The Shadow
ON THE MOVE — Alleghany’s Christian Carter (5) rambles for yardage, as Bath County defender Wesley Swartz (7) closes on the play. Carter had 99 yards rushing and three touchdowns in the Mountaineers’ 41-0 win over Bath County Friday night at Carl F. Williams Field. (Gavin Dressler Photo)
ON THE MOVE — Alleghany’s Christian Carter (5) rambles for yardage, as Bath County defender Wesley Swartz (7) closes on the play. Carter had 99 yards rushing and three touchdowns in the Mountaineers’ 41-0 win over Bath County Friday night at Carl F. Williams Field. (Gavin Dressler Photo)
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HOT SPRINGS — The Alleghany Mountaineers are the mythical area champions.
Christian Carter scored three touchdowns, while Matt Patterson added a pair, as the Mountaineers churned out 308 yards rushing Friday night in a 41-0 blanking of the Bath County Chargers.
Coupled with last week’s win over Covington, the Mountaineers now stand at 2-0.
Meantime, the Chargers dropped to 0-2 on the young season.
Carter rushed for 99 yards on just 10 carries — all in the first half — while Patterson added another 90.
“Another great performance by our guys up front,” said Alleghany boss Gary Burdette, alluding to the work of his offensive line — Levi Peters, Hillard Rookin, Travis Anderson, Scotti Browning, Landon Sparks and Jarrett Smith.
“A lot of it is those guys getting that initial surge, coming off the football,” Burdette continued. “We’re trying to attack downhill a whole lot more than catching — more weight on our hand, more forward push.”
Carter did the bulk of the damage on Alleghany’s opening drive. The 10-play, 64-yard march was capped by his 5-yard touchdown run. Levi Seay kicked the point, and the Mountaineers had an early 7-0 lead.
Carter’s 2-yard run on the second play of the second quarter increased the Alleghany lead to 14-0.
The Mountaineers made it 21-0 just before the half on Carter’s 43-yard jaunt down the home sideline. It was his last carry of the first half and his last carry of the game, as he finished a yard short of the century mark on only 10 carries.
Patterson’s 6-yard keeper increased the Alleghany lead to 28-0 near the midpoint of the third quarter, and another Patterson TD later in the quarter upped it to 34-0.
Cade Nicely’s 17-yard run on the keeper with 46 seconds left in the game provided the 41-0 final.
The Mountaineers held a 439-91 advantage in total yards.
“The defense, as a whole unit, really answered the call this week,” Burdette said. “We were afraid that we would come out a little flat because we were so high last week. It is an emotional game when you play those rivalry games. We knew that we had a tough opponent ahead of us, and we couldn’t look past them.”
In addition to his 90 yards rushing, Patterson also completed 7-of-18 throws for another 131 yards. That total would have been higher had it not been for several drops by Alleghany receivers.
Tanner Plecker had 34 yards rushing for the Chargers, while Evan Essex had another 26.
“I said in the paper this was a measuring stick,” said Bath County coach Will Fields. “We came up short.
“The message was: We’ve got a lot of work to do. We’ve got a lot of getting better to do. We’ve got to grow up a little bit, and we’re not there yet.”
After a pair of home games to start the season, the Chargers hit the road next week for Buffalo Gap.
Meantime, AHS returns to Mountaineer Field for a home contest with former coach Jack Baker and his Rustburg Red Devils.
“The challenge is there,” Burdette concluded. “We’ve had two good games to start, get our feet wet and come together as a unit.
“Week 3 presents its challenge — a very athletic football team,” he said, referencing the Red Devils. “We have to be assignment-ready. We have to be technique-ready. Our focus has to really be locked in on next week’s opponent.”
