Bristol Herald Courier | Allen Gregory | Photo Credit: Emily Ball
HONAKER, Va. – There is a a new conductor for the Honaker Tigers football team, but the Musick festival continues.
In the second game for interim head coach Aaron Lowe, senior quarterback Peyton Musick passed for 403 yards and six scores as the Tigers posted a 48-33 victory over the Rural Retreat Indians.
The win clinched the second straight Hogoheegee District title for Honaker.
“This was one of our best games all year on both sides of the ball,” the 6-foot-4 Musick said. “We had a slow start to the season. We’ve put things together at the right time and we’re rolling now.”
Lowe replaced Shane Wicks, who suddenly resigned as head coach on Oct. 31.
“It was just something we had to deal with, but we can’t focus on anything negative,” Musick said. “We just have to come out and play football. We all love Coach Lowe.”
After previously serving as defensive coordinator, Lowe now handles the roles of head coach, defensive coordinator and offensive coordinator.
“You don’t get much sleep as a football coach, but I’ve got the best coaching staff around and they do a lot of work,” Lowe said.
Honaker (7-3, 5-0) won 13 games and averaged 43 points last season en route to the Region ID championship under another former head coach in Todd Tiller.
“We graduated a bunch of seniors, and to win it with this group of players is awesome,” Lowe said. “There are some good teams in the Hogoheegee and we’re proud to come out on top.
“I give all the credit to our kids. They deal with adversity well and just played great tonight. That’s all any coach can ask for.”
The other key figure in Friday’s landmark night for Honaker was Avery Musick, the brother of Peyton. Avery caught 11 passes for 247 yards and three scores.
With precision throws and clever routes, the Musick bothers made it look easy.
“Avery is an amazing player who is super humble,” Peyton said. “We put the work in all the time and he has the most in-game confidence I’ve seen. Avery just tells me where I need to put the ball and we get it done.”
Sophomore Kam Beavers hauled in a pair of scoring strikes for Honaker, while senior Jaxon Dye collected the other TD pass.
Rural Retreat (5-5, 3-2) rushed for 353 yards, but the Indians fell behind 22-7 at halftime and lacked the firepower to match Honaker’s aerial attack.
Rural Retreat 7 0 6 20-33
Honaker 16 6 12 14-48
Scoring Summary
H – Beavers 16 pass from P. Musick (A. Musick from P. Musick)
H – Dye 9 pass from P. Musick (A. Musick from P. Musick)
RR – Vaught 78 kickoff return (Penwright kick)
H – P. Musick 2 run (pass failed)
RR – Shelton 27 pass from Penwright (run failed)
H – A. Musick 79 pass from P. Musick (run failed)
H – Beavers 67 pass from P. Musick (run failed)
H – A. Musick 31 pass from P. Musick (Dye pass from P. Musick)
RR – Umberger 31 run (pass failed)
H – A. Musick 49 pass from P. Musick (pass failed)
RR – Rollyson 5 run (run failed)
RR – Vaught 7 run (Shelton pass from Penwright)
Team Stats
First Downs: RR 20, H 18; Rushes-Yards: RR 44-353, H 22-70; Passing Yards: RR 120, H 397; Comp.-Att.-Int.: RR 7-12-1, H 18-26-0; Penalties: RR 10-75, H 6-55; Fumbles-Lost: RR 1-0, H 0-0; Punts-Average: RR 1-29, H 1-43