River trailed 13-10 with just over seven minutes to go in Hillsville last Friday. The Knights faced a critical third and two when Conner Church ripped off a 34-yard run to the Carroll County four-yard line to set up first and goal. After a three-yard run moved the ball to the one, coach Tim Jennings called for the “River Special.” The play had quarterback Zeal Hammons hand off to Ben Bailey for what looked like a sweep. However, Bailey pitched the ball back to Jake Benson, who was coming from the other side, and Benson then passed the ball to Hammons in the end zone for what proved to be the winning score.
“We run a lot of jet sweeps so I’m sure that’s what they were expecting,” said Jennings. “Zeal got out to the flat and Jake threw a nice ball.”
When the Eagles ran the play quarterback Nick Foles was wide open, but that wasn’t the case Friday night. Benson had to hit Hammons in stride, and he did so for his first high school touchdown pass.
The extra point attempt was blocked, and that was key as River was ahead by just a field goal at that point, 16-13, with 6:46 still to go. The Cavaliers converted a fourth down to keep their drive alive on the ensuing possession but eventually had to punt.
River had a chance to kill out the clock, but couldn’t do so and Carroll had one more opportunity. Their final drive was stopped when Levi Rock sacked the quarterback on fourth down and the Knights were able to finish off the victory.
“It was a big win for the kids,” said Jennings. “It rained the whole second half but they were able to stay focused and get the win.”
The game was close throughout. After a scoreless first period Carroll took a 7-0 lead on a four-yard run by Josh Dalton with 8:24 until halftime. River answered with a 38-yard TD pass from Hammons to Bailey at the 3:26 mark and it was 7-7 at the half.
The Knights took their first lead with 2:16 left in the third quarter. Their drive stalled in the red zone but James Voight kicked a 29-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead with 2:16 remaining in the third quarter.
Carroll regained the lead early in the fourth quarter on a three-yard TD run by Elijah Cox. River then answered with a two and a half minute scoring drive, capped off by the “River Special.”
Most of the Knights’ offense came through the air, as River struggled to run the ball against the Cavaliers. Hammons was 15 for 35 passing for 264 yards with seven completions going to Bailey for 135 yards. Benson caught four passes for 45 yards and Brian Moran, Tanner Dillow, Jackson Taylor and Rock had one reception each. River had just 13 total yards rushing with Church gaining 45, but losses dropping that total to 13.
On defense, Dillow led the team with 11 total tackles, including nine solos. Benson had eight and George Toliver and Andrew Wheeler had six each. Dillow also had an interception.
With the win River is now 5-4 with one game to go, at home against Radford Friday. The Bobcats are 6-3 and ranked third in the VHSL Class 2C rankings, one spot ahead of fourth ranked James River. The top four teams get a first round home game, so the Knights would like to hold onto that spot. A win over Radford would do that for sure, and maybe even move River up to third.
If River does not win Friday, Martinsville is close behind in fifth, but the Bulldogs have Bassett this Friday to end the regular season. The Bengals are 7-2 and third ranked in Region 3D, so a Martinsville win would be a big point gainer for the Bulldogs if they would pull off the upset.
“We’d like that first round home game,” said Jennings. “But we’re undefeated on the road, so if we have to go on the road we’re pretty confident we can do well.”
