Knights’ 320-yards crown Draft

STUARTS DRAFT — If VDOT decides it needs its heavy equipment, a phone call to Turner Ashby would be a bonanza.

The Knights dominated Stuarts Draft 24-0 Friday night, shredding the Cougar defense for 320 yards. TA’s Chandler Knight rushed for 120 of those yards, 11 yards more than Draft managed collectively.

Knight scored a pair of touchdowns and carried 23 times for Turner Ashby (2-1, 0-0 Massanutten).

“We wanted to dominate,” Knight said, “and our front line just did a great job. We play smash-mouth football and we controlled the line on both sides of the ball.”

Knight’s offensive line paved the way for the senior, opening gaping holes in the Stuarts Draft defense. Had it not been for an early fumble on the opening drive, TA’s win could have been even more lopsided. Turner Ashby also missed a field goal attempt and had another one blocked.

The Cougars’ Aaron Bean alertly stopped the Knights’ first series, corralling a fumble near midfield.

But the Draft offense sputtered — as it did most of the night — and after a 4-and-out, gave the visitors good field position at the SD 42.

After a Chase Miller sweep netted 23 yards, Knight carried the final 30 yards on just three carries as the offensive line milled the turf and cleared the way. His 9-yard dive and a Robert Blackwell kick gave the Knights the early 7-0 lead.

The Cougar offense had five chances in the first half and gained a total of 43 yards with no first downs.

“Coach [Charlie Newman] preaches to us daily that he wants us to be the hardest hitting team around,” Knight said. “That’s what we tried to do tonight.”

After needing just four plays in its first scoring drive, TA needed 13 to get its second score. Stalling inside the 10-yard line, the Knights used Blackwell’s toe for a 22-yard field goal with 10:45 left in the half.

TA made quick work of the next Draft drive, stopping the Cougars on fourth-and-inches at the SD 37. And three plays later, quarterback Kyle Linn cruised untouched into the end zone. The Blackwell kick gave TA a 17-0 lead going into the half.

Blackwell had a chance for another trey with just under two minutes left in the half, but his kick was wide left.

And after a Cougar fumble on the very next play, Blackwell got another chance. His kick was more accurate, but Austin Sanchez got a hand on the ball and it fell just short of the crossbar.

“My hat’s off to TA,” Cougar coach Rod Bowers said. “They did to us what we try to do to other teams.”

Stuarts Draft (1-2, 0-1 Southern Valley) picked up a couple of first downs midway through the third quarter, but after crossing midfield for the first time, a penalty and a sack by TA’s Lane Smith ended the drive.

The Knight’s Knight added the team’s final score with a 2-yard dive to open the fourth quarter. Blackwell nailed the extra point for the final 24-point win.

“TA is very strong, very physical,” Bowers said. “We just ran up against a team that was better than us tonight.”

The Cougar offense managed just 109 yards on the night. Junior DJ Hines led the way with 49 yards on 11 carries.