PREP FOOTBALL Carroll County carried ball to record-setting night

Written by Hamish Costello on September 7, 2010 – 6:54 pm

It was originally calculated as between 560-570 yards. Upon further review, the tally was believed to be 520 total yards.

Whatever the official number, what Carroll County High School did last week in a 47-19 non-district football win over Patrick County was record-breaking.

The Cavaliers established a school record for rushing yards and racked up 25 first downs. Three guys gained 100 or more yards, while six different Cavs reached the end zone via the rush.

“In my time coaching, I’ve never been involved with a team that has rushed for that many yards,” said Carroll County coach Tom Hale. “I’ve been involved with teams that have had that much total offense, but it was just a great night.

“Our backs were just running and getting extra yards after the first hit. Our offensive line really put on a good show there for us blocking and our backs got yardage after the first hit. It was just clicking on all cylinders.”

Quarterback Blake Bowman led the charge with 152 yards on 10 carries and a score.

“We had a great week of practice,” Bowman said. “That was our gameplan going into it – do what we do best and run the ball. It all started up front on the line. They did a great job blocking. The backs ran hard.”

Ryne Ayers (13 carries, 108 yards, one touchdown) and Ulises Moreno (10 carries, 100 yards, one touchdown) also had big nights. Logan Hodges, Jacob Mollet and Cameron Marshall chipped in with productive performances as Carroll County carried the ball an eye-popping 61 times.

The offensive line – led by tackle Trevor Bolen – was also instrumental in the record-setting offensive outburst.

“Usually we try to go for 2 or 3 yards a carry,” Bowman said. “We were blowing it out there and getting 10 or 12. We went until the whistle blew.”

Bowman admitted it was a nice way to bounce back after Carroll County opened the season with a 17-14 loss to Bassett thanks to a last-second field goal.

The Cavaliers (1-1) travel to loaded Christiansburg (2-0) on Friday. They will look to build off their historic ground gaining exhibition.

“It gives us a lot more confidence in ourselves,” Bowman said. “This week we’ve got a real, real tough matchup with Christiansburg. [The performance against Patrick County] will help us build and go into that game strong.”

 

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