Marty Gordon
Week number two on the grid iron saw both Christiansburg and Radford pick up easy wins, while Eastern Montgomery and Blacksburg are still looking for their first win of the season.
Games this week:
William Byrd at Christiansburg
This week is a battle from two offensive teams. Byrd beat Hidden Valley 47-7 contest. Meanwhile, Christiansburg rolled on the road with a 45-7 win at Abingdon.
Byrd is 2-0 for the first time since 2018 and rushed for 171 yards on Friday night as QB Israel Hairston completed 6 of 11 passes for 48 yards and ran for 78 yards on seven carries with two touchdowns. Brayden Andrews added 73 yards.
Tanner Evans was five of nine through the air for 136 yards with a 33- and 73-yard touchdowns. Jacob Evans and JT Thompson, each had a score through the air. Evans also was five of 74 on the ground with touchdown runs of 40 and five. Matt Annis had the other score for Christiansburg, who is now 2-0.
Annis rushed nine times for 107 yards. Max Fernandez had 32 yards and Izaiah Cotto had three rushes for 12 yards.
Prediction: Christiansburg 34, William Byrd 28.
Blacksburg at Floyd
Floyd is coming off a 20-12 loss to Ft. Chiswell to fall to 0-2 on the 2023 season. Floyd’s Joseph March ran 13 times for 91 yards and Eion McPeak caught seven passes for 61 yards.
This past week is a game Blacksburg wants to forget. Lord Botetourt rolled in an 83-6 win as Blacksburg lost its 29th straight game.
Prediction: Floyd 28, Blacksburg 14.
Radford at Virginia High
Radford remained unbeaten on the season in a 35-0 shutout of Giles. Landen Clark threw for 273 yards and three touchdowns in a 14-of-22 night.
Virginia High is now 1-1 after a 13-6 win over John Battle.
Prediction: Radford 34, Virginia High 14.
Northwood at Eastern Montgomery
Northwood is 0-2 after losses to Twin Springs and Rye Cove. Last week, they were on the losing end of a 42-0 game at Rye Cove. They finished 3-7 in 2022 and included a 20-6 win over this week’s opponents.
Eastern Montgomery fell to 0-2 last week in a 40-0 loss to Rural Retreat.
Prediction: Eastern Montgomery 21, Northwood 20.
Players of Week: Sincere Taylor caught five passes for 154 yards for Radford in a big win over Giles.
Area Top Five: 1) Christiansburg, 2) Radford, 3) Salem, 4) Glenvar, 5) Narrows.
