PREP ROUNDUP: J.J. Kelly clinches playoff bid with win over Burton

Bristol Herald Courier

WISE, Va. –  Justin McGinnis and Garth Nicely scored touchdowns and J.J. Kelly took advantage of four Burton turnovers in a huge 14-7 Lonesome Pine District win on Friday night that helped the Indians clinch a playoff berth.

McGinnis scored on a 1-yard TD run, while Nicely returned a fumble 78 yards for a score. Lucas Kerns led Kelly (8-2, 3-2) with 92 yards on 24 carries and Kelly ended Burton’s string of five straight shutouts.

Martinez Miles led Burton (8-2, 3-2) with 188 yards on 31 carries and scored the Raiders’ lone touchdown.

Powell Valley 6, Appalachia 0
Powell Valley quarterback Jacob Huff completed just two passes all night, but one of them turned out to be the game-winner as the Vikings vanquished Lonesome Pine District rival Appalachia.

Huff threw a 14-yard scoring strike to Bryant Rentfrow in the third quarter fob the lone score of the game. Kenny Burke (19 carries, 84 yards) and Dathan Davis (10 carries, 87 yards) led PV’s rushing attack.

Powell Valley (5-5, 4-1) clinched its 17th straight playoff bid and earned a share of the LPD title. The Vikings also won their 13th consecutive victory over the Bulldogs.

Appalachia (5-5, 1-4) was turned back on at least 14 plays inside the PV 10-yard line. Tyler Barker led the Bulldogs with 65 yards on 14 carries.

VHS 42, Lee 0
Virginia High quarterback Andy Bowers rushed for 91 yards and three touchdowns and threw for 146 yards and two scores as the Bearcats bashed Lee High for a Clinch Mountain District road win.

VHS (6-4) finished with 401 yards of total offense and the Bearcat defense limited Lee High (1-8) to just 65 yards of total offense and three first downs. Damon Dock added 114 rushing yards and a TD for
the Bearcats, who likely fell short of making the Region D, Division 2 playoffs.

George Wythe 54, Northwood 14
Brandon Atwell needed just six carries to rack up 192 yards and three touchdowns as the George Wythe Maroons clinched their third straight Hogoheegee District title with a resounding win at Pendleton Field.

Atwell scored on runs of 46, 51 and 55 yards as GW (7-3, 5-0) built a commanding 41-7 halftime advantage. Randy Divers added 57 rushing yards and a TD for the Maroons, who will likely be the top seed in the Region C, Division 2 playoffs.

John Wayne McCready and Jeremiah Thompson accounted for Northwood’s scores. The Panthers (1-9) ended the season by losing nine straight games.

Richlands 54, Grundy 13
Austin Johnson returned two punts for touchdowns to highlight the Richlands Blue Tornado’s Southwest District win over Grundy. Richlands (9-1, 6-0) won its ninth straight and sealed up yet another SWD regular-season title.

Chilhowie 34, R. Retreat 20
In Chilhowie, Va., Aaron Conley ran for 157 yards on 21 carries and Warriors got two touchdown runs from Cody McMahan as they beat the Indians.
For Rural Retreat, Travis Foster caught 10 passes for 157 yards.

Holston 47, Patrick Henry 14
John Pratt gained 110 rushing yards and scored twice, while Cody Blevins contributed three touchdowns in Holston’s Hogoheegee District victory over Patrick Henry in the annual Shrine Bowl.
Holston (9-1, 4-1) led 34-8 at halftime en route to the victory. Blevins had scoring runs of 12, 28 and 6 yards, while Jeffrey Bramlett added 110 yards on 17 carries and scored once for the Cavaliers.
Josh Compton led PH (2-8, 1-4) with 101 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown.

Castlewood 21, Coeburn 6
In Coeburn, Va., Devin Puckett’s 9-yard touchdown run and Elliott Wohlgamuth’s extra point provided the Blue Devils with all the scoring they would need Friday against the Blue Knights.
Castlewood also got touchdown runs of 7 yards from Ryan McCall and one for 3 from Wohlgamuth.
Wohlgamuth led the Castlewood rushing attack with 123 yards on 23 carries. Darren Greear led the Blue Knights with 49 yards rushing on 10 carries.

Twin Springs 33, Rye Cove 6
Tyler Hazlett had a 103-yard interception return in the fourth quarter, capping Twin Springs’ Cumberland District victory over Scott County rival Rye Cove.
Stephen Vikara led Rye Cove with 171 rushing yards, but the Eagles (1-9, 1-5) were hurt by three lost fumbles.

Hurley 54, Twin Valley 6
Gary Blankenship capped an impressive season with 146 rushing yards on 14 carries and one touchdowns as the Rebels blasted Black Diamond District foe Twin Valley.
Blankenship finished with 1,145 rushing yards on the season. Austin Cooper threw two touchdown passes and also rushed for a score for the Rebels.

Clintwood 49, Pound 0
Justin Reed rushed for 105 yards on five carries and caught a touchdown pass as Clintwood crushed Lonesome Pine District rival Pound.
Trey Meade threw two touchdown passes, rushed for a score and also hauled in a TD pass from Dylan Dahley as the Greenwave (8-2, 4-1) built a 49-point halftime lead.
Mancel Powers added three carries for 41 yards in the Clintwood effort.

Boone 38, M. East 28
Blake Shropshire rushed for two touchdowns and Daniel Boone defeated Morristown East in the first round of the TSSAA Class 5A playoffs.
Boone overcame an early 14-7 deficit to take the win and earned a rematch with Tennessee High next week in the second round.

Sullivan South 42, Powell 16
Heath Haden and Bobby Taylor scored two touchdowns apiece and Sullivan South racked up 453 yards of total offense in taking a win over Powell in the first round of the TSSAA Class 5A playoffs.

Elizabethton 63, Cumberland Gap 0
Ryan Thomas, Preston Itaro (twice), Cody Forbes, Cody Nidiffer and Zack Boles all scored touchdowns during Elizabethton’s 42-point second quarter and the Cyclones crushed Cumberland Gap in the first round of the TSSAA Class 3A playoffs.

Maryville 41, D-B 0
Philip Juhlin threw four touchdown passes as Maryville rolled past Dobyns-Bennett in the opening round of the TSSAA Class 6A playoffs. D-B was held to just 133 yards of total offense.

Abingdon boys finish fourth
Led by George Tolton’s seventh-place finish, Abingdon placed fourth in the boys team standings at Saturday’s Region IV cross country meet at Sugar Hollow Park in Bristol.
Tolton finished the three-mile course in 16 minutes, 14 seconds. Christiansburg’s Andy Eddleton won in 15:36. Tanner Cox (16th) and Colby Hinchey (19th) also ran well for the Falcons.
In the girls race, Marion’s Melanie Rice led the locals with an eighth-place finish, while Mary Evan Ferrell of Richlands placed 17th. Abingdon’s girls finished fifth in the team standings.