The James River football team is off this Friday as the Knights take two weeks to hone their swords for the final three weeks of the season.
River dropped to 1-6 last Friday when they fell to visiting Radford, 49-7. It was “Hall of Fame Night” in Springwood but the game was decided by the time the new inductees were introduced at halftime, as River trailed 49-0 at intermission.
“We moved the ball decent at times but we had 20-some missed tackles on defense,” said coach Tim Jennings. “This will be a good week to have a bye, we’re a little banged up.”
Starting quarterback Pierce Woodyard missed the game with an injury and his backup, Kody Park, threw five interceptions, including two that were returned for touchdowns.
“It wasn’t all Kody’s fault,” said Jennings. “He stepped up when we needed him.”
Photos by Leigh Downey
Park was 10 for 21 passing for 63 yards. Josiah Merchant had four catches for 16 yards and Ryder Ward had three for 26. Gavin Binns had a good night rushing with 110 yards on 14 carries, including River’s only score late in the fourth quarter.
On defense, Ryan Daniels led the team with seven tackles. Ryder, Jack Beheler and Keegan Price all had tackles in the backfield.
After this week’s bye, things won’t get any easier for the Knights, as they return October 25 with a home game against undefeated Glenvar, then go to undefeated Alleghany. One of the two won’t be unbeaten when they play River as Glenvar is at Alleghany this Friday.
