By Marty Gordon
Then there was one. Radford was knocked from the state Class 2 playoffs this past week when Appomattox rolled into town while Christiansburg routed Staunton River 28-0 to continue its path in Class 3.
Radford’s Landon Clark threw four touchdown passes and ran for another, but it wasn’t enough as the Bobcats fell 38-33 to finish the season 10-2.
Christiansburg used a steady dose of running left, running right, and then right up the gut, to pick up the win over Staunton River. The Blue Demons will now face Lord Botetourt in the Region 3D championship game.
The scouting report on Botetourt (11-1) is fairly simple: They like to run. In this past week’s win over Bassett, the Cavaliers rushed for 448 yards and scored six touchdowns.
Jakari Nicely rushed 25 times for 239 yards and four scores, and Cade Lang and Tristan Overbay completed the trifecta with 100 yards between them.
As part of the game plan of running the ball, Botetourt also tries to control the time of possession. In all 11 wins this season, they have doubled up that mark compared to the opponents. This past week against Bassett, Botetourt ran 75 plays.
Christiansburg will lean heavily on Tanner Evans, who threw a touchdown pass and ran an interception back for another. Evans has rushed for more than 700 yards this season.
The matchup with Botetourt is nothing new for Christiansburg as the two have faced twice in the past four years in the regional playoffs. Botetourt has played in six straight region title games, losing one to Abingdon last season. Last year, Botetourt beat Christiansburg enroute to the regional championship game.
At the beginning of the season, Christiansburg coach Alex Wilkens said Botetourt is the tale of the tape his team was striving to move through. “They are the team to beat,” he said.
Last year, Christiansburg used the word “disappointment” after the clock ran out in the 28-27 loss to Botetourt in the second round of the playoffs.
The contest was delayed for more than an hour when Botetourt’s team buses were stuck in traffic on Interstate 81 when three tractor-trailer accidents slowed movement. Kickoff was pushed back to 8 p.m. before finally getting underway by 8:15.
On the field, Christiansburg jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, but Botetourt answered score for score with a 14-14 game at halftime. But it was the first 10 seconds out of the locker room in the third quarter that changed the ball game.
Botetourt took the opening kickoff and ran it back 91 yards for a touchdown. The visitors then used a tough defense to force two Christiansburg fumbles and an interception. The biggest might have been a stop with less than three minutes remaining in the game after Christiansburg scored a touchdown to trail 28-27.
Wilkens rolled the dice and went for two and the win. Officials on the field ruled running back Stephan Mythril was stopped at the goal line.
But with time remaining, Wilkins rolled the dice a second time and executed an onside kick to perfection. In a play, he calls jail break, the Blue Demons bunched everyone up at the 50-yard line and tapped the ball off a Botetourt receiver.
After a 15-minute discussion by the officials, Christiansburg was awarded the ball. Ten seconds later, Tanner Evans tossed a long halfback pass to Travis Altizer to set up last minute heroics at the Botetourt 3-yard line. But the Christiansburg ball carrier fumbled the ball on the next play with Botetourt recovering and running out the final 90 seconds for the win.
The Blue Demons will now make a trip down to Daleville for a Friday night contest that should feature plenty of yardage with two teams that can light up the scoreboard.
Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. at Botetourt High School. For those not attending the game, it will be broadcast live beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Hot 100 FM radio.