The Shadow
HOT SPRINGS – The Bath County Chargers have earned a shot at redemption.
Senior quarterback Michael Robertson ran for a pair of touchdowns and threw for two more Friday night, as the Chargers dispatched the Narrows Green Wave in the opening round of the Region C playoffs, 48-7.
The Bath County victory sets up a rematch with Eastern Montgomery in next week’s Region C semifinals. The Mustangs defeated the Chargers in their August 28 season opener, 52-27.
The Chargers left little doubt that a rematch with the Mustangs was in the cards as they raced to a 28-0 first-quarter lead Friday night. They outgained their visitors from Giles County in the first quarter 177-23 and averaged 17.7 yards per play.
After a Narrows 3-and-out, the Chargers immediately went to work. On their first play from scrimmage, J.P. Plecker took a handoff and sprinted up the middle, scoring from 54 yards out. Derek Brinkley’s placement gave the Chargers a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.
The Chargers were just warming up. After another Narrows punt, this time it took Bath County all of three plays to again find paydirt. On a 3rd-and-13 from the Bath County 43, Robertson hit Dillon Fry on a simple out pattern.
The junior receiver broke a tackle, got a block from fellow wideout Xavier Smothers and tiptoed down the home sideline, scoring from 57 yards out to give the Chargers a 14-0 lead.
A bruising 9-yard Dana Richmond run upped the Charger lead to 21-0, and a Fry interception set up Bath County’s final first-quarter score.
Dustin Bratton’s 25-yard scamper with 16 seconds left in the opening quarter increased the Bath County lead to 28-0.
Bath County coach Will Fields couldn’t have scripted a better opening for his Chargers, who obviously found the muddy conditions on the friendly confines of Carl F. Williams Field to their liking.
“We would like to bottle that kind of offense,” said Fields. “We executed well.”
The Chargers increased their lead to 35-0 in the second quarter, scoring on yet another big play.
Robertson hooked up with Richmond on a 54-yard pitch-and-catch.
Brinkley’s fifth conversion of the night increased the Bath County advantage to 35-0.
A 67-yard completion from Brock Lusk to Tyler Conley set up the only Narrows score of the night. Lusk than found Conley again to cap the drive, and the 9-yard scoring pass cut the Bath County lead to 35-7.
A Smothers interception on the final play of the half ensured the 35-7 Bath County lead at intermission.
Robertson then scored a pair of third-quarter touchdowns to increase the Bath County advantage to 48-7.
The Bath County offense was impressive on the night, racking up 369 yards of total offense despite a running clock for much of the second half.
Equally impressive was the Charger defense, which allowed only 78 yards of Green Wave offense on the evening, and 67 of those yards came on the long pass play from Lusk to Conley.
“We had them a little outmanned, but we executed,” Fields said. “We needed to be sharp, and I thought we were.”
The Chargers will definitely need to be sharp again next week when they travel to two-seed Eastern Montgomery. In that August 28 encounter, the Chargers surrendered 397 yards of total offense to the Mustangs.
“It’s an opportunity for us,” said Fields, whose Chargers improved to 7-4 on the season. “Seldom in football, you get a second chance, but we’re getting a second opportunity, and hopefully we can make the best of it.”
In the other half of the Region C, Divison 1 semifinals, top-seeded Holston will face Rural Retreat, a 44-20 winner over Covington Friday night. The two winners will then face off the following week for the Region C championship.
“I think we know what we can do,” Fields said. “The mission is clear, but we have to execute.”
