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RADFORD -- In his second game as a varsity player, kicker Caleb Findley kicked a dramatic 20-yard field goal as time expired as Radford High School rallied to squeak by George Wythe 36-35 in a thriller.
"They all told me if you make it, we are going to go crazy," Findley said. "As a young kicker, I've been dreaming about it all year."
Findley wasn't worried before the kick.
"I wasn't really nervous," Findley said. "I was surprised. When I felt it on my foot, I knew it was going in. I was hoping our holder could get it down. I did my job and he did his."
Coach Matthew Saunders credited his team's ability to not give up.
"It's unbelievable," Saunders said. "We just battled. We hung in there."
Saunders was confident in Findley making the clutch kick.
"I was pretty confident," Saunders. "He is a good kicker. I was trying to take the pressure of him."
Bobcats' QB Kevin Adkins scored on a 63-yard run, spinning by defenders, to make it a 35-33 game with three minutes left in the game.
Radford's Hunter Griffitts then recovered the onside kick as the ball bounced off a Maroon player.
Dontae Carter used his feet to drive deep into George Wythe's (1-1) territory. Then, on third down and eight, Carter found William Minter on an out route at the 10-yard line for the first down.
With the hopes of the school riding on his foot, the sophomore calmly kicked home the winner as fans erupted in cheer.
"It's just exciting," Carter said. "Everything we did in practice, it made up to this. Caleb kicks so many times. I told him, this is you right here. This is your moment to be the town hero."
George Wythe 7 7 14 7--35
Radford 7 13 0 16--36
R -- Devore 6 pass from Carter (Findley kick)
G -- Semones 25 run (Hawks kick)
R -- Palmer 8 pass from Carter (fumbled snap)
R -- Saunders 15 fumble return (Findley kick)
G -- Tolley 31 run (Hawks kick)
G -- Atwood 3 run (Hawks kick)
G -- Tolley 8 run (Hawks kick)
R -- Adkins 5 run (conversion failed)
G -- Willis 1 run (Hawks kick)
R -- Adkins 63 run (Findley kick)
R -- Findley 20 FG
GW RA
First downs 10 12
Yards rushing 204 148
Passes C-A-I 2-2-0 11-17-3
Yards passing 17 166
Penalties-yards 3-35 3-25
Fumbles-lost 4-3 3-1
Punts-average 3-30 3-30
Individual statistics
RUSHING -- George Wythe, Tolley 11-76, Atwood 10-57, Semones 8-41, Castanon 11-28, Austin 3-5, Willis 3-minus-3; Radford, Adkins 14-112, Carter 13-21, Minter 2-12, Dark 2-3.
PASSING -- George Wythe, Willis 2-2-0 17; Radford, Carter 11-17-3 166.
RECEIVING -- George Wythe, Baltazer 1-10, Tolley 1-7; Radford, Minter 5-83, Adkins 2-40, Patterson 2-22, Dark 1-7, Palmer 1-8, Devore 1-6. |
