Photos by Greg Barnett
Bluefield – After going 35 days between their first and second games of the season, Bluefield only had to wait three days for its third.
Monday against PikeView the 0-2 Beavers looked like a team that found their way.
The Beavers picked up 422 yards of offense and scored three times on defense in a 66-0 rout of county foe PikeView Monday at Mitchell Stadium.
“I was happy the players got to play and we finally saw some smiles on faces,” Bluefield head coach Fred Simon said. “I was very happy we could see some grinning and enjoyment. All the players got in and got to play some tonight so it was good to have that experience after the way things have started.”
Using their trademark explosive plays, the host Beavers scored twice within the first 20 seconds of the game.
The first came when running back Amir Hairston bolted 56-yard to the end zone just 10 seconds in and the second came 10 seconds later when PikeView running back Austin Shrewsbury fumbled on the Panthers’ first offensive play, leading to a 24-yard fumble return returned for a touchdown by Bluefield freshman Jamel Floyd.
Touchdown passes of 54 and 18 yards from Ryker Brown to Jacorian Green sandwiched a 54-yard interception return for a touchdown by Bluefield’s Chance Johnson accounted for the final three scores of the frame.
“We were aggressive at times,” Simon said. “I’ll have to look at film to know exactly how things went. We weren’t real complicated but I think as a whole we played well.”
By the time the dust cleared in the first quarter the Beavers held a 33-0 lead, adding to it with another Hairston scoring jaunt and a 90-yard interception return for a touchdown by Green on the final play of the half.
The Panthers found some momentum
Early in the second quarter, ripping off a 12-play drive that gained 49 yards and moved the ball to the Bluefield 27, but on fourth-and-20 the Panthers came up empty.
“You can’t look at the Bluefield name and be intimidated,” PikeView head coach Jason Spears said. “You’ve got to look past all their accomplishments and state championships. I know it’s a lot but you’ve got to still come out and play football. We treat it like we’re going to war, but we’re playing a game. We should’ve come out here, not intimidated and just played ball. We just came out and didn’t really want to execute and we didn’t play well. We’ve got four games left so we’ll move on from this and those are all pretty winnable games. We’ll take a week to rest up and go at it again.”
For majority of the second half the Beavers reserves saw all the action with starting quarterback Ryker Brown playing one series before joining Hairston and Green on the sidelines.
That development worked in the Beavers’ favor as they’ll go from a 35-day game drought to playing three in a matter of seven days, with the third coming on Friday when they travel to Tazewell.
“Caleb (Fuller) our backup quarterback did a good job,” Simon said. “I think Jerard (Wade) did well, Jamel Floyd did really well running the ball for us all game. The good thing about tonight is a lot of players got in. If I’m a kid I’d rather play a game than practice so I think we’ll be okay for Friday. A lot of players got in and got some action so almost everyone will be fresh after this. We’ll have a more relaxation type of practice tomorrow as we get ready for Tazewell.”
PikeView drops to 1-5 on the season and will be idle this Friday before returning Friday Oct. 22 to play Wyoming East, Spears’ alma mater.
PV: 0 0 0 0 – 0
B: 33 12 14 7 – 66
Scoring Plays
Q1
B: Amir Hairston 56 rush (Bryson Redmond Kick), 11:50
B: Jamel Floyd 24-yard fumble return for a touchdown (PAT blocked), 11:40
B: Jacorian Green 56-yard pass from Ryker Brown (Kick missed), 7:59
B: Chance Johnson 54-yard interception return (Redmond Kick), 6:10
B: Green 18-yard pass from Brown (Redmond Kick), 2:02
Q2
B: Hairston 28 rush (PAT fails), 5:49
B: Green 90-yard interception return (Kneel), 0:00
Q3
B: Sencere Fields fumble recovery in end zone (Redmond PAT), 6:25
B: Floyd 22 rush (Redmond PAT), 2:35
Q4
B: Marquise Saunders 18 rush (Redmond), 7:40
Individual Statistics
Rushing – PV: Austin Shrewsbury 12-46, Amiliyon Singleton 9-8, Braydon Dalton 1-1, Peyton Greer 16-(Minus 12); B: Amir Hairston 4-137-2, Jamel Floyd 8-45-1, Christopher Patton 1-29, Marquise Saunders 2-26, Jerard Wade 3-16, Ryker Brown 3-16, Caleb Fuller 2-0.
Passing – PV: Greer 5-12-53-2 INTs; B:Ryker Brown 6-7-119-2 TDs, Caleb Fuller 3-5-34-0.
Receiving – PV: Braydon Dalton 2-29, No. 1 2-13, Chase Mounts 1-11; B: Jacorian Green 2-74-2 TDs, Chance Johnson 1-19, Jamel Floyd 1-14, Sencere Fields 2-12, Reggie Hairston 1-12, Bryson Redmond 1-11, Braeden Fong 1-11.
