Saturday, August 23, 2008
Knights ride big 2nd half to victory
Cave Spring bounces back from a 14-0 first-half deficit to defeat Alleghany.
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The sun set on Bogle Field at 8:02 Friday evening, none too early for the Cave Spring football team.
"It's Knight Time" proclaims the Cave Spring athletic slogan, and never was that more appropriate.
Spotting Alleghany two early touchdowns and going into halftime behind 20-7, the Knights engineered a strong second half to overcome the Mountaineers 28-20 in the opening game for both teams.
Cave Spring is already halfway to its win total of the past two seasons when it sported disappointing 2-8 marks.
Spurred by the reactivation of the double tight end set that he rode to a 10-2 record in 2005, his first year at the Knights' helm, coach Tim Fulton was excited about his team's comeback.
"We said at halftime it was time to grow up," Fulton said. "Everyone knows we're a bunch of young guys and we were uptight. We made some adjustments and expected to come back."
The Knights rolled up 292 rushing yards, most of that in the second half. Quarterback Josh Woodrum scored on an 80-yard gallop on the Knights' second offensive play of the third quarter, implementing some nifty ball fakes to his running backs.
"Misdirection plays are part of what we do," Fulton said, and Cave Spring runners Michael Cole (92 yards), Woodrum (70 yards), Corey Reese (56 yards), Zac Osborne (51 yards) and Adam Anderson (23 yards) all benefited from the Mountaineer defense committing one way and then realizing the ball was moving the other.
Osborne also scored a touchdown on a 45-yard reception at the end of the first half, grabbing Woodrum's fourth-down pass with one hand and then racing past the defense.
Alleghany started out in dominant fashion, stopping the Knights on a three-and-out to start the game and then moving the ball downfield at will. Running back Skyler Keene carried four consecutive plays and picked up 40 yards, rapidly moving the chains. Quarterback Ryan Kessinger, who connected on his first eight passes of the game, found Dakota Nicely on an eight-yard pass for the opening TD.
The Mountaineers went up 14-0 on the first play of the second quarter when Keene shed several tackles to score from the 8.
Cave Spring mounted its first serious drive late in the half, when the Knights moved 69 yards in six plays, the final 45 coming on Woodrum's pass to Osborne. But Keene quickly deflated the home fans' hopes when he returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards untouched.
But the second half was all Cave Spring. Alleghany managed just one first down.
"I don't think we did the things in the second half that we did in the first," said Alleghany coach Jack Baker.
Alleghany 6 14 0 0--20
Cave Spring 0 7 7 14--28
A-- Nicely 8 pass from Kessinger (kick blocked)
A-- Keene 8 run (Keene run)
CS-- Osborne 45 pass from Woodrum (Woodrum kick)
A-- Keene 96 kickoff return (kick blocked)
CS-- Woodrum 80 run (Woodrum kick)
CS-- Cole 10 run (Woodrum kick)
CS-- Reese 2 run (Woodrum kick)
AL CS
First downs 13 16
Yards rushing 109 292
Passes C-A-I 13-21-1 4-10-1
Yards passing 94 70
Penalties-yards 8-50 4-35
Fumbles-lost 0-0 3-0
Punts-average 4-35 3-29
Individual statistics
RUSHING -- Alleghany, Keene 8-67, Williamson 10-32, Kessinger 8-10; Cave Spring, Cole 12-92, Woodrum 6-70, Reese 13-56, Osborne 11-51, Anderson 4-23.
PASSING -- Alleghany, Kessinger 13-21-1 94; Cave Spring, Woodrum 4-10-1 70.
RECEIVING -- Alleghany, Nicely 4-34, Carter 4-31, Taylor 1-12, Tembo 1-6, Jackson 1-6, Crosier 1-3; Cave Spring, Maloney 2-15, Osborne 1-45, Jacobsen 1-10.
