The Shadow
HOT SPRINGS – The Bath County Chargers were in need of a pre-playoff tune-up.
At Carl F. Williams Field Friday night, they received just that.
Raymond Miller hooked up with Ryan Plecker on a pair of touchdown throws and the Chargers scored 21 points in a big third quarter as Bath ran past Pendleton County, 41-6.
The Chargers, who have been bit by the turnover bug this year, put the football on the ground just once Friday, and rolled up 360 total yards.
“If we take care of the football, we can move it,” said BCHS coach Will Fields. “And it’s like I tell people, the kids don’t want to fumble. We’re working on it and I’m happy we were able to take care of it tonight.”
The win boosted the Chargers to 4-6 on the regular season and kept them in the No. 12 spot in the Group A, Division 1, Eastern Section point standings.
Unofficially, Bath County will travel to No. 5 Franklin (6-4) next week for a first round playoff match-up.
After a slow start, the Chargers got on the board late in the first quarter on a 10-play, 92-yard touchdown drive.
Christian Woodzell capped the drive, dragging tacklers into the end zone from five yards out.
Miller’s dart to a streaking Plecker from 60 yards away and a throw to Chris Nichols for the two-point conversion stretched the lead to 14-0 at halftime.
Again it was Miller-to-Plecker, this time from 43 yards out, for a 20-0 lead a minute into the third quarter.
“We were kind of feeling each other out early,” said Fields. “They had a very aggressive safety who liked to play down in the box. That’s what we’ve been trying to do all year – back people off by throwing it over their heads.
“We finally put it all together tonight and were able to get it out there.”
The Chargers scored on all three of their third-quarter possessions with Mitchell Stinespring and Matthew Quantz both getting the call for touchdown runs.
The Chargers then were able to cash in on the final play of the game as Lukas Wells, who had a punt return for a score called back by penalty early in the game, scooped up a Pendleton fumble and returned it 94 yards for a score as the game ended.
Thirteen different players carried the football for Bath, amassing 200 yards rushing, while Miller connected on 6-of-9 throws for 145 yards.
The Chargers’ first team defense pitched a shutout.
A Daniel Hevener-to-Logan Rainer 10-yard TD throw against the Bath second-teamers late in the fourth provided the only points for the Wildcats (1-8).
Fields was anxious to find out the Chargers’ postseason opponent after the win.
The possibilities included a short trip to Covington or a long trip to the east.
“The kids would love to play local again,” said Fields.
“But just talking about it, I think some of them are excited to get on a bus and go somewhere they’ve never been. We’ve never even heard of some of these schools that we might be playing. We’re happy to get whatever we get.”
Franklin, out of the Tri-Rivers District, lost 52-6 to Windsor on Friday night.
Like the Chargers, the Broncos are no strangers to postseason.
Franklin won state titles in both 2004 and 2008 and last year fell in the state semifinals to eventual champion Riverheads.
A decision will be made later this weekend on whether the game will be played Friday night or Saturday afternoon.
The winner of the Bath County-Franklin first round game will meet the winner of the Covington-Parry McCluer rematch in the second round.
Playoffs
The projected first round pairings for the Division 1, Eastern Section include:
No. 16 West Point (4-6) at No. 1 Sussex Central (9-1)
No. 9 Altavista (5-5) at No. 8 Lancaster (5-5)
No. 12 Bath County (4-6) at. No. 5 Franklin (6-4)
No. 13 Parry McCluer (4-6) at No. 4 Covington (7-3)
No. 11 Colonial Beach (3-7) at No. 6 Central-Lunenburg (7-3)
No. 14 Charles City (3-7) at No. 3 Northumberland (7-3)
No. 10 William Campbell (3-7) at No. 7 Rappahannock (6-4)
No. 15 Surry (3-7) at No. 2 Matthews (9-1)
