River football team makes a big step toward playoffs with win over Chargers
The James River Knights have been knocking on the door of the Pioneer District when it comes to the football championship. Last week, they kicked it in.
The Knights dominated Bath County 26-7 for just their second win over the Chargers in this century. If James River can defeat Craig County this Friday night in Buchanan, River will be sole champion of the Pioneer District and break a string of nine consecutive years in which Bath County has either won or shared the district championship.
Zach Ewen kicks an PAT in River's win over Bath County. -photo by Ed McCoy
“That was a big win for our kids, it was a big win for our program, and it was a big win for the school,” said James River coach Philip King. “We played like we expected to win.”
River is considered to be more of a passing than a running team, but the Knights surprised the Chargers with their ability to move the football on the ground. The Knights had 195 yards rushing, which is a season high against quality competition. Three backs had over 40 yards, with Ian Johnson leading the team with 79 yards on 16 carries. Brandon Garrett had 49 yards on 10 carries while quarterback Jordan Talbott had 17 carries for 42 yards. Jonathan Falls also contributed 17 yards on three attempts.
“They wanted to make us one dimensional,” said King. “But our offensive line played great and the running backs read their keys and made their cuts and we were able to move the ball.”
King had high praise for the line, which included Russell Rexrode, Dillon Johnson, Daniel Draper, Dylan Newcomb and Will Bowling. This unit played well in both run blocking and pass blocking, as the Knights also gained 210 yards through the air for a total of 405 yards from scrimmage.
Talbott completed 13 of 21 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns. He now has 1,827 yards for the season and has a great chance to pass the 2,000-yard mark this week against Craig. And, if the Knights win, he’ll have the playoffs to add to that number.
Falls had four catches for 20 yards for River while Jeff Johnson had two catches for 49 yards and two TDs. Chris Ware had three catches for 93 yards and K.W. King had three for 35.
The Knights never trailed and, in fact, kept Bath County off the scoreboard until the fourth quarter. Garrett scored the first touchdown, followed by a 31-yard TD pass from Talbott to Johnson with 54 seconds left in the first quarter for a 13-0 lead, as Zach Ewen kicked the extra point.
Another Talbott to Johnson hookup, this time for 18 yards, gave River a 20-0 lead with 1:20 remaining in the half. River was in charge, but King wasn’t counting chickens just yet.
“We were in control, but we got in the red zone twice and didn’t score,” he said. “You always worry when you leave scoring opportunities out there.”
Talbott punched one over for a 26-0 lead on the first drive of the third quarter and the writing was on the wall, especially the way the River defense was playing. The Knights held Bath to 76 yards rushing and 221 total yards.
“We forced them to be one-dimensional,” said King. “I was really pleased with our defense. We held them on fourth and short four or five times.”
Jordan Brogan, who has been sensational late in the season, led River with 12 tackles, a sack and a pass breakup. Jeff Johnson had 12 tackles, K.W. King had 11, and Ian Johnson had 10. Johnson also made the big defensive play of the game, sacking the quarterback and forcing a fumble, then recovering the fumble himself. That was in the fourth quarter and pretty much ended any hope Bath had of making a comeback.
Brandon Rodriguez had 11 tackles and Rexrode had 10 and a sack. Talbott had eight tackles and an interception, and Ware had an interception.
With the win the Knights improved to 3-0 in the district and they can get back to .500 at 5-5 with a win over Craig in Buchanan this Friday. The Knights won’t be taking the 2-8 Rockets for granted.
“They have a solid football team and they play hard,” said King. “This is too big a game for us to take them for granted.”
