1975 Radford 16 - George Wythe 12 1st Half

Описание: 10/24/1975
THE ROANÖKE TIMES, Saturday, October 25, 1975
Unbeaten 'Cats Hold To Edge Out Wytheville
By JOHN MARKON Times Sportswriter
WYTHEVILLE-Radford hung on to the New River District lead the way a drowning man holds on to a life preserver here Friday night, remaining unbeaten by struggling past Wytheville 16-12. The Bobcats, who need only two more wins to complete a 10-0 season and annex their fourth district title in five years, got more than enough in way of competition from the upset minded Maroons. "It was by far our toughest game of the year," said Radford Coach 1 Norm Lineburg. "They really came after us on defense. Everything we had, they stopped." Wytheville twice trailed by 10 points but t the more hopeless the situation seemed, the tougher the Maroons seemed to get.

After assuming a 10-6 halftime lead. Radford looked ready to end the suspense when the Bobcats' Earl Haynes recovered an onsides kick and halfback Roger Wills immediately broke a long gainer to Wythe's three-yard line. Four rushes gained only two yards, however, and, when a gaggle of red shirts stacked Wills up for no gain at the one, the Maroon defense surged off the field in triumph. They surged back on again two plays later, though, when linebacker Mike King recovered a fumble at the SIX. On second down, quarterback Bobby Cloyd put the deciding points on the scoreboard by throwing to Howard Haynes, the pass eluding the grasp of tight end Ben Harris and being tipped to Haynes in the end zone.

"It's the first time I've ever lost a game on a play like that," said Maroon Coach Tom Ely. "It was rough, always having to come from behind. If we could have gotten the jump, I don't think they'd ever have scored." Wytheville followed Cloyd's TD pass with an impressive 70-yard drive that ended when quarterback Mark Williams hit Kim Suthers from three yards out. In the fourth quarter, however, the Wytheville passing attack couldn't move the ball past Radford's 35. Safety Wesley Wall twice intercepted Williams in the final minutes.

"Wesley made the plays for us,' said Lineburg. "His fumble after the first interception cost us the ball, but he came back and did it again." Wills, the New River's leading scorer, was shut out Friday but was still the leading offensive force in a defensive game, carrying 20 times for 89 yards. Little Addison Woods totalled 55 yards on 12 carries and scored a second quarter touchdown to lead Wytheville. "They did the best job anyone has of stopping Roger, said Lineburg. "We knew they were a fine team and they proved it tonight.

There were times when we just had to hang on.' Radford's best football was played in the first half as Wills kept Wytheville in poor field position with two punts worth 96 yards and the Bobcat offense registered 157 of its eventual total output of 235 yards. Fullback Billy King's 20-yard scoring run and a 34-yard field goal by Bart Compton gave the Bobcats a 10-0 lead before the Wythe offense got out of second gear. Radford 16, Wytheville 12 Radford 7 3 0-16 Wytheville, . 6 6 0-12 Radford scoring: Touchdowns -Billy King (20, run); Howard Haynes (10, pass from Bobby Cloyd). FG-Brad Compton 34.

PAT -Compton (kick). Wytheville scoring: Touchdowns, -Addison Woods (3, pass from Mark Williams). THE STATISTICS Rad Wythe First Downs 12 7 Yards Rushing 136 100 Passes - A-C-1.. 18-7-0 11-5-2 Yards Passing 99 37 Punts - Avg..... 5-38.8 6-32.5 Penalties Yards 0-0 1-5