Christiansburg dismantles high-flying Magna Vista
So many fans piled into Christiansburg Stadium, that school officials had to close the gates and turn people away early in the game. Those that made it inside saw Christiansburg dominate previously unbeaten Magna Vista 46-12 in the Region IV, Division 4 championship game Friday night.
Christiansburg (11-1) now travels to Broadway (12-0), a 29-14 winner over Jefferson Forest, on Saturday afternoon in the Group AA, Division 4 state semifinals. Game time is 2 p.m.
The Blue Demon Stadium holds 3,500 fans and it was standing room only before the game even started for this showdown.
Christiansburg would take the opening kickoff and methodically marched downfield. Big runs by Ervin Buchannon, De’Quan Green-Gause and a couple of fourth down conversions allowed Brenden Motley to score from 2-yards out to cap off a 57-yard, 10-play drive.
Johnathan Galante, filling in for an injured Jake Hamley, who suffered a concussion in last week’s game, sent the kick wide-right to make it 6-0 with 6:48 in the first quarter.
After holding the Warriors (11-1) to a three-and-out, Christiansburg would strike again. A 22-yard pass from Motley to Kam Johnson, along with the rushing of Joey Augustin, Zach Snell and Motley moved the ball to the 1-yard line. Motley then capped off the 10-play drive with a one-yard plunge, Galante’s PAT was no good, thus making it 12-0 with 36. 8 seconds left in the quarter.
After a series of exchanges, the Blue Demons needed just two plays to take the ball to the house. A 79-yard gallop by Snell, followed by Snell’s 1-yard run once again put the home team on the board. Tyler Morgan’s PAT was no good, thus making it 18-0 with 6:19 in the second quarter. Magna Vista would take the ensuing kickoff and march 80 yards. A 1-yard run by Harvey Taylor and a missed PAT made it 18-6 with 1:20 left in the quarter. Not to be outdone, Christiansburg came right back. A 1-yard run by Motley and Morgan’s PAT made it 25-6 with 16 ticks on the clock.
The Warriors opened up the third quarter with a 12-play, 79-yard drive that was capped off by Taylor’s 1-yard plunge. The two-point conversion was stopped, thus making it 25-12 with 6:30 showing. After another series of exchanges, the Blue Demons wasted no time in finding pay dirt. Snell would take the ball to the house, this time a 21-yard scamper and Morgan’s PAT extended the lead to 32-12 with 33 seconds on the clock.
After stopping Magna Vista on a fourth-and-eight Christiansburg would take over on downs. On the first play from scrimmage Motley scampered 41 yards and Morgan’s PAT upped the Blue Demons advantage to 39-12 with 11:30 left in the fourth quarter. After holding the Warriors to another three-and out, the Demons would get the ball back. Christiansburg, behind a couple of long runs from Green-Gause, allowed Augustin to score on a 9-yard run. Morgan’s PAT made it 46-12 with 6:55 left in the game. Neither team would strike again, which allowed Christiansburg to bring home its third-straight regional title.
Defensively, Galante had a big night, as he tallied four sacks for Christiansburg. Motley and Davis posted an interception each.
Magna Vista was held to just 230 yards of total offense and 13 first downs. Harvey Taylor led the way with 91 yards rushing on 29 carries and two touchdowns. He also completed 6-of-17 passes for another 91 yards and was picked off twice.
Christiansburg, who had 22 first downs, racked up 444 yards of total offense with 408 yards of that coming on the ground. Zach Snell led the way with 145 yards on 14 carries and a pair of TDs. Brenden Motley ran for 87 yards on 10 carries and four TDs and De’Quan Green-Gause added 73 yards on six carries.
