HONAKER — The two teams hadn’t played since 2001, now they’ve played in consecutive weeks. In the Region 1D football quarterfinals, Rural Retreat traveled to Fuller Field on Friday to battle the Tigers. Honaker advanced with a 30-15 triumph in another hard-fought contest with the Indians.
The Tigers are known for their explosive ‘Air Raid’ offense, frequently passing the football, but are willing to do what it takes to get the dub. Trailing 15-8 at intermission, Honaker went to the ground and pounded running game often in the second half, outscoring Rural Retreat 22-0 in the final 24 minutes.
“Rural Retreat is a rough team. That’s how they play,” Honaker quarterback Peyton Musick said. “We came out flat, not as flat as last time (a 40-34 win at Rural Retreat last week) but pretty flat.
“We had to hype it up in the second half, and we had more intensity. The line wanted the ball ran, they stepped up, and I appreciate them so much for that. They carried us.”
Peyton Musick rushed for 84 yards and three scores, equaling his rushing touchdown total in the prior ten games. He threw for 149 yards and another TD. Musick averaged just over four carries a game in the regular season but had 13 rushing attempts against the Indians.
“I couldn’t have done it without the line,” Musick said. “They really won this game for us tonight.”
Honaker took the opening kickoff and drove to the RR43 but turned the ball over on downs. Rural Retreat then stunned the large home crowd. They had a methodical 13-play drive that took over seven minutes off the clock. QB Caleb Roberts lofted an eight-yard TD pass to Tucker Fontaine. Talan Hammack booted the extra point for a 7-0 advantage.
It took the Tigers less than two minutes to answer. Musick connected with Aidan Lowe on a slant pattern for a 35-yard gain. It set up a 12-yard scramble by Musick around the right end for a score. Musick followed the same pattern for the two-point conversion as the Tigers went up 8-7 with 1:09 to play in the first frame.
It didn’t take long for the Indians to come back. In the first play of the ensuing drive, Gunner Hagerman had a 26-yard rush to get the ball into Honaker territory. On the first play of the second quarter, Roberts threw a 28-yard TD pass to Austin Umberger. Trevor Shelton caught the two-point conversion from Roberts to put the Indians up 15-8.
Neither team could do much offensively from that point, and the Honaker deficit remained seven at the half.
“I was concerned,” Honaker lineman Tyler Cole said. “But I knew we had it in us, we just needed to get our heads right and keep pushing.”
Push, they did. It started with the defense. The Indians took the second-half kickoff and failed to move the ball. After three plays, they were forced to punt.
The Tigers went to the ground game, using Aidan Lowe, Brayden Marsh, and Musick rushing. They had a 13-play drive, with Musick calling his number on a three-yard keeper up the middle for a score. Musick ran in the conversion for a 16-15 lead.
“We knew what we had to do,” commented Cole. “We were down and had to push as hard as we could. It felt amazing when we scored, we weren’t going to stop there, we were going to keep pushing. That was just the beginning.”
Honaker added touchdowns on their next two possessions. Musick scored on a one-yard plunge that capped a 10-play, 55-yard drive. Musick threw a 14-yard TD pass to Bandy, providing the final score and the 30-15 result.
Aidan Lowe led the Honaker rushing attack with 106 yards as they churned out 226 yards on the ground. Bandy led the defense with ten tackles, while Peyton Whited and Aidan Lowe contributed seven tackles each.
“The kids did a great job,” Honaker coach Todd Tiller said. “It was a tale of two halves. Rural Retreat was the more physical team in the first half. But we came out, took control of the line of scrimmage, and were the more physical team in the second half. Rural Retreat has a great team, I don’t think there’s another one-seed in the state that played as tough an eight-seed as we did. They’re well coached and do a great job, hat’s off to them.”
Rural Retreat (5-6) isn’t a typical eight-seed. The Indians lost early in the year to Fort Chiswell, Grayson County, and George Wythe, three teams still playing football—their other losses to a good Holston team and the final two games to Honaker.
“We play as tough a schedule as anyone in our region,” said RR coach Jamey Hughes. “I mean, Grayson County and George Wythe are good teams outside of Honaker, I’m not sure there’s another team in Region 1D they wouldn’t beat.
“We’ve been beat up all year and got beat up more tonight. I had guys gutting it out with injuries, but we couldn’t consistently do anything.”
The last time Honaker won a playoff game was almost eight years ago when they defeated Northwood 39-26 on November 13, 2015.
There will be more playoff football this Saturday afternoon at Fuller Field with a 1 o’clock kickoff. Honaker (11-0) will host Patrick Henry (8-3), a 49-8 winner over Grundy in the first round. Honaker won at PH 26-18 in the regular season.
“They gave us a game earlier,” Tiller said. “They know what we do, and we know what they do. It will be a fun one.”