The Shadow
Bath County, Va- The Bath County Chargers football team just finished an unbelievable season. The Chargers went on a winning streak that almost nobody saw possible, except head coach jake Phillips.
Bath’s regular season was basically a series of blowouts by the boys in orange and black, with Narrows really being the only exception. In regular season play, the Chargers outscored their opponents by the astronomical margin of 519 to 49. By the third game of the season, it was clear to most everyone that the Chargers were the real deal. They were able to finish up securing their first district title in many years. They went on to win two playoff games against Fort Chiswell and Narrows and lost their one and only game in the Region Championship against Grayson County.
There are many pieces to the puzzle that make a great football team, and the Chargers had many of them. On offense, it all started with their offensive line. Bath’s boys up front owned the line of scrimmage all season long. Seniors Bryson Whiting and Dillon Royer opened big holes and bullied defensive lineman every game. Their ability to substitute up front and not lose anything on the field was crucial to the team’s success as well. Players pulling double duty and helping on JV too like Hernan Malpica, could be put in at pulling guard and they never missed a beat. Making holes to run through and great pass blocking only work if you have the right people in the backfield and split wide to hit the holes and catch the passes and Bath had that. The only name fitting for senior quarterback Wyatt Campbell was Superman. Wyatt’s ability to be fully aware of everything going on around him was amazing and the only thing better than his passing ability is his talent for running the ball. He is truly a once-in-a-generation type of talent and it’ll be interesting to see what he does in the future. Ethan Bryant was key to the Charger’s success at running back and had multiple 100-yard games. When Phillips needed four or five yards, he knew Ethan would get them.
One of the things that made this Charger team so hard to deal with was the fact that they had no weaknesses. Luke Turner was the teams go to receiver for most of the season, and on long third-down situations, Campbell could throw the ball just about anywhere and know that Turner was going to pull it in.
The Bath County defense was just as stacked as their offense and for much of the season they should have called themselves three-and-out because more times than not their opponent ran three plays and then punted without giving up a first down.
During their games at Paige and Bland County, the Chargers only gave up first downs because of penalties in each game. The key aspects of Bath County’s defense were a defensive line that spent most plays in the backfield. Jeremy Burns, Dillon Royer and Asa Altizer stopped most plays before they ever got started by knocking offenses off the line of scrimmage and Burns was too athletic and fast to be blocked.
The heart and soul of the Chargers defense was Braiden Mabe. Mabe was the high school equivalent of a Brian Dawkins or Ray Lewis type of defender. He was all over the field and nobody got past him. Phillips also was able to feel free to blitz and run traps whenever he wanted because he knew he could depend on his corners and secondary to glue themselves to opposing receivers and prevent a touchdown off blown coverage.
This team made Bath County proud all season long. Coach Phillips instilled into them what is known in this area as “Bath County football.” They showed constant sportsmanship and respect for other players. They knocked opponents down and then helped them back up to do it again. When another player was injured, they quickly and quietly took a knee and showed a kind of professionalism that’s unfortunately seldom seen in sports anymore.
Keep your heads held high Chargers. You did everyone in your community, including yourselves, proud.
