Sept. 6, 2019 --- G.W. 55 Amherst Co. 29
Home-opening win!
Shakobe Hairston runs the read option
(Photos by Brad Fussell)
After a nightmarish start to their 2019 home opener, the GW Eagles settled down and steamrolled the Amherst County Lancers in the second half, winning 55-29.
The game could hardly have started off any worse for the Eagles. They kicked off to the Lancers--- Deangelo Brown found a seam on the left side and drifted 90 yards for a touchdown. The Lancers’ good fortune continued on the extra point. The kicker, Aiden Rodes, picked up an errant snap and completed a desperation pass for a successful two-point conversion. 14 seconds into the game, the Lancers led 8-0.
GW got the ball and went three-and-out. Then disaster struck. Punter Chris Wilson got a low snap that trickled through his legs. He was tackled at the Eagle 11. Amherst scored two plays later to take a 14-0 lead.
GW’s offense stalled until late in the first quarter. Quarterback Shakobe Hairston ran in a score from three yards out to make it 14-6.
In the second quarter the Eagles’ defense tightened up while the offense engineered two time-consuming touchdown drives. Wesley Graves ran in an 11-yard touchdown. With just over a minute left, Hairston hooked up with Zavion King for a 56-yard touchdown pass. That gave the Eagles a 20-14 halftime lead.
The Eagles got the ball first in the second half and cashed in quickly. Graves scored his second touchdown to put the Eagles up 26-14. But the Lancers bounced back. They shifted to a power running game and got a 44-yard scoring run from Xzaiver Ellis to pull to within 26-21.
The Eagles offense then shifted into overdrive. The next three drives ended with touchdowns from Graves. The Eagles added another score from Willie Edmunds with four-and-a-half minutes left to go up 55-21. The Lancers scored a final touchdown against the Eagles’ second-string defense to make the final score 55-29.
Graves’ five-touchdown performance matched a career-high he set last year against Martinsville. He ended up with 185 yards on 18 carries. Hairston added 112 yards on 12 rushes. Edmunds netted 131 yards on 16 carries. It was the first time the Eagles had three one-hundred yard rushers in a game since 2008 against Halifax County.
 |
 |
TEAM STATS
| G.W. | OPP. | |
| First Downs | 19 | 14 |
| Rushes-Yds | 48-401 | 37-231 |
| Pass YDs | 133 | 50 |
| C-A-I | 8-14-0 | 6-14-2 |
| Total Yards | 534 | 281 |
INDIVIDUAL STATS
| RUSHING | Att. | Yds. | Avg. | TDs. |
| Graves | 18 | 185 | 10.7 | 5 |
| Edmunds | 16 | 131 | 8.2 | 1 |
| Hairston | 12 | 112 | 9.3 | 1 |
| Byrnes | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | 0 |
| (Team) | 1 | -20 | -20.0 | 0 |
| PASSING | ATT. | Comp. | Yds | TDs. | Int. |
| Hairston | 14 | 8 | 133 | 1 | 0 |
| RECEIVING | NO. | YDS. | Avg. | TDs. |
| Sy.Watlington | 3 | 42 | 14.0 | 0 |
| King | 2 |
60 |
30.0 |
1 |
| Bethel | 1 | 22 | 22.0 | 0 |
| McClary | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 |
| Pritchett | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 |
| KICKING | XPM-XPA | FGM-FGA | Pts. |
| Deandrea | 3-5 | 0-0 | 3 |
| INT. | No. | SACKS | No. | |
| Howard | 1 | |||
| McClary | 1 |
| SCORING | Rushing | Receiving | Return | XP | FG | Sf. | Points |
| Graves | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| King | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Edmonds | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Hairston | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| DeAndrea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
First Quarter
Third Quarter
GW --- Graves 65 run (pass failed) 11:36
AC --- Ellis 44 run (kick good) 9:24
GW --- Graves 1 run (Graves run) 1:56
Fourth Quarter
GW --- Graves 7 run (Deandrea kick) 9:17
GW --- Graves 11 run (Deandrea kick) 7:17
GW --- Edmunds 10 run (Deandrea kick) 4:54
AC --- T. Brown 29 pass from Rose (run good) 0:36