The Shadow
COVINGTON – With it already being a momentous evening for it being senior night, you could get a sense you were in for a special night when the first play of the game went for 15-yards and a first down.
That set the tone for what was to follow which was another Alleghany blowout victory as the Cougars continued with their unbeaten regular season improving to 9-0 following a dominating 55-0 Three Rivers District victory over James River (Buchanan) on Friday night in Covington at Casey Field.
Alleghany dominated from the opening kickoff and never gave James River a chance. The Cougars erupted with 42 first half points.
Just how dominant was the Alleghany offense in the first half, during the first 13 minutes, the Cougars had 12 first downs. AHS finished with 17 total for the game.
Senior Xzavier Hayslett erupted during the first half with seven receptions for 121-yds and a touchdown. Hayslett also had an interception. It was one of six total forced turnovers by the Cougars defense in the win. Hayslett accounted for six of the Cougars 13 first half first downs.
Much like Hayslett, fellow senior Hunter Knighton made his presence felt on both the offensive side of the football and the defensive side. Knighton finished the game with two touchdowns, one on offense and one on defense. Knighton reeled in three receptions for 29-yds, along with 27-yds rushing, and also had a pick-6,
The night continued to be a special one for the senior class as Nick Frye had a breakout performance on defense as he was a nightmare to deal with for James River as Frye had a fumble recovered, an interception, and also broke up several passes. Frye also had two receptions for 26-yds.
Meanwhile the man under center, Des Jordan continued to shine as the junior, all coming in the first half, went 11-for-14 with 161 passing yards and a pair of touchdown passes. Jordan also had a rushing score.
In his only carry of the game, offensive and defensive lineman Joseph Rogers had a rushing touchdown on his senior night. Fellow senior Gavin Via also ran for a touchdown,
Junior Carter Nicely ran for 40-yds and had two rushing touchdowns. Sophomore Mason Hale was 7-for-7 on extra points.
Alleghany smothered James River with 21-points in the first quarter within the first eight minutes of the game as Nicely scored twice during that time.
The Cougars would tack on 21 more points in the second quarter as Jordan crossed the end zone on a 5-yd rushing score, Hayslett reeled in an 18-yd touchdown reception, and Knighton returned a 46-yd interception.
Simply put it was all Alleghany.
James River’s offense showed some promise here and there, but also hurt themselves in the process with flags that wiped away big plays. The Knights did not once get into Alleghany’s red zone. The closest JRHS got to was the Cougars 29-yard line, but the Knights committed one of their six turnovers on that drive.
The shutout victory for Alleghany was their first of the season. It was however the sixth time that the Cougars held their opponents to single digits.
Alleghany wraps up their regular season Friday on the road against Floyd County (5-4/2-2 TRD). The Buffaloes lost to Glenvar last week 45-13. If the Cougars win, they will not only wrap up an undefeated regular season but will also be the district champions and secure a top-3 seed in the Region 3C playoff tournament.
James River 0 0 0 0 – 0
Alleghany 21 21 13 0 – 55
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
AHS – Nicely 1 run (Hale kick), 9:25
AHS – Knighton 4 pass from Jordan (Hale kick), 7:24
AHS – Nicely 1 run (Hale kick), 4:40
Second Quarter
AHS – Jordan 5 run (Hale kick), 11:09
AHS – Hayslett 18 pass from Jordan (Hale kick), 7:25
AHS – Knighton interception return (Hale kick), 5:01
Third Quarter
AHS – Via 11 run (Hale kick), 11:04
AHS – Rogers 1 run (2pt fails, bad snap), 4:45
Individual Statistics
RUSHING – JR: Binns 13-39, Wilson 3-26, Park 3-1. AHS: Nicely 7-40, Via 2-34, Knighton 2-27, Rice 2-25, Wright 2-16, Rice 2-25, Jordan 4-8, Fisher 2-3, Rogers 1-1. PASSING – JR: Park 5-18-67. AHS: Jordan 11-14-161, Griffith 2-2-26, Elliott 0-1-0. RECEIVING – JR: Merchant 2-50, Ward 1-12, Baldwin 1-7, Forbes 1-(-3 AHS: Hayslett 7-121, Knighton 3-29, Frye 2-26, Godfrey 1-11.
