Heritage scored 13 unanswered points in the second half to knock off Rustburg 34-14 in a Seminole District matchup at City Stadium on a decidedly emotional senior night for the Pioneers.

“We knew with all the injuries coming into the year that it was going to be rough, but they stuck it out,” Heritage coach Doug Smith said.

E.C. Glass plays Brookville, and Gretna travels to Appomattox in two of the big games this week. Send your scores in, or call to report scores at 540-981-9126

Amherst coach Cecil Phillips got a first-hand glimpse at Jefferson Forest junior running back Rashad Hall’s speed last spring, during a football combine held at Lancer Stadium.

It’s been a season of struggles for Heritage’s football team, ever since senior quarterback O’Shawn Bryant blew out his right knee in the Pioneers’ opening scrimmage at GW-Danville.

“We’ve been through a lot of adversity this year,” said fellow senior Lakuan McPhaul, Bryant’s replacement who grew up playing basketball in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Fridayfootball.com’s Week 9 saw its share of outstanding performances. Here are three of the best.

Check out a recap of the latest Friday Football videos and photos here.

The logjam atop the Dogwood District didn’t loosen up Friday night as Gretna, Altavista and Appomattox all won convincingly.

The Raiders routed Nelson County 50-14 to stay in the race for the district championship. Quarterback Kenny Scott accounted for 193 total yards (139 rushing) and two rushing touchdowns, and Joe Reed rushed for 76 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries to lead the attack.

GRETNA — Gretna running back Andre Dickerson rushed for career highs of 219 yards and five touchdowns as Dan River could never find an answer for the fleet-of-foot running back in the Hawks’ 33-20 Dogwood District victory Friday night.

The name on the schedule was Chatham, just another in a string of conference games for Altavista. But it might as well have read trap game.

The Colonels were coming off an emotional 19-6 road win over Appomattox and facing a winless Chatham team that nearly knocked off William Campbell last week. Coupled with homecoming, the game had the makings of a letdown. However, Altavista dominated both sides of the ball, forcing five fumbles and scoring seven touchdowns to notch its seventh victory of the season, 47-14.

FOREST — With its backs against the wall, Jefferson Forest’s football team was at its absolute best, Friday night in a back-and-forth Seminole District battle against Heritage at Sabre Stadium.

All four of the Cavaliers’ touchdowns in the 29-26 triumph were set up by or scored on fourth-down conversions, including the last two by sophomore slot receiver Marcus Jones.

Our featured games include Salem at Christiansburg, Dan River at Gretna, and Heritage at Jefferson Forest

ALTAVISTA — In the seven seasons Mike Reavis has served as Mike Scharnus’ defensive coordinator, dating back to their years at Rustburg, his players have had a history of hard knocks.

This year’s defensive unit at Altavista may rank as the hardest hitting group the two have coached, led by two senior, four-year starting linebackers Daelyn Myers and Chris Clark.

The last time Gretna’s and Dan River’s football teams met, Sept. 11 in Ringgold, there were no Dogwood District implications.

Tonight’s rematch, starting at 7 at Gretna, counts in the district standings, with the two-time defending Group A, Division 2, state champion Hawks (5-1, 2-0 Dogwood) in the driver’s seat, leading the Wildcats (5-2, 2-1), Altavista and Appomattox by half a game.

And they have home-field advantage and a healthy quarterback to boot.

Friday night’s high school football preview capsules

It was a great weekend for running backs across the region.

“Unfinished Beesness” read one of the banners hanging outside Amherst’s football fieldhouse prior to Friday night’s showdown with defending Seminole District champion Brookville at Lancer Stadium.

The sign played off the theme of the season for the Lancers, who lost to Broad Run on a snowy field at Liberty University in last year’s Group AA, Division 4, state championship game immediately after Brookville fell short in a shootout to James Monroe in the Division 3 final.

Martin Owens’ second touchdown catch of the night lifted Virginia Episcopal School’s football team to its first win of the season while Desmond Rice ran for three touchdowns and Mike Rocco threw for another as Liberty Christian Academy blanked Fork Union Military Academy.

Heritage took out some early season frustrations on its oldest rival and newest Seminole District opponent, E.C. Glass, as the Pioneers pounded the Hilltoppers 31-11 at City Stadium on Friday.

“This is one of those games you look forward to all year,” Heritage coach Doug Smith said. “Our kids wanted it. They worked for it and it turned out all right for them.”

CHATHAM — A high scoring first half turned into a defensive battle as William Campbell (3-4, 2-2) defeated host Chatham (0-6, 0-2) 34-32 in Dogwood District football action Friday night.

BEDFORD — Liberty’s offense is built on deception. It’s difficult at times to see from the sidelines exactly which running back in Liberty’s three-back set gets the football. It can even be tougher for the players on the field.

Jefferson Forest, though, had played sound assignment football for most of Friday night, making sure to key in on the fullback every time he touched the ball. The Cavaliers made one mistake, one bad read, and it proved costly.

RINGGOLD — A week after its defense was exploited by Altavista, the motto at Dan River’s practices was to return to its old form — a fast, hard-tackling unit that created havoc for opposing teams.

The Wildcats returned three Nelson County fumbles for touchdowns in the first half and senior linebacker R.J. Myers recorded a season-high 18 tackles as the Wildcats celebrated homecoming with an authoritative 46-6 victory over the Governors Friday night in Dogwood District action.

APPOMATTOX — Appomattox could not have asked for a better start.

Playing host to Dogwood District rival Altavista on a bitingly cold night, the Raiders put six points on the board without sending the offensive unit onto the field when Neal Thomas returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. They even held Altavista’s Johnny Wimbish in check in the first quarter. However, before the final horn sounded, Wimbish would score a touchdown on defense, plus a pair on offense to lead the Colonels to a 19-6 road victory.

Check back for delays, postponements, and scores. If you’re at the game, send us photos, and call your score in to 540-981-9126 .

It’s been a long time since Altavista has been a contender in the Dogwood District, dominated by Gretna and William Campbell for the past decade.

The Colonels (5-1, 1-1 Dogwood), whose only loss was to the Hawks, come into tonight’s district duel against Appomattox (5-1, 2-0) with as many wins as they had last year and the most since 1998, when they finished 6-4.

Tonight’s clash between Bedford County and Seminole District rivals Jefferson Forest and Liberty promises to be as physical a football game as ever, unless the flu bug that has hit both high schools hard this week takes its toll.

Being blessed with an abundance of athletes doesn’t do a football team much good unless it has a quarterback who can get the ball in their hands, with space to showcase their speed and skill.

The Top 10 Virginia Football teams in the Virginia Group AAA, AA, A prep poll as selected by sports writers and broadcasters from around the state, with first-place votes in parentheses and total points received based on a 10-through-1 voting system

Players of the week from Friday’s football action.

FOREST — Cavaliers quarterback Hunter Hannell passed for two touchdowns and ran for another as Jefferson Forest rolled over the Rustburg Red Devils 46-21.

Roundup of Friday night’s other high school football games involving area teams.