By Marty Gordon
Christiansburg used a steady running attack and a stout defense enroute to defeat Lord Botetourt 34-7 Friday night to win the region D, Class 3 championship.
The title was the first in almost 15 years for the school, but one that has been in the works since Alex Wilkens took over as head coach six years ago.
After the win,Wilkens recalled those first years that included back-to-back shutouts by the same school they had just beaten in the region title game.
“We (the coaching staff) said in Year One, Botetourt is the team we had to get by in order to reach the top rung of the ladder,” Wilkens said. “They had set the gold standard, and we saw what we needed to do. It took a lot of hard work and time in the weight room, but we did it.”.
Christiansburg, which finished 0-10 in that first year, finished this season with a 10-3 record. Curtis Altizer rushed 11 times for 129 yards Friday night as the visitors from the New River Valley tallied 308 total yards on the ground. Tanner Evans added 117 yards.
But the key was the defense, which shut down a potent Botetourt offense that came into the contest averaging 300 yards per game on the ground.. Friday night Christiansburg held the six-time region champs to just 51 yards on the ground.
Next up for Christiansburg is Heritage High School, which claimed the Region C title over Liberty Christian Academy this past week.
Heritage enters the state semis with an 11-2 record, their only losses coming during the regular season 14-7 to Life Christian Academy and 49-7 to Dinwiddie. Heritage has wins over William Fleming 32-28, Appomattox 50-14, E.C. Glass 12-0, Rustburg, 34-22, Brookville 10-7, Jefferson Forest 24-0, Liberty 56-0, Staunton 35-0 and Brookville for a second time, 49-21.
The Region C champions outscored their opponents 392 to 192 this season.
Against Life Christian Academy this past week, Heritage quarterback Hov Bateman rushed for 105 yards, pushing him over 1,000 yards for the season. He also passed for 86 yards and accounted for all of the team’s three touchdowns. Rajan Booker added 45 yards rushing as Heritage won its sixth region title since Ron Bradley took over as head coach in 2012.
