The Alleghany Mountaineers (6-4/2-3) were potentially hosting their final ever home varsity football game, while Garrett Via was closing in on multiple school records.
Heading into their big Three Rivers District matchup with the Floyd County Buffaloes (6-3/3-2), the Mountaineers in years past had not had much success against the Buffaloes, losing five in a row to them.
However, it was a momentous night at Mountaineer Field this past Friday night.
In their potential last home game ever, the Mountaineers were victorious over the Buffaloes 28-6.
The win, the sixth on the season for the Mountaineers, secured their first winning season since 2010 and snapped the schools five-game losing streak to the Buffaloes.
Meanwhile, Via, three rushing touchdowns shy of tying the AHS record, broke the AHS rushing touchdown record.
Back in 2000, Terrell Givens broke, Bryan Hamm’s 14-year AHS record when he scored 23 rushing touchdowns.
Flash forward 22-years later, it’s Via setting the new all-time record that cannot ever be broken again due to the merger.
Via finished the night scoring all four touchdowns for the Mountaineers, while for the sixth time this season put together a 200+ yard performance in the ground attack as he finished with 201 rushing yards on 30 carries. Via’s longest touchdown came from 49 yards out.
In the win, not only did Via surpass Givens on for the AHS single season rushing touchdown, Via also surpassed Givens for second place on the single season rushing yards with 1,668. Via is just 88 yards away from tying Hamm’s 1986 record of 1,753.
In showcasing his durability, Via also recorded his second interception on the season.
The Buffaloes could not solve the Mountaineers formation all game long like most opponents this season that face the Mountaineers, especially during the back-end of the schedule.
Not only has defenses had issues with Via, but Dalton Griffith as well who has been nuisance to defenses lately with his 8.8 average per rushing attempt. Griffith, kept it up against the Buffaloes where he added 42 rushing yards and also had a long reception of 41 yards. The Mountaineers finished with 284 yards in the rushing attack.,
The Buffaloes offense was held to one of their season lows of 173 yards. Their only scoring occurred in the closing minute of the first half when Rylan Swortzel threw 29 yard touchdown pass to Phillip Radford. Swortzel had a solid performance for the Buffaloes with 110 passing yards coming on 12-of-19 passing attempts, the one touchdown pass to Radford, and an interception.
Meanwhile, Andrew Cole recorded a fumble recovery in the win for the Mountaineers.
This was a critical game for the playoff ranking. Heading into this game, the Buffaloes were in fifth place, while the Mountaineers were just a step behind the Buffaloes at sixth.
While the Mountaineers regular season has come to a close, their season has only just begun.
The Mountaineers new season begins on Friday, November 11th, in the first round of the Class 2, Region C playoffs. There is the potential for a home playoff game.
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Three Rivers District
Buffaloes at Mountaineers
Teams Scores/Qtr Total
FCHS 0 6 0 0 6
AHS 7 7 7 7 28
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SCORING PLAYS
First Quarter:
Alleghany – Via rush, PAT – FCHS 0, AHS 7
Second Quarter:
Alleghany – Via rush, PAT – FCHS 0, AHS 14
Floyd County – Radford pass from Swortzel, PAT blocked – FCHS 6, AHS 14
Third Quarter:
Alleghany – Via rush, PAT – FCHS 6, AHS 21
Fourth Quarter:
Alleghany – Via rush, PAT – FCHS 6, AHS 28
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