It was already well established that Honaker High School owned the highest-scoring and most explosive offense among high school football teams in far Southwest Virginia.
They took it to a whole different level on Friday night.
Boy, did they ever.
Peyton Musick threw for 370 yards and six touchdowns as the Tigers outlasted homestanding Narrows for an entertaining and unbelievable 74-51 non-district triumph on Friday night.
Honaker (7-0) set a single-game program record for points, eclipsing the previous mark of 69 points scored in a 2012 playoff win over Patrick Henry.
The Tigers led 22-0 after one quarter and 52-28 at halftime. It was the fourth game this season Honaker had scored 50 or more points in the first half.
Making the high-scoring affair even more notable is that neither team scored in the third quarter.
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The teams also combined for 19 penalties covering 164 yards.
Musick threw his first interception of the year, but that can be overlooked as he now has 55 career TD passes in what is yet another school record. He also caught a 26-yard pass from Aidan Lowe on a trick play on Friday.
Parker Bandy had himself quite the night as well as he caught eight passes for 156 yards and a touchdown, returned a kickoff 68 yards for a score, made six tackles, intercepted two passes and forced a fumble. Bandy holds Honaker’s career record for receiving yards.
Austin Clayburne returned an interception for a score, as did Tyler Stephens.
Aidan Lowe (nine carries, 71 yards, one TD; six catches, 61 yards, two TDs), Malachi Lowe (three catches, 76 yards, two TDs) and Tyler Stephens (four catches, 64 yards, one TD) deserve mention too in a game where the contributors were countless.
Narrows (5-2) was intercepted six times.
The game took its place among high-scoring games played by local squads.
Among those have been Tazewell 69, Rural Retreat 62 (2016), Rye Cove 72, Holston 62 (2014), Science Hill 76, Tennessee High 48 (2012), Lebanon 69, Rural Retreat 56 (2006), Northwood 66, John Battle 58 (2005) and Dobyns-Bennett 193, Norton 0 (1925) to name just a few.
Honaker 22 30 0 22—74
Narrows 0 28 0 23—51
H – A. Lowe 7 run (A. Lowe run)
H – T. Stephens 15 pass from P. Musick (pass failed)
H – M. Lowe 2 pass from P. Musick (A. Lowe run)
N – M. McGlothlin 15 pass from Pruett (kick good)
H – Clayburne 18 INT return (pass failed)
N – Pruett 50 run (kick good)
H – A. Lowe 32 pass from P. Musick (M. Lowe pass from P. Musick)
H – Stephens 39 INT return (A. Lowe pass from P. Musick)
N – Pruett 19 run (kick good)
H – Bandy 68 kickoff return (B. Marsh run)
N – Knoetze 56 pass from Pruett (kick good)
H – M. Lowe 74 pass from P. Musick (Bandy pass from P. Musick)
H – A. Lowe 11 pass from P. Musick (run failed)
N – Helvey 10 pass from Pruett (kick good)
N – Pruett 14 run (Pruett pass from Helvey)
H – Bandy 45 pass from P. Musick (J. Dye run)
N – L. Smith 35 pass from Pruett (L. Smith pass from Pruett)
Grundy 50, Hurley 34
The Grundy Golden Wave not only clinched the Black Diamond District championship on Friday, they also proved that they have the league’s best player.
Logan Lester rushed for 208 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 116 more and a score as the Wave grabbed the gold with the high-scoring win. Just for good measure, Lester also scored on a pair of two-point conversions.
Grundy (3-4, 2-0) also claimed the Buchanan County championship as the Wave earned a 49-28 triumph over Twin Valley the previous week.
“I thought our kids played phenomenal football,” said first-year Grundy head coach Keegan Bartley. “Offensively, we were able to click all game and put up some good numbers against a team with some really good athletes, some really big linemen. Defensively, we also did a really good job of slowing them down in the first half by holding all those athletes in check for the most part.”
