GW methodically ate up precious minutes on offense, marching down the field on a two-possession first quarter while the Maroon defense gave up nothing. The Pioneers managed just 75 yards of total offense in the Region 1C semifinals at George Wythe on Friday.
In fact, the scoreless first quarter saw George Wythe drive 99 yards down the field, getting into the edge of the end zone as time expired.
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In the opening seconds of the second quarter, Tandom Smith took the ball seven yards across the goal line on the other end of the field to put the Maroon up 7-0.
The second wasn’t a repeat of the first verse, but it did rhyme. Only this time the Fort Chiswell defense came up big, denying the GW boys a score on a fourth-and-goal stand that capped a long 80-plus yard march.
At the break, the game was still anyone’s, with GW clutching a 7-0 lead.
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The second half of the game didn’t look much like the first, particularly in terms of the scoreboard, as the Maroons kept the numbers moving.
Smith in the third found the end zone twice more, first on a six-yard gallop set up by a 51-yard break-out run from Trey Rainey and then on a two-yard jaunt.
Smith opened up the fourth with a one-yard plunge, essentially sealing the victory and a chance to play after Thanksgiving again.
The Fort finally got on the board late in the final stanza when Brady Kelly connected with Layton Kennedy, who streaked down the sideline for 27 yards to score.
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The Maroons capped off the game with one final score, claiming a 35-7 victory.
Fort Chiswell managed just two first downs while the Maroons finished with 328 yards on the ground and 137 in the air.
