Maroons Rally Past Warriors in the Hogo

WYTHEVILLE, Va. – For Tristan Boysaw, the timing couldn’t have been any worse.

After watching Chilhowie’s running antics churn up a quick 60 yards in only 1:14 to tie Friday’s annual homecoming game at 14, the forecasted and drenching rains finally made their way to Pendleton Field minutes before Boysaw and the Maroons were back in the proverbial offensive saddle.

But the torrential downpours didn’t seem to bother Boysaw, who subsequently helped pioneer the hosts to five third-down conversions on the ensuing drive – including a threading 9-yard TD strike to teammate Kyle Semones with 3:49 remaining – en route to a statement-making 28-14 Hogoheegee District decision.

“We’ve been playing the monsoon it seems like every week,” admitted George Wythe coach H.S. Ingo, whose squad marched 74 yards in 14 plays for the go-ahead score. “But our quarterback really stepped up there and made some great plays.”

Boysaw, who took a year off from the gridiron to focus on his basketball talents, showed poise and veteran guidance against an aggressive Warrior front line set on dropping the senior scrambler. In fact, Boysaw’s defining scramble at the Chilhowie 47 away from two would-be tacklers resulted in a huge 25-yard, first-down pick up to a diving Hardy Lester.

“The line really stepped up well there and gave me time to find receivers,” noted Boysaw, who celebrated his 18th birthday by throwing for 47 of his 84 yards during the clutch drive. “I couldn’t do anything without the line – they stepped up there so that I could make plays.”

After a frustrating first half full of missed opportunities and costly turnovers, Chilhowie (4-2, 0-1) upped the ante with a barrage of punishing rushes against the Wythe defense. The
Maroons (3-3, 1-0) held the ball for just four third-quarter minutes, watching the Warriors grind up 113 of their game-high 229 rushing yards in the aforementioned period – including
Tyler Austin’s 6-yard TD run at the 5:03 mark to even the game at 7.

“They’re a great football team,” Ingo added. “We knew that they were fundamentally sound.”

However, Chilhowie’s turnover bout continued in an unfortunate way. Following the Boysaw-to-Semones connection, the Warriors committed two more miscues to squash their final two pushes – with Boysaw’s scoop and scoot 41 yards the other way off a fumble sealing the contest with 2:04 left.

For the game, the Warriors were victimized by five turnovers. Additionally, Chilhowie couldn’t cash in on a promising 17-play, 75-yard first-half drive that ended on downs inside the Wythe 10-yard line.

“When you don’t get it in there, you lose a lot of momentum,” noted Chilhowie coach Larry Russell. “We proved we could move it on them, because that’s our style. It hurts though, especially at that point on the field.”

Senior Brandon Atwell, meanwhile, served several roles to perfection – rushing for two TDs, nailing all four PAT tries and even booming away two 63-yard, first-half punts. Atwell also finished with a team-high 73 rushing yards.

Austin and teammate Aaron Conley, who raced home on a 45-yard TD run to tie the game at 14 early in the fourth, combined for a grueling 183 yards on 25 carries.

Having reached the .500 mark for the second time this season, the Maroons have already faced yet another unenviable out-of-district schedule against the traditional playoff likes of Giles, Radford and Floyd County, along with upstart Fort Chiswell.

Add a defining district-opening win over playoff-minded Chilhowie too.

“I think the non-conference games were key,” stated Atwell, who is visiting several FCS programs this month. “We’ve played some of the better teams we’re going to face in the region, plus we played a good Double-A team in Tazewell. It’s really helped us.”