varsity.roanoke.com

Photos by JUSTIN COOK The Roanoke Times

William Byrd's Brian Fuquay and Staunton River's Bobby Hobbs battle for a punt as Staunton River's Jay-Rod Alston (24) evades.

William Byrd's Derrick Palmer scores one of his five touchdowns against Staunton River on Friday. Palmer ran for 322 yards.

Special teams play was not William Byrd's specialty Friday, but the performance of one special player more than made up for it.

Byrd whipped Route 24 and Blue Ridge District foe Staunton River 34-19 at Robert A. Patterson Stadium as tailback Derrick Palmer rushed for a career-high 322 yards and five touchdowns. Both teams still cling to playoff hopes with one regular-season game remaining.

The Terriers are 4-5, 2-1 in the Blue Ridge District, while Staunton River stands 5-4, 2-1.

Byrd scored 20 fourth-quarter points and held a seemingly commanding 28-6 lead with 11:35 to play. But the Golden Eagles, who have lived on big plays all season, made the game interesting in the final minutes by recovering two onside kicks.

In addition to failing to field the onside kicks, the Terriers started the game by kicking the ball out of bounds twice before any time had elapsed on the game clock and also suffered a blocked punt early in the second period.

But Palmer, whose rushing total in less than two seasons has now exceeded 3,500 yards, made the most of senior night, accounting for all but 27 yards of the Terriers' 422 yards of total offense. He scored on runs of 20, 12, 1, 22 and 74 yards, the final score a weaving jaunt that approached both sidelines at different points on the path.

"[The seniors] wanted to show that we've made a lot of progress this year," Palmer said, "and I think we did that."

Palmer was one of the few remaining starters from a 2008 district champion squad and Byrd's opponents have keyed on the 2,000-yard rusher from a year ago. He still entered the game as one of Timesland's leading rushers with 1,193 yards and 18 touchdowns this season. The Terriers were 1-4 at one point, but have now won three of their last four games.

"This was our best week of practice all year," said Byrd coach Jeff Highfill, completing his 29th year at the Vinton school. "The guys played like they wanted it tonight."

The Eagles, coached by former Byrd assistant coach Rick Witt, came into Friday night's game having won five in a row after losing their 28 previous contests.

"I'm very disappointed," Witt said. "We had a lot to lose tonight and we did."

Staunton River took an early 6-0 lead when Wesley Gates scooped a Levi Haymaker fumble and ran 23 yards for a touchdown.

But Byrd's defense did not allow Staunton River's explosive offensive attack into the end zone until the final period, when Meech Coles scored on a 23-yard run.

Trailing 28-12 with seven minutes to play, the Eagles attempted an onside kick that everyone in the stadium was expecting. Nonetheless, Staunton River recovered and converted two consecutive fourth-down situations before giving the ball up at the Byrd 26 with two minutes left.

"Coach [George] George asked me if we should put our subs in at that point," Highfill said. "I told him we needed one more first down. I wasn't expecting Derrick to break off a 74-yard run at that point."

Two plays later, Gates scored on a 51-yard pass reception and the Eagles recovered another onside kick. Byrd intercepted Cody Jones' desperation heave, however.

Staunton River 6 0 0 13--19

William Byrd 7 7 0 20--34

SR -- Gates 23 fumble return (kick blocked)

WB -- Palmer 20 run (McFadden kick)

WB -- Palmer 12 run (McFadden kick)

WB -- Palmer 1 run (McFadden kick)

WB -- Palmer 22 run (McFadden kick)

SR -- Coles 22 run (run failed)

WB -- Palmer 74 run (kick failed)

SR -- Gates 51 pass from Jones (Hardy kick)

SR WB

First downs 13 16

Yards rushing 42-152 38-330

Passes C-A-I 7-14-1 4-6-0

Yards passing 93 92

Penalties-yards 5-39 7-40

Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-1

Punts-average 4-27.3 2-30.5

Individual statistics

RUSHING -- Staunton River, Coles 24-137, Jones 11-35, White 5-10, Gates 1-0, Hardy 1-(-16). William Byrd, Palmer 34-322, Haymaker 1-3, Hurst 3-5.

PASSING -- Staunton River, Jones 7-14-1-93. William Byrd, Palmer 3-5-0-73, Haymaker 1-1-0-19

RECEIVING -- Staunton River, Gates 3-61, Ryan 3-29, Coles 1-3. William Byrd, Fuquay 3-73, Joe Barton 1-19.