varsity.roanoke.com

Marcus Yam | The Roanoke Times

William Byrd's Dylan Hurt (left) makes contact with Lord Botetourt's Josh Colombini during Friday's Blue Ridge District football game.

varsity.roanoke.com

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After carrying the football 34 times Friday night, William Byrd quarterback Derrick Palmer might have had this thought when he took another snap from center late in the fourth quarter:

No thanks, I'll pass.

Good idea. Palmer's 22-yard lob to Brian Fuquay with 6:28 to play was the clinching touchdown as Byrd opened defense of its Blue Ridge District title with a 20-10 homecoming victory over Lord Botetourt.

Palmer, who ran for 137 yards and two TDs on 35 carries, executed a perfect play fake and found Fuquay wide open behind the Botetourt secondary to give Byrd (5-3, 1-0) a 10-point lead. Subsequent interceptions by defensive end Frank Miller and linebacker Tyler Snow punctuated the victory for the Terriers, who saw a playoff bid slip away with a loss to the Cavaliers on their home field in 2006.

"It means a lot," Palmer said. "We came out as the defending champion and being picked to finish third, we have a lot to prove. We took a lot of pride this week as defending champs."

Whether operating at quarterback or running back, Palmer was the focal point of Byrd's offense all night.

The 5-foot-10, 160-pound junior completed all three of his passes for 45 yards and scored on runs of 1 and 4 yards in the first half as the Terriers took a 14-7 halftime lead.

Botetourt (2-6, 0-1) cut the deficit to 14-10 on a 42-yard field goal by Troy McNeil early in the third quarter, but Palmer's 19-yard punt return early in the fourth period gave Byrd field position at the Cavaliers' 38, and he found Fuquay for the game-clincher seven plays later.

All Fuquay had to do was avoid dropping the ball to become an instant homecoming hero.

"We were running the ball all night," Fuquay said. "The safety was biting on the run. I knew he was going to bite on the run and we were going to score. I had to make sure I got the yards. It was a big play.

"It's great. My first year getting time playing varsity. I stepped up for the team and helped us out."

Botetourt could not generate offense in the wet field conditions in the second half. Running back Josh Colombini broke a 16-yard TD run for a 7-0 lead on the game's first possession, but the Cavaliers barely had 100 yards total offense the rest of the night.

Byrd intercepted three passes from Botetourt quarterback Emory Straub and sacked him on a fourth-and-4 call from the Byrd 34 in the second quarter.

"Our defense has been suspect all year," Botetourt coach Tater Benson said.

"They stepped it up tonight and played well enough for us to win this football game. Offensively, we can't expect to win games in this district scoring 10 points."

Botetourt played the first half without middle linebacker Ronnie Costa, whom Benson said was suspended for two quarters because of a violation of a team rule.

Byrd welcomed the return of its own star linebacker, reigning Blue Ridge defensive player of the year Tyler Snow.

The 6-foot-3, 225-pound James Madison recruit was in the middle of many loud collisions, but the Terriers did rest him much of the night to protect a pulled right hamstring.

"We'd like to have him out there because he's one of the best blocking backs we've ever had," Byrd coach Jeff Highfill said. "You can still see him stretching it over on the sidelines, but some of that is the brace he's wearing where it comes loose."

With only three Blue Ridge games on the schedule, all of them are big. The Terriers basically will be playing for the Blue Ridge's automatic berth to the playoffs and first place in the district next week at Northside.

"Give Byrd credit," Benson said.

"Everybody thought this was going to be a real down year for them."

While Botetourt cannot have a winning regular season, earning one of the six playoff berths in Region III Division 3 is far from out of the question.

"I think we'll be all right," Straub said.

Lord Botetourt 7 0 3 0--10

William Byrd 8 6 0 6--20

LB -- Colombini 16 run (McNeil kick)

WB -- Palmer 1 run (Conner run)

WB -- Palmer 4 run (run failed)

LB -- FG McNeil 42

WB -- Fuquay 22 pass from Palmer (run failed)

LB WB

First downs 11 14

Yards rushing 26-78 51-182

Passes C-A-I 6-22-3 5-11-1

Yards passing 90 71

Penalties-yards 4-17 5-42

Fumbles-lost 2-0 1-0

Punts-average 4-24 4-27

Individual statistics

RUSHING -- Lord Botetourt, Colombini 18-66, Straub 6-13, Santolla 1-3, Hargrove 1-(-4). William Byrd, Palmer 35-137, Conner 15-47, Team 1-2.

PASSING -- Lord Botetourt, Straub, 6-21-3-90, Hargrove 0-1-0-0. William Byrd, Palmer 3-3-0-45, Conner, 2-8-1-26.

RECEIVING -- Lord Botetourt, Cooper 3-29, Santolla 1-54, Landes 1-10, Santolla 1-7. William Byrd, Fuquay 2-33, Wallace 1-14, Doss 1-12, Snow 1-12.