COLUMN: Holston's Wampler high steps, sort of, on the big stage

DAMASCUS, Va.

Defenders, much like "these boots," are made for walking, stomping and generally being an ornery bunch of working stiffs.

Scoring?

What evs.

They leave that hot-dog high stepping to the offensive unit. You know, those skinny guys built for speed (and in Holston’s case, add fire-hydrant lookalike Jeffrey Bramlett to the scoring mix) whom the cheerleaders adore and the band plays fight songs for.

It’s no different in Damascus, where the football "stadium" – nestled between grazing hills filled with cows and an extra-point swallowing gully behind the south end zone – looks like it was slapped together mere hours before kickoff.

Heck, you can’t blame Holston’s Luke Wampler for thinking about scoring, though.

As the ball rolled around on the grass after Bramlett popped it loose with a punishing hit during an oft-failed Bath County option play Saturday, that’s exactly what Wampler did. He thought about it.

For a second at least.

"I’m thinking ‘should I pick this up and run or should I lay on it,’ " the sophomore said.

He went for the latter, maybe thinking about that time when the only thing that stood between him and pay dirt earlier this season were about 20 yards and 10 toes. His feet failed him that time, tripping himself up short of the goal line and squelching any hope of a post-football career appearance on "Dancing with the Stars."

It did, however, provide his fellow Cavs with plenty of comedy for the rest of the season.

"We were giving him a hard time about that," said Holston coach Jason Matlock.

None of that mattered Saturday when Wampler had a lot to smile about after the Cavs’ 30-7 Region C, Division 1 championship win over Bath County.

There were those two fumble recoveries – the second on the opening drive of the second half that snuffed any hope the Chargers had of coming back and taking this one from the Cavaliers.

Then, in the third quarter, Wampler joined Richie Casey on a tackle of Bath quarterback Michael Robertson in the end zone for a safety.

"Those were huge," Matlock said. "Coming in we wanted to win the turnover battle and we felt like if we could, that we would put ourselves in good position to win. And we did."

And, of course, there was that block – one of many he no doubt made in his first postseason start on the offensive line – which sprung Bramlett at the 7 on a little hitch pass that turned into a 15 yard score.

Offensive line, after all, isn’t his usual spot.

On Saturday, he was filling in for senior starter Caleb Sellards who was serving the one-game suspension that comes hand in hand with his ejection last weekend.

"[Wampler is] just a great player all around," Casey said. "And he’s going to get so much better."

Wampler, however, said it was just him doing his job on a day that called for him to do a little more than he’s used to on both sides of the ball.

"I knew I just had to do my job and we would come out with a win if we all did our jobs," he said, walking back toward the tunnel where, for one last time this season on their home field, the Cavaliers were introduced to the fans as part of a postgame celebration.

And as he walked, players stopped to slap Wampler on the helmet or give him a nudge on his shoulder pads, a long way from spot special teams duty his freshman year.

"It just feels great to get in and get to play and contribute to the wins," he said. "And to know you were part of this winning season."

When he led the charge off the field as time wound down, Wampler held his right index finger aloft toward the adoring fans. He even kicked his feet up a few times like he was heading in for the score. It proved he’s a pivotal part of this Holston team.

And he still needs to work on his high stepping.

Jim Sacco is assistant sports editor at the Bristol Herald Courier. Contact him at jsacco@bristolnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ JimSacco242.