Bryce Smoot ran for a touchdown, threw for another and Landon Horton scored a long touchdown run as Carroll County opened Three Rivers District play Saturday with a 21-0 win over Patrick County in Stuart.
The Cavaliers improved to 4-1 with the victory over the 3-2 Cougars. Carroll was able to move the football almost at will, relying on its ground game to secure the victory. Smoot returned after missing the previous game due to an injury and he put Carroll on the board first in the opening quarter with a short QB sneak for a score.
“We ran power all day. Early in the game we realized our offensive line was moving them well. We moved to the one and fumbled at the one. We fumbled again later in the end zone on power, but we moved the ball all day running power,” Carroll County head coach Seth Greer said. “The offensive line performed well.”
With its defense clamping down on Patrick, Carroll extended its lead to 14-0 in the third quarter when tailback Landon Horton broke through the line for a touchdown run of about 50 yards. The Cavaliers put the game out of the reach in the fourth when Smoot connected with junior receiver Isaiah Easter for a touchdown pass of about 30 yards.
“On the last play of the first half, Bryce threw one up to to Isaiah, he climbed the ladder and one-handed the ball with two guys on him. Just a fade we threw in the second quarter and he made a great play,” Greer said. “He also caught the touchdown in the fourth quarter. It was a two-score game, we were moving the ball and the defense was playing great, so we took a shot to seal the deal. For the most part, we tried to run the ball and eat a lot of clock.”
Defensively, Greer said the Cavaliers did a great job adjusting to what the Cougars were showing them, adding first-year starter Dane Leonard added an interception for Carroll.
“They do a tremendous job of putting you in alignment problems,” Greer said. “The kids did great, rallied well, and tackled to the football. Defense played lights out.”
The fact that the Cavaliers are 4-1 is an impressive stat in itself. Just making it to the game Saturday could have been a challenge due to the impact of Hurricane Helene on the area and the amount of people in the county without power.
“Our AD Kevin DeHaven did a tremendous job. Kevin had us set up. Our big thing was making sure all the boys could get in. We didn’t get to practice for two days. We sent messages to see if anybody needed a ride,” Greer said. “We came in at 8 a.m. Saturday morning and lifted weights just to knock the rust off a bit. That is our identify. We lifted weights, did a walk-through and I am just happy with how they adapted. It would have been easy to not be focused but they were locked in and ready to play football.”
Carroll County is scheduled to return to Hillsville on Oct. 4 to host James River for Homecoming. Kick is set for 7 p.m. for the Three Rivers District affair.
Allen Worrell can be reached at (276) 779-4062 or on X@AWorrellTCN
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