Staunton River now on three-game winning streak

MONETA — There’s another streak at Staunton River.

After suffering through a 28-game losing streak spanning nearly three years, the Golden Eagles won their third straight game Friday — a 13-0 decision over Tunstall.

Junior quarterback Cody Jones got Staunton River on the scoreboard in the first quarter with a 4-yard run and Meech Coles padded the Golden Eagles’ lead with an 84-yard scamper in the second quarter.

With 232 yards on 26 carries, Coles outshined Tunstall’s entire offense, which had 216 total yards.

The Golden Eagles (3-3) put their streak on the line next Friday at Lord Botetourt.

Dan River 25, William Campbell 18

RINGGOLD — Dan River’s defense had kept William Campbell’s offense at bay for most of the night. It seemed only fitting that the Wildcats’ defense would seal the game in the final seconds for the victory over the Generals on Friday night.

With William Campbell (2-3, 0-1 Dogwood) threatening in Dan River territory in the final seconds, Terrence Williams and Arshay Jefferson broke through the Generals’ offensive line for a sack as time expired, giving the Wildcats (4-1, 1-0 Dogwood) a win in their Dogwood District opener.

“Our defense played great in the second half,” Dan River coach Ferrell Edmunds said. “We basically shut them out.”

William Campbell’s only score in the second half came on an 89-yard fumble return by Marcus Alexander, who stripped the ball away from Dan River quarterback Justin Gunter deep in Generals territory. That play, the last of the third quarter, put William Campbell ahead 18-13.

William Campbell coach Dwayne Hamlette hoped that would be the spark his team had been looking for, but the Generals’ lead didn’t hold for long.

“You get one of those plays and you think momentum comes on your side,” Hamlette said. “But the way this game was, no one really had momentum.”

Dan River went ahead 19-18 on R.J. Myers’ 8-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, and the Wildcats extended their lead to seven on a 42-yard halfback pass from Trey Edmunds to Deon Hairston with 6:21 to play.

“They started putting six, seven or eight in the box all night because they had a hard time stopping our run,” Edmunds said of William Campbell’s defense. “I figured if we showed sweep, everyone would come up. Trey has a strong arm and he just launched it and Deon, with all his speed, just run underneath it. It was a heck of a call. At that point we felt like we needed a big play.”

The play was a definite boost for the Wildcats, but the game was far from over. The Generals drove up to Dan River’s 30-yard line before the Wildcats’ defense stopped the drive on fourth down. Dan River’s ensuing drive stalled with 39 seconds to play, giving William Campbell one more chance. A 17-yard pass, followed by a roughing the pass penalty gave the Generals an opportunity to strike with one final play, but Devante Easley couldn’t get away from Dan River’s Williams and Jefferson.

LCA 58, Riverdale Baptist 6

Desmond Rice rushed for three scores and had a touchdown reception as the Bulldogs dismantled the Crusaders.

Rice posted TD runs of 4, 2 and 15 yard and finished the game with 195 yards on 17 carries. His fourth TD of the night was a 38-yard scoring strike from Desmond Good.

Good also had an outstanding night, throwing just one incompletion and finishing with 202 yards and three TD passes. His 43-yard TD toss to Scott Hyland in the first quarter ignited a 44-point scoring explosion by the Bulldogs (4-1).

Cory Harrington added a late 3-yard touchdown and Robert Ferguson punctuated the blowout with a 46-yard interception return in the fourth quarter.