RURAL RETREAT, Va. – How does one somehow forget a third-quarter kickoff fumble during a tie game?
It’s simple – just garner a game-winning touchdown run before securing a game-clinching interception.
Honaker senior Aidan Lowe navigated the difficult two-step process to perfection Friday during the waning moments, needing just eight plays between heroics in helping the Tigers achieve regular season perfection – and Hogoheegee District glory – during a wild 40-34 victory over host Rural Retreat.
“I didn’t forget it right away, but my coaches told me to keep my head up,” said Lowe, holding the Hogoheegee regular season trophy hardware during postgame interviews. “I think that really gave me some motivation to forget it, get back into the game, and play our kind of ball.”
Honaker’s unique ball style involves quite the innovative spread offense, one that morphed from eight players adjacent to the numbers during first-half play into empty backfields with five wideouts following intermission. But over the final 9:07, however, the modus operandi for the Tigers (10-0, 5-0) turned into a traditional look featuring a tried and true defensive attack – along with a relentless ground game featuring the aforementioned Lowe.
Honaker 14 6 8 12 – 40
Rural Retreat 8 6 14 6 – 34
Scoring summary
H – Lowe 12 run (Bandy pass from P. Musick)
H – Bandy 17 pass from P. Musick (pass failed)
RR – Roberts 1 run (Umberger pass from Roberts)
RR – Penwright 38 pass from Roberts (pass failed)
H – Lowe 37 run (pass failed)
RR – Umberger 31 pass from Roberts (run failed)
RR – Roberts 26 run (Shelton pass from Roberts)
H – A. Musick 17 pass from P. Musick (A. Musick pass from P. Musick)
RR – Umberger 25 pass from Roberts (pass failed)
H – Lowe 13 pass from P. Musick (run failed)
H – Lowe 3 run (pass failed)
Team Stats
First Downs: H 20, RR 15; Rushes-Yards: H 27-150, RR 35-133; Passing Yards: H 278, RR 215; Comp-Att-Int: 20-26-1, RR 14-29-3; Penalties-Yards: H 9-75, RR 5-35; Fumbles-Lost: H 5-1, RR 2-0; Punts-Avg.: H 3-24.7, RR 2-38.5.