Lester scored on runs of 21 and 22 yards, while throwing a 60-yard TD pass to Tristan Ellis.
Carson Deel added two TD runs of his own.
“Lester continues to amaze me with what he can do on the football field every time he steps out there” Bartley said. “Carson Deel and Shaiem Gordon also ran very well all night. And when we needed to, Jonah Looney and Tristan Ellis were reliable passing targets. This is one that our guys should definitely be proud of and build on going forward.”
Hurley (3-4, 0-1) received 104 rushing yards and three touchdowns from Landon Bailey, while Canaan Shafer and Kevin Looney also reached the end zone. The Rebels finished with 355 yards of total offense, 319 of that coming on the ground.
Hurley 0 6 6 22—34
Grundy 14 16 8 12—50
G – Taylor 9 run (Lester run)
G – Ellis 60 pass from Lester (pass failed)
H – Shafer 24 run (run failed)
G – C. Deel 16 run (Lester run)
G – Lester 21 run (C. Deel run)
H – Bailey 1 run (run failed)
G – Lester 22 run (S. Gordon run)
H – Bailey 3 run (run failed)
G – S. Gordon 40 run (run failed)
G – C. Deel 1 run (kick failed)
H – K. Looney 14 run (Bailey run)
H – Bailey 16 run (Hurley run)
Twin Springs 28, Eastside 20
Colten Kilgore rushed for 165 yards and three touchdowns as the Twin Springs Titans earned a crucial Cumberland District victory over the visiting Eastside Spartans.
Twin Springs (6-1, 3-0) kept pace with Rye Cove (6-1, 3-0) for the top spot in the Cumberland and the Titans have not lost to a Class 1 opponent this season.
Kilgore scored on runs of 61, 5 and 6 yards, the last of which gave the Titans a 28-14 lead with 6:34 remaining in the third quarter.
Twin Springs prevailed despite having some key players sidelined.
“Our kids are fighters,” said Titans coach Keith Warner. “Everyone wants to count our guys out because of injuries, but our kids always battle. Some people make excuses when their teams are hit with a lot of injuries, but our guys have a next man up mentality. We had guys in so many positions tonight where they have never played and they gave me everything they had.”
Kilgore is in the midst of a stellar season.
“What can you say about that kid?” Warner asked.
Chase Daughtery and Brodie White anchored the offensive line, while quarterback Abel Dingus was more than able has he passed for 73 yards, while also rushing for 30 yards and a TD.
“Abel Dingus continues to be our leader on the field,” Warner said. “He doesn't get enough credit on how valuable he is to our success. I can’t express how proud I am of my kids and coaching staff. This was a great win for us. Now, we have to get prepared for next week [for a home game against Hancock County].”
Thomas Calhoun and Julian Pascual were the leaders for the Twin Springs defense.
Eastside (3-4, 1-2) received 162 rushing yards on 23 carries and a touchdown from freshman Keldan Hamilton. Quarterback Payton Adkins threw a TD pass to Luke Trent and also rushed for a score as the Spartans actually held a 305-281 edge in total offense.
An Adkins 4-yard run with 7:04 left got the Spartans within one possession, but they couldn’t muster another touchdown.
Eastside 8 6 0 6—20
Twin Springs 14 7 7 0—28
Scoring Summary
TS – Kilgore 61 run (Myers kick)
TS – Dingus 3 run (Myers kick)
E – K. Hamilton 4 run (Trent run)
TS – Kilgore 5 run (Myers kick)
E – Trent 11 pass from Adkins (run failed)
TS – Kilgore 6 run (Myers kick)
E – Adkins 4 run (run failed)
Team Stats
First Downs: E 17, TS 14; Rushes-Yards: E 43-255, TS 35-208; Passing Yards: E 50, TS 73; Comp.-Att.-Int.: E 4-16-1, TS 3-6-0; Fumbles-Lost: E 2-1, TS 2-2; Penalties-Yards: E 9-75, TS 11-80; Punts-Average: E 1-31, TS 2-32.
