Wildcats run over Eagles

Blacksburg quarterback Gary Gaut finds running room in the victory against Chesnee on Friday. That forward passing stuff ... Well, maybe it's overrated.

The Blacksburg Wildcats rushed for 288 yards, threw just eight times and held off a furious Chesnee rally for a 40-37 win on Friday.

Brandon Wilson was responsible for a sizable chunk of the rushing yards, gaining 142 yards, including an electrifying 85-yard run in the third quarter. Quarterback Gary Gaut rushed for 65 and Manny Ford had 50 yards for the Wildcats, who remain alive for a playoff spot. Blacksburg will qualify for the playoffs if Chapman beats Chesnee on Friday.

"The last two weeks the kids have stepped up," Blacksburg coach Robbie Blanton said. "I'm proud of the kids with the way they have ended the season."

The Wildcats went to a Wing-T formation to take advantage of Chesnee's 3-man front.

"We were able to eat up the clock and keep Chesnee off the field," the Blacksburg coach said.

Smart move because the Eagles showed how potent they can be, rallying in the fourth quarter for two scores in just four minutes to pull within 33-30 on a 12-yard TD reception by Kyle Blanton and a 2-point conversion by quarterback Cedric Proctor.

The Eagles seemed to have all of the momentum after holding the Wildcats' offense without a first down. The Eagles had possession at their own 15 but turned the ball over on downs on a fourth-down sack by Gary Dean Moore.

The Wildcats took over at the 5 and Gaut scored two plays later from the 1 to put the Wildcats up 40-30 with just 1:49 remaining.

But that score didn't seal the win just yet.

The Eagles took advantage of an officials blunder to get an extra snap on fourth-down at midfield. One play later, Murphy hauled in a 50-yard scoring pass with :29 left. The extra point pulled the Eagles within 40-37.

The Eagles thought they had recovered the onside kick, but the officials ruled the ball was touched before it went the required 10 yards. Blacksburg ran out the clock to improve to 5-4 overall and 2-4 in the region.

"We knew they had some weapons," Blanton said. "But we hung in there and one time it took them five plays instead of four.

Despite surrendering 22 fourth quarter points, the Wildcats defense slowed down Proctor, who rushed for just handful of yards in the second half after gaining 118 yards before intermission.

"We picked up on how they were pulling their guards and made some adjustments," Blanton said.

Proctor was at his best early on, scoring from 44 yards out to open the scoring.

Blacksburg answered with a 19-yard pass from Gaut to Jonathan Coleman. Trayon Peeler scored from 11 yards out to give the Eagles a 15-6 lead midway through the second quarter.

The Wildcats trimmed the lead to 15-13 on Gaut's four yard run and Dylan Johnson's extra point.

Blacksburg scored on its first two possessions of the second half to lead 27-15. The Wildcats' Antonio Bolin capped a 45-yard drive to make it 33-15.

Blacksburg plays Crescent in a non-region game on Friday.

Cat Calls... The Wildcats suffered some injuries on Friday. Starting quarterback Gary Gaut injured his ankle late in the game and was replaced by backup Josh Elmore, who took a couple knees to let time run off the clock to end the game.

Offensive lineman Steve Reynolds suffered an apparent leg injury and was taken to the hospital for X-rays.