their system. They know what they want to do. They have an identity. They stick to it. It’s hard to replicate in practice. That’s one of the things that makes the single wing [offense] tough. Tip of the cap to them. They played hard.”
The Wildcats, who have started 0-6 for the third consecutive season, will continue district action next Friday when they travel to Fishersville to take on Wilson Memorial (4-1, 3-0) at 7 p.m.
Looking forward to another challenge against the Green Hornets, Rhodenizer said, “They’re doing a good job up there. We know in the Shenandoah that every team is basically a playoff team… We’ll get in the film, we’ll have a plan, we’ll practice hard all week, and then we’ll come out Friday night and we’ll give it everything we’ve got.”
WILDCAT DEFENSIVE back Pat Looney (5) attempts to tackle Buffalo Gap’s Bradley Shiplett as RC’s Andrew Kelly approaches. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
RC ASSISTANT coach Dan Taylor goes over a play with senior lineman Caleb Robinson. (Stephanie Mikels Blevins photo)
