BY SPENCER CAMPBELL
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
BRISTOL, Va. – If new Virginia High coach Chris Thurman’s offense is going to be successful, it needs explosive athletes.
It seems that Thurman has come to the right place.
After winning two Group A, Division 2 Virginia High School League state titles in four years at Gretna High School, Thurman arrived at Virginia High this season bearing a high-octane spread offense. In turn, the Bearcats gave Thurman some of the athletes who helped the school finish second in the VHSL Group A state track meet.
The results were on display Friday, as Virginia High defeated Chilhowie 21-7 at the Virginia High Jamboree at Gene Malcolm Stadium.
“Compared to what we used to run, [the spread offense] is very different,” Virginia High quarterback Andy Bowers said. “I really like it. It seems like everybody loves it. Since we’re pretty good at track, it’s pretty much a track meet out there.”
In two quarters of play on Friday, the Bearcats torched the Warriors for 220 yards of total offense and 11 first downs.
Bowers led the spread attack, rushing for 81 yards on 15 carries and passing for another 81. He also ran for two touchdowns, a 10-yard dart through the middle in the first quarter and a one-yard lunge in the second.
Running back Damon Dock accounted for the other Virginia High touchdown, a three-yard run in the second quarter, on top of 58 rushing yards.
“I was pleased,” Thurman said. “We saw a lot that we need to work on, but the effort was there and that’s what we wanted to see today... if they’d play hard. And the kids came out and played hard, so I’m happy about that.
“Andy’s done a decent job picking [the spread] up, the receivers are catching well, the line did a great job picking up blitzes and opening up holes, so I was happy.”
The only black mark Virginia High picked up on Friday was on the other side of the ball, where the secondary allowed completions of 40, 23 and 28 yards. Another 82-yard touchdown reception was called back after the Warriors’ quarterback crossed the line of scrimmage.
Permitting possible long pass plays, however, comes with Thurman’s defensive philosophy.
“The way we play the defense, it’s high pressure,” Thurman said. “We still got to work on it. They ran play action pass, the safety bit on it and they got behind us. That we can fix.
“The effort of running to the ball, even the big pass they caught down here, we tracked them down and made the work to get the seven. So I’m happy with how that turned out.”
scampbell@bristolnews.com|(276) 645-2543
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