Published: October 11, 2008 01:21 am            

Bulldogs stay in SWD hunt

TAZEWELL, Va. — It may be that a timeout with 7:48 to play will loom large in Tazewell’s season.

The Bulldogs had a pair of 29-yard touchdown runs, one by Cody Lockhart and another by Matt Muncy, combined with the ferocious defense of Brandon Flanner & Co. to power Tazewell (5-1, 3-1) past visiting Graham 20-6 in Southwest District action Friday.

Yet a fourth-quarter timeout called by THS coach Bobby Wyatt as the G-Men (3-5, 1-3) threatened to rumble downfield and perhaps take the lead was pivotal.

Dominique Lane had just scampered for 16 yards and then Kyle Harris raced for 24 more, 40 yards in two plays to give the G-Men a first down on Tazewell’s 36-yard line. Wyatt stopped play.

“I told the guys in no uncertain terms that we had to stop that blocking up the middle, they had to hold their spots and put an end to those big runs. We were able to do that well enough to turn things back our way,” Wyatt said.

Flanner and John Corner had successive tackles for the Bulldogs, and then Harris was stopped two yards short of a first down on fourth-and-13 to turn the ball back to Tazewell with 6:26 left.

The battling G-Men made a defensive stand, but Colton Cook’s booming 50-yard punt for the Dogs pushed the G-Men back to the 14-yard line and GHS could not overcome the deficit in the closing moments.

“Tonight was the biggest game so far of our season,” said Muncy, who had 11 carries for 54 yards and caught five passes for 103 more. “Graham knocked us out of the playoffs my freshman and sophomore years, and it was nice to beat them. This one is for our whole team.”

Eugene Hilton’s fumble recovery on the 44 set up Tazewell’s first touchdown in the second quarter.

Lockhart put the Bulldogs on the board with his scoring run. The sophomore southpaw looked left toward Brandon Pauley, then turned and zoomed between tacklers, diving into the right edge of the end zone with 8:11 remaining in the first half.

T. J. Rasnick, improving weekly after serious off-season illness, came in to drill the PAT for his first extra point of the season as the Dogs went up 7-0.

An amazing play by Dustin Dean paved the way for the next score. Graham’s David Marrs had pinned Tazewell back on the two-yard line with his punt and the Dogs were unable to move the ball.

Dean managed to run from his own 10 down to the opposite 30 on Cook’s punt and grab a bobbled pigskin to give Tazewell a golden opportunity.

Lockhart tossed a perfect “touch” pass which Muncy converted into a 22-yard gain. Muncy then rambled to the three on the next carry.

Fullback Andrew Rhudy, out the previous two weeks, bulled his way over the goal line for the touchdown on the third play of the drive. The kick was blocked and THS led 13-0 with just 39 second left in the half.

Kyle Harris picked up 50 yards in two carries to begin the third stanza for Graham, moving the ball from the GHS 12-yard line to the Tazewell 38, and Zach Mickel gained 20 more on successive carries.

Harris carried a pair of Bulldog defenders into the end zone with him on an 11-yard scoring run with 8:16 left in the third frame. Tazewell’s Luke Allison got a hand on the extra point try, however, and THS maintained a 13-6 advantage.

Muncy saved a touchdown for THS on the next series.

Graham’s Austin Bokish intercepted a Lockhart aerial on the Graham 25 in full stride, running all the way to the Tazewell 18 before Muncy caught him. Corner tackled Harris, then Zach Pauley made two key plays for the men in green.

Pauley stopped Marrs on a tackle, then on the next play recovered a fumble following a high snap that rolled free on the 15-yard line.

The Bulldogs began rolling upfield and Muncy capped the march with a high-speed jaunt into the end zone around left end with 8:24 to play. Rasnick’s kick split the uprights and THS led 20-6.

Rhudy, who also had 11 tackles, said, “This makes you realize how much you will miss all this, so what we want to do is make this season last.”

Graham outrushed Tazewell 237-146 but the Bulldogs picked up 134 yard passing as Lockhart hit on 11-of-16 attempts. Marrs completed three passes for 17 yards but had some second half passes dropped. Graham led 15-12 in first downs.

Lane had 17 carries for 80 yards and Harris gained 99 more on 15 carries. Mickel added 53 more on the ground. Dean and Lockhart finished with 30 yards rushing for the Bulldogs. Pauley caught three passes for 25 yards.

Tazewell had 7 penalties for 60 yards and the G-Men were whistled eight times for 75 yards.

The Bulldogs play at Marion Friday. Graham has a bye week before hosting Abingdon on Oct. 24.



At Bulldog Stadium

Graham..................................0 6 0 0 — 6

Tazewell.................................0 13 0 7 — 20

Second Quarter

T—Lockhart, 29-yard run (Rasnick kick)

T—Rhudy, 3-yard run (kick blocked)

Third Quarter

G—Harris, 11-yard run (kick blocked)

Fourth Quarter

T—Muncy, 29-yard run (Rasnick kick)

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.