Tennessee High 40, Cocke County 22
The Tennessee High Vikings won their fourth straight game on Friday night, but not before getting a surprisingly stern test from lowly Cocke County.
THS (5-3, 2-2) trailed 8-6 after one quarter and led just 21-16 at halftime against the upset-minded Fighting Cocks (1-7, 0-4) before prevailing as Donnie Thomas and Trent Dowdell led the way in a road win.
Dowdell scored on an 8-yard TD run with 10:53 left in the second quarter to give Tennessee High the lead for good, while Thomas scored on a 39-yard scamper with 4:39 remaining in the third quarter to put the Vikings up by 11 points.
Dowdell finished with 102 yards on 14 carries, while Thomas amassed 82 yards on just six carries with two TDs. Josh Bell (10 carries, 80 yards) also scored, while Jimmy Phipps threw TD passes to Barren Harkleroad and Peyton Feagins.
THS plays a non-conference game at archrival West Ridge (4-3) next. The Vikings will have to play better than they did on Friday if they want to prevail.
“We played hard at times tonight,” said Tennessee High coach Josh Holt. “We were not very disciplined in many aspects of the game. We got outside of ourselves and let the other team affect how we carried ourselves. We have to make sure we do a better job of playing our game and not letting others get to us.”
George Wythe 58, J.I. Burton 0
In the first-ever meeting between the George Wythe Maroons and J.I. Burton Raiders, the former dominated from the word go.
Trey Rainey scored a trio of touchdowns and Holden Luttrell was among the stars of a dominant defense as GW improved to a 4-3 with a victory at Lawson-Fitchko Stadium in Norton.
How thorough was the beatdown?
GW led 30-0 after one quarter, the junior varsity played the entire second half and quarterback Tandom Smith did not have a single rushing attempt.
Smith did throw a TD pass to Rainey. Rainey finished with 89 yards on four carries.
Sophomore Kaiden Irby (five carries, 92 yards) also had a memorable night.
Caleb Campbell, Shane Huff and freshman Cade Bralley also rushed for scores.
Luttrell teamed with Austin Repass to sack Burton quarterback Tyson Welch and record a safety in the first quarter and later in the period returned a fumble for a TD.
Burton (0-7) managed just 59 yards of total offense, compiled just three first downs and committed four turnovers.
George Wythe 30 14 7 7—58
J.I. Burton 0 0 0 0—0
Scoring Summary
GW – T. Rainey 18 run (Mitchell kick)
GW – Safety, Welch sacked in end zone by Luttrell, Repass
GW – Campbell 37 run (Mitchell kick)
GW – Huff 38 run (Mitchell kick)
GW – Luttrell 6 fumble return (Mitchell kick)
GW – T. Rainey 7 pass from Smith (Mitchell kick)
GW – T. Rainey 48 run (Mitchell kick)
GW – Bralley 3 run (Mitchell kick)
GW – Irby 40 run (Mitchell kick)
Team Stats
First Downs: JIB 3, GW 12; Rushes-Yards: JIB 32-56, GW 18-308; Passing Yards: JIB 0, GW 15; Comp.-Att.-Int.: JIB 0-2-1, GW 3-6-0; Fumbles-Lost: JIB 4-3, GW 0-0; Penalties-Yards: JIB 2-15, GW 4-25; Punts-Average: JIB 1-23, GW 1-52.
Graham 59, Lebanon 14
Graham gouged Lebanon for a Southwest District win as seven different G-Men scored touchdowns in the blowout win at Mitchell Stadium.
Ty’Drez Clements had two TDs for Graham (6-1, 3-0), while Dalton Roberts threw scoring strikes to Blake Graham and Chris Edwards in the first quarter.
Daniel Jennings, Gabe Lilly, Omari Hill and Cambel Fix also reached the end zone, while Dylan Nash got in on the scoring a 32-yard field goal.
