TAZEWELL, Va. – Matt Muncy has a penchant for making the big plays and putting up impressive offensive numbers for the Tazewell High School football team. Meanwhile, Dustin Dean supplies the muscle for the Bulldogs.
Dean rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown in displaying his hard-nosed style as Tazewell topped Graham, 43-14, on Saturday afternoon in the Region IV, Division 3 semifinals.
Tazewell (9-2) will host rival Richlands (8-3) next Saturday at 1 p.m. in the regional title game.
Graham (4-7) had no answer for Tazewell. The Bulldogs built a 20-0 halftime lead and relied on a balanced attack. Muncy and T.J. Rasnick each scored two touchdowns, while Cody
Lockhart threw two touchdown passes.
“We’ve been looking for this execution all year,” Tazewell coach Bobby Wyatt said.
Dean certainly executed well. The 5-foot-9, 204-pound junior set up Muncy’s two touchdowns with impressive runs deep into Graham territory.
“He runs hard every time,” Muncy said of his teammate. “Especially, when we need short yardage, we can count on him to get first downs.”
On Tazewell’s final drive, Dean carried the ball eight times for 26 yards and punctuated the scoring with a plunge from the 1-yard line.
“The line blocked great,” Dean said. “They opened up big holes. I watched game film all week to see what their line did and learned a lot from the last time we played them.”
The game turned out much different than Tazewell’s 20-6 victory over the G-Men last month. While Graham was able to limit Muncy’s big plays, the rest of Tazewell’s offense shined.
“We worked on offense a lot this week in practice,” Muncy said. “Everything looked great and everything was clicking during practice, and that carried over into game day and it worked out well for us.”
Rasnick showcased his versatility – catching a TD pass from Lockhart, returning a kickoff 79 yards to the end zone and booting a 43-yard field goal.
Oh yeah, the defense was also impressive.
“Other than two series, I thought our defense played well,” Wyatt said. “Our defense has played well all year. We’ve been consistent. We’re giving up about 14 points a game, so we figure if we score 21, we’ll have a chance to win.”
Just one season after suffering through a 1-9 season, Tazewell is now playing for a regional championship. After briefly meeting at midfield following Saturday’s game, the Bulldogs raced over to the home side of the field, held their helmets high in the air and thanked their fans.
“It feels great,” Dean said. “We came together this year and said we weren’t going to lose anymore.”
thayes@bristolnews.com|(276) 645-2570
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement