ROANOKE CO., Va. – It was a sight to see — yellow bandanas, Christmas lights and inflatables all over the stadium — celebrating Christmas a little early for William Byrd’s Cam Thepsimong, who is battling bone cancer.
The first half of this one was all defense. Both teams with ample scoring opportunities in the red zone, but there were multiple fourth downs that couldn’t be converted, leading to a turnover on downs.
Byrd will go for a long field goal with under three left in the second quarter. It’s close, but no good.
Northside will do the same as time expires in the half — also no good. Still scoreless at halftime.
Terriers finally able to punch one in early third quarter — Jamez Toler on the short scramble.
But on the ensuing kickoff, Dayshon King will return it to the promised land. In a matter of seconds, this game went from scoreless to tied up 7-7.
More defense for much of the game — both teams stopping the run games in its tracks. But somebody has to score for this thing to be over.
Finally, with under two minutes left in the game, Byrd gets the ball inside the 10. Toler with the carry, but the ball is stripped right at the goal line. His teammate Tate Kotz jumps on it — and it’s a Terrier touchdown. 14-7 with 1:47 on the clock.
Neither team has any touchdowns left, but Northside making some good ground on a potential scoring drive. Casey Hall finds Darrion King for another first down.
Next play — Hall looking to move the chains big time — going downfield to King again, but it is picked off by Zane Taylor. William Byrd wins the county clash, 14-7 over Northside.
Our game of the week takes us down the road from our station, a cross-country rivalry between William Byrd and Northside.
At our game of the week one year ago, star running back Jamez Toler was well on his way to 100 yards rushing in a battle of the unbeatens between Byrd and William Fleming, but a devastating foot injury left him sidelined for the following six months.
“It was tough, you know, making it, it’s real tough, but now that we have a new bunch of new young guys coming out for the summer and seeing them how hard they work, knowing they were going to have to step up and play varsity,” Toler said.
Toler is a dynamic player; many wondered how he would look coming back, and it looks like he hasn’t missed a beat.
“Jamez has had a fantastic start, but I think it’d be quick to tell you that his success is a result of a lot of guys around him and their hard work. So, but when we get that kind of attitude and our offense has that kind of personality, good things will happen,” Terriers Head Coach, Brad Lutz, said
Toler is just one part of the machine that makes this William Byrd team go. The Terriers are currently 4-1 and haven’t put up fewer than 34 points each game.
“The younger group. We graduated 21 seniors that help us. One is, you know, two regional championships last year, but we do have a great group of leaders in our senior class and some kids who are evolving into leaders as younger players,” Lutz said.
The Terriers enter Blue Ridge District play Friday night and with it, a brand new test against Northside.
“You know, just play how we play and we’re not really our objective to stop anything, just play how we play...and if we play our ‘A’ game, I think it’s going to be a tough game for everybody,” Toler said.
With many of our teams returning to district play this week, this Blue Ridge District matchup between William Byrd and Northside is bound to live up to the hype.