Lebanon (3-5, 1-2) lost for the second straight week.
Union 48, Wise County Central 0
If you tuned into the local television station that was carrying Union’s Mountain 7 District win over Wise County Central on Friday night, that wasn’t a rerun you were watching even though it might have seemed like it.
Reyshawn Anderson and Paul Huff were playmakers, Keith Chandler and the defensive unit dominated and Union won big again in a repeat of familiar themes this season for the bunch from Big Stone Gap.
Union (7-1, 4-0) held Central to 37 yards of total offense as Chandler returned an interception for a score, Josh Guerrant recovered a fumble and Huff picked off a pass. It was the fourth shutout of the season for the Bears.
Huff also had five catches for 114 yards and two TDs.
His receptions came from throws by Anderson, who as an ultra-efficient 17-of-18 for 189 yards and surpassed the 1,000-yard passing mark for the season. He also carried the ball five times for 60 yards and two scores.
Chandler and Keonta Orsby also had TD runs, while Kam Bostic caught seven passes for 53 yards.
Central (1-6, 0-4) has lost six straight and was held scoreless for the first time since Sept. 10, 2021.
Wise Central 0 0 0 0—0
Union 7 13 21 7—48
Scoring Summary
U – K. Chandler 28 run (Bishop kick)
U – R. Anderson 9 run (kick failed)
U – Huff 9 pass from R. Anderson (Bishop kick)
U – R. Anderson 3 run (Bishop kick)
U – Huff 26 pass from R. Anderson (Bishop kick)
U – K. Chander 15 INT return (Bishop kick)
U – Orsby 19 run (Bishop kick)
Team Stats
First Downs: WC 7, U 17; Rushes-Yards: WC 28-20, U 21-188; Passing Yards: WC 17, U 189; Comp.-Att.-Int.: WC 11-5-1, U 17-18-0; Fumbles-Lost: WC 2-1, U 1-0; Penalties-Yards: WC 6-55, U 8-82; Punts-Average: WC 4-22, U 1-33.
Holston 60, Northwood 6
In case you needed more evidence that Holston’s Noah Tweed is one of the most dynamic playmakers in Southwest Virginia he provided his own personal highlight reel on Friday night in Damascus.
Tweed returned two punts for touchdowns and also completed all three of his passes for 58 yards with one of those going to Landon Sanders for a score as the Cavaliers cruised to a Hogoheegee District win.
Holston (4-3, 1-2) scored touchdowns offensively, defensively and on special teams in what was their highest point output since a 72-62 loss to Rye Cove on Aug. 29, 2014.
Luke Greene (nine carries, 102 yards, two TDs), Merrick Buchanan (six carries, 89 yards, two TDs) and Ashton Widener (four carries, 49 yards, one TD) led the rushing attack for Holston. The Cavaliers finished with 345 yards of total offense and led 54-0 at halftime.
Collin Widener returned an interception for a score to close the first half.
Northwood (1-6, 0-2) was limited to 90 yards of total offense. Austin Graber had the lone score for the Panthers, while Eli Williams rushed for 35 yards on 11 carries.
Holston 27 27 0 6—60
Northwood 0 0 6 0—6
Scoring Summary
H – Greene 11 run (Buchanan kick)
H – Tweed 78 punt return (Buchanan kick)
H – Buchanan 47 run (kick failed)
H – Sanders 21 pass from Tweed (Buchanan kick)
H – Buchanan 6 run (Casey kick)
H – Greene 3 run (kick failed)
H – Tweed 64 punt return (A. Smith kick)
H – Widener 30 INT return (A. Smith kick)
N – Graber 5 run (kick failed)
H – Widener 7 run (pass failed)
Thomas Walker 43, Twin Valley 8
Darin Gulley threw three touchdown passes and Dylan McCurry rushed for three scores as the Thomas Walker Pioneers trounced the Twin Valley Panthers.
