The Shadow
Warm Springs VA- It’s no secret in the Alleghany Highlands that little Bath County High School under head coach Jake Phillips is a team that others had better prepare for.
Bath has not had a losing season under Phillips’ coaching and have been improving every year. This year the Chargers haven’t just been winning, but they’ve basically owned every field they have stepped foot on, and Friday evening they went for win number eight against the Fighting Blues from Parry McCluer. The game had district title hopes for each team on the line and the boys from Bath County picked up right where they had left off.
Parry McCluer won the coin toss and elected to receive the kickoff from Bath. The Chargers defense came out of the gate playing tough and holding the Blues to a three-and-out and punting to the Chargers.
Wyatt Superman Campbell received the punt and broke ankles all the way to the 47-yard line. Bath relied on two first downs to keep the drive alive which came on the hard running of Luke Turner and Wyatt Campbell before Turner had enough and broke free for an 18-yard run for a touchdown. The extra point by Braiden Mabe put the score at 7-0, all Bath County, in the beginning of the first quarter.
After the kickoff, Parry McCluer would have no better luck with picking up first downs and after repeated runs for losses and looking at fourth-and- 15, they punted the ball away. Bath took over on the Blues 46-yard line. McCluer’s defense held the Chargers and had them in a third-and-15 situation, but they don’t call him Superman for nothing, and letting Campbell run the ball netted the Bath County offense 39 yards and set them up in the red zone. On the very next play, Campbell handed the ball off to Bryant who walked untouched into the endzone, and Bath went up by 14 points. Buddha Mabe, after kicking the extra point, put a boot in the kickoff and pinned the Blues deep on the nine-yard line. Parry McClure was able to get some offense going on this drive through short passes and their run game and picked up two first downs.
The next series would swing back in the Chargers favor though.
Owen Purdue, like a man possessed, stormed into the backfield on third down and tackled McCluer’s running back five yards into the backfield putting the Blues in a long fourth-and-15 situation. Parry McCluer, desperate to get something going on offense knowing that the score was going to soon be out of makeup distance, decided to throw a pass instead of punting which fell incomplete and they turned the ball over to Bath with great field position.
Luke Turner gained 18 yards on first down on a run play around the end, setting the Chargers up with a first down on the 26-yard line. The very next play, Campbell called his own number and took the ball into the endzone for another touchdown, putting his Chargers up 21-0 still in the first quarter.
The next three quarters went about as good as the first one went for the Fighting Blues. Parry McClure did put together a nice series of plays in the second quarter, completing four passes for multiple yards and a touchdown, but Bath adjusted their coverage and Parry McCluer never really got going again after that.
The final score was 63-6 and the Bath County Chargers remain undefeated now at 8-0. Next week the Chargers travel to Narrows to do battle with the only other Pioneer District team that’s undefeated in district play. This one’s going to be for the district title and this team could use all of the support that they can get.
