WASHINGTON — Dillon Fry was born and raised in Bath County.
He was an all-state player and won a lot of football games in the orange and black.
Late Friday night, standing in the end zone at Rappahannock County High School, the first-year head coach couldn’t think of a time he was prouder to be a Charger.
Kamoy Stone, Javier Walker, Jaden Ryder and Wyatt Harmon all had touchdown runs and Bath County snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 28-8 win over the Panthers.
“I’ll tell you this, it’s nerve wracking,” said Fry. “When you’re not in there playing, you really can’t control what’s going on. But I think this is my most satisfying victory. These guys worked so hard. With COVID hitting, having a condensed season, a lot of guys have bought into it. Even though we won a lot of big games when I was playing, this I think was the most satisfying just being here with these guys.”
It’s took just two plays for the Chargers to take a lead they wouldn’t surrender.
Stone outraced the entire Panther team and just 28 seconds in Bath County had a 6-0 advantage.
“We knew we had some match-ups, with Javier and Kamoy, with their speed that we could possibly take advantage of,” Fry said. “On film we saw them kind of shift over and maybe kind of over penetrate or over pursue a little bit. We knew if we hit that back side it could be there. That gave the kids some confidence.”
A long Ryder run set up a Walker 14-yard touchdown scamper just two minutes before the break. Ryder plowed across for the two-point conversion for a 14-0 Charger halftime lead.
It was Ryder’s turn to find the end zone on Bath’s first second-half possession.
The junior took a 58-yard run to the house and Stone’s kick stretched the lead to three scores.
Bath County’s defense came up big when a Ryder fake point came up short.
The Panthers had a 1st-and-goal from the 7-yard-line, but were stopped on downs.
Both Ryder and Forrest Waldeck had big tackles in the stand.
But Rappahannock’s Joshua Jones jumped on a Bath fumble in the end zone and a two-point run from Panther quarterback Matthew Pullen cut the BC lead to 21-8.
It didn’t take long for the Chargers to seal the deal.
Walker went 48 yards on the second play following the kickoff and Harmon followed his line for seven yards for the win-clinching Bath touchdown.
The Chargers made the long trip to Rappahannock with just five linemen.
Fry said that those lineman, along with a trio of tight ends, were the story of the game.
“I told the linemen before the game, ‘You don’t get the credit, but football is won with you. Everybody may talk about those fast guys that run and catch the ball, but it all comes down to you’.”
Luke Hooker, Brennen Gardzinski, Sean Tucker, Zach Hall and Tye Hooker were the guys up front.
“They knew they had to play the whole game,” Fry said. “It’s been that way a lot of games for us this year.”
Fry also praised the work of tight ends Forrest Waldeck, Hunter Waldeck and Isaac Gwin.
“We are not a pass-first team,” he said. “Those tight ends think they are linemen sometimes. But I tell you those guys and the line, they are the heart and soul of this team. Any good team, that’s the way it’s going to be.”
The Chargers totaled 289 yards of offense.
Walker, Ryder and Stone combined for 223 rushing behind the guys up front.
Harmon added a 2-for-2 night for 48 yards with both completions going to Stone.
Pullen had 127 yards of offense for Rappahannock County (0-2), a Bull Run District member, but a member that doesn’t play a district schedule.
Bath County (1-4) now tries to carry the momentum of a win into Thursday night’s match-up against Covington.
“They are a good team,” Fry said of the Cougars. “I don’t know the result of what happened tonight, but they’re better than what their record indicates.
“If they play their game, they can beat anybody — you saw what they did to Parry (McCluer),” he added. “They have a great quarterback and a great back. They have a bunch of tough, physical kids. They are like us in regards to having some smaller guys, but they are tough kids. We’re going to have to play our A-game. Hopefully tonight gives us some confidence. Like I just told those guys over there. ‘You have to believe you’re going to win.’
You could tell this week we believed we were going to win. I’m just glad we accomplished it.”
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