WYTHEVILLE -- George Wythe's Brandon Davis wore the expected grass-stained football pants and a damp and dirty maroon No. 2 jersey leaving the field after Friday night's clash with archrival Rural Retreat.

But on his head, Davis wore an ornate king's crown.

Davis' headgear, earned at halftime when he was named Homecoming King, seemed oddly appropriate because his catch in the closing minutes sealed a 28-13 victory that spurred George Wythe ever closer to its goal of being king of the Hogoheegee District. The Maroons improved to 7-1, 3-0 in the district while the Indians fell to 6-2, 2-1.

George Wythe has home games with Northwood next week and Chilhowie Nov. 2. "We know we have to win the rest of our games and win our district," Maroons coach Donnie Pruitt said. "The way [Division 2] Region C is, two losses might not get you in the playoffs."

No matter where George Wythe is going, it has to be reassuring that the airways are open. They certainly were against the spunky Indians, who fell to 7-19 all-time against their Wythe County neighbor. Maroons quarterback Jacob Sharitz had one of his best evenings as a passer, completing nine of 16 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns.

None was more thrilling (or horrifying, depending on the point of view) than the clincher to Davis, a 32-yarder that the swift and lanky wide receiver dove for in the end zone after successfully put a sliver of space between himself and the defender.

"Brandon Davis is ridiculous," Sharitz said. "He catches anything I throw to him. That last one was crazy. He beat the safety then beat the DB then he just cut back and got the ball with an awesome catch."

In all, Davis had three catches for 118 yards. Robert Yonce had four catches for 64 yards.

Brett Grimes' conversion boot following the Davis score with 2:13 left effectively ended the Indians' hopes. The timing was even more critical in view of the fact Rural Retreat had just driven 80 yards in 11 crisp plays capped by Josh Simons' 2-yard plunge for six with 6:12 left. When the run for two was stuffed, George Wythe was clinging to a 21-13 lead.

Rural Retreat scored all its points in the second half after trailing at the break 14-0. Seth White's 15-yard sprint and Grimes' kick gave the Maroons a 21-0 lead with 3:58 showing in the third.

Then Sharitz misread the defense and threw an interception directly to linebacker Terry Fields, who returned the theft 20 yards to the George Wythe 9. That was the second of Sharitz's two interceptions.

Three plays later, sophomore quarterback Justin Stoneman burrowed in from the 1 to finally put the Indians on the scoreboard.

"I told them when we came in the first half, you can't sit back and wait for things to happen," Indians coach Quinton Hensley said. "I don't know. It just seemed like we were a little tentative."

Rural Retreat 0 0 7 6--13

George Wythe 6 8 7 7--28

GW -- McCoy 19 run (kick failed)

GW -- Smith 16 pass from Sharitz (Sharitz run)

GW -- White 15 run (Grimes kick)

RR -- Stoneman 1 run (Wright kick)

RR -- Simons 2 run (run failed)

GW -- Davis 32 pass from Sharitz (Grimes kick)

RR GW

First downs 13 14

Yards rushing 144 152

Passes C-A-I 7-17-1 9-16-2

Yards passing 93 196

Penalties-yards 2-20 7-59

Fumbles-lost 2-1 2-1

Punts-average 4-30.7 2-40.5

Individual statistics

RUSHING -- Rural Retreat, Harrison 18-87, Simons 11-34, Stoneman 13-23. George Wythe, McCoy 12-83, White 10-36, Smith 7-20, Sharitz 2-5, Atwell 1-8.

PASSING -- Rural Retreat, Stoneman 7-17-1-93. George Wythe, Sharitz 9-16-2-196.

RECEIVING -- Rural Retreat, Rider 6-82, Harmon 1-11. George Wythe, Davis 3-118, Yonce 4-64, White 1-8, Smith 1-16.