Gulley was 7-of-16 through the air for 160 yards with Jacob McCurry (three catches, 71 yards, two TDs) and Nick Kimberlin being at the receiving end of his scoring strikes.
TW (4-3) received 155 rushing yards on 16 carries from Dylan McCurry.
Twin Valley (2-5) got its lone touchdown when Conner Clevinger returned the second-half kickoff 85 yards to the end zone.
Gate City 26, Lee High 19
Luke Bledsoe ran for three scores as the Blue Devils overcame a trio of lost fumbles to earn a Mountain 7 District home win over the Generals.
Bledsoe ran for 107 yards, scoring on runs of 3 and 6 yards to push the Blue Devils to a 20-6 halftime lead, and then added a 21-yard third quarter score to build the margin to 28-6. Jude Crawford also scored on a 12-yard first period run.
Walker Hillman led Gate City (4-3, 1-2) with 140 yards on the ground, but also fumbled three times. Bledsoe threw for 50 yards, including 31 yards to Layton Barnett. Bryson Smith led the Blue Devils with eight tackles, while Crawford had an interception on defense.
Lee High (3-4, 0-3) scored 13 second half points on a 48-yard fumble recovery for a score by Andrew Holmes and a 3-yard run from Konnor Early. Grayson Huff scored the Generals' lone first half score on a 7-yard touchdown run.
Huff ran for 84 yards to pace Lee High, which was led on defense by Holmes with seven solo tackles and two assists.
Lee High 0 6 6 7 - 19
Gate City 12 8 6 0 - 26
Scoring Summary
GC - Bledsoe 3 run (run failed)
GC - Crawford 12 run (run failed)
L - Huff 7 run (run failed)
GC - Bledsoe 6 run (Jones pass from Bledsoe)
L - Holmes 48 fumble recovery (run failed)
GC - Bledsoe 21 run (run failed)
L - Early 3 run (Huff kick)
Team Statistics
First Downs: L 12; GC 19. Rush-Yards: L 34-102; GC 38-294. Pass Yards: L 23; GC 50. Comp-Att-Int: L 7-17-1; GC 5-12-0. Fumbles-Lost: L 2-1; GC 6-3. Penalty-Yards: L 8-59; GC 10-65. Punts-Avg: L 5-38.0; GC 1-60.0.
Tazewell 38, Marion 7
The title of Dragon Bowl champions goes to the Bulldogs.
Carter Creasy completed 14-of-28 passes for 312 yards and five touchdowns to five different receivers to lead Tazewell to a Southwest District victory over the Scarlet Hurricanes.
Tazewell (5-2, 3-0) led 18-0 at halftime and added 20 more after the break. Walker Patterson (five catches, 49 yards), Brody Patterson (2-69), Logan McDonald (2-53), Kaizon Taylor (1-18) and Hunter Snapp (1-50) all had scoring receptions. Snapp's touchdown was on his first career reception.
Ayvree Zeigler ran for 25 yards, including a touchdown, and also caught a pass for 52 yards. Creasy also ran for 49 yards, while Taylor added 36 yards on the ground.
Reece Mullins had six tackles, including three for loss, and an interception for the Bulldogs. Brock Alley added seven tackles, including two for loss.
Marion (2-5, 1-2) was led by Parker Wolfe, who ran for 52 yards and also caught a 17-yard scoring pass from Reid Osborne for the Scarlet Hurricanes' lone points late in the fourth quarter. Jalen Miller ran for 35 yards for the 'Canes.
Grayson County 35, Bluefield (W.Va.) 30
Mac Goad’s interception with 1:44 remaining helped Grayson County remain unbeaten with a close win over the Bluefield Beavers.
Austin Dowell passed for 196 yards and three touchdowns for the Blue Devils, while he also intercepted a pass and blocked a punt. Goad finished with five catches for 103 yards and two TDs to go along with his clutch INT.