Mount Airy won a war of attrition against East Surry on Aug. 30.
The two physically imposing defenses battled all night as the teams combined for just over 200 total yards through the first three quarters. Mount Airy pulled away in the rivalry game by forcing two second-half turnovers and scoring three late touchdowns to defeat East 28-7.
Friday’s victory marked a new school record for Mount Airy as the Bears have now won 32-consecutive games. The Granite Bears’ win streak spans 735 days (and counting) during which time the team won back-to-back 1A State Championships. The previous school record of 31-straight wins was set across the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
Mount Airy coach Austin Taylor knew his team was in for a fight and East Surry delivered. The teams went scoreless in the first quarter, were tied 7-7 at halftime and stayed tied until Mount Airy scored the go-ahead touchdown late in the third quarter – a 9-yard pass from Landon Gallimore to Saul Oakley. Taeshon Martin delivered two more rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pair with his rushing score in the second quarter, while the Bears’ defense held the Cards to just 11 total yards in the second half.
Taeshon accounted for 161 of Mount Airy’s 228 total yards and three of four touchdowns.
East Surry’s gameplan revolved around taking away Mount Airy’s explosive gains of 10+ yards and making the home team work for every single yard.
“They got after us,” Coach Taylor said. “They mixed up those fronts and sent a lot of heat. We're so accustomed to getting big hitters and it took us a while to realize we're just going to have to put our foot in the ground and get 5 or 6 yards every time.”
The two defenses set the tone for Friday’s game with big stops out of the gate. The game began with three-straight three-and-outs followed by back-to-back takeaways – an interception grabbed by Mount Airy’s Bryson Taylor and a fumble recovered by East Surry’s Stevie Keener. East Surry’s Jonathan Parker forced a turnover-on-downs by sacking Gallimore on fourth-and-5, while Mount Airy’s Ethan Clabo, John Martin and DJ Joyce each sacked East’s Carter Motsinger.
East only moved the chains once in the first quarter and Mount Airy did so twice.
The teams traded places in the second quarter as Mount Airy’s Kylan Mason recovered a fumble and Keener got an interception.
Mount Airy (2-0) mounted some offense late in the quarter and got on a roll. Gallimore completed a 19-yard pass to Oakley, followed by 20 and 10-yard runs from Taeshon Martin – the latter of which was a touchdown. Not to be outdone, East Surry marched down the field and scored when Motsinger completed a 19-yard touchdown pass to Braxton Davis. Motsinger and Davis connected three times for 52 yards on the drive.
The Bears have rarely entered halftime without a double-digit lead over the past few seasons. Despite this, Coach Taylor said panic never set in.
“It's one of those things where we were trusting what we're doing and trusting those adjustments,” Coach Taylor said. “I thought the seniors did a great job of not turning on each other and getting us going in the second half.”
East Surry continued to play physical on defense and contained the run. Mount Airy rushed for 110 yards through the first three quarters and, despite using five backs during that span, only 28 of those yards were accumulated by players other than Taeshon Martin.
“We said we wanted to make him the bell cow,” said East Surry coach Caleb Pardue. “Other than the last touchdown run I thought we bottled him up pretty good and made him earn it every time.”
Momentum began to permanently shift in the Bears’ favor after Tyson Youmans recovered a Cardinal fumble midway through the third quarter. Mount Airy went on a long drive that culminated with Gallimore’s touchdown pass to Oakley, then East Surry went three-and-out to start the fourth quarter.
Mount Airy followed with a six-minute scoring drive. Taeshon Martin carried eight times on the 9-play drive, including the 1-yard touchdown run at the end.
“That six-minute drive right there was big for us,” Coach Taylor said. “That's one of those moments where we talked about getting tougher and coming together. I’m super proud of that drive.”
Pardue gave credit to Coach Taylor and Mount Airy Offensive Coordinator Kelly Holder for finding ways to combat East Surry’s defense with things he hadn’t seen on film.
Mount Airy forced East’s fourth turnover of the night, an interception by Oakley, to set Taeshon Martin up with his third and final touchdown. Taeshon rushed for 78 of his 160 rushing yards in just the fourth quarter.
The Granite Bears won back-to-back meetings against the Cardinals for the first time since winning three-straight from 2016-2018.
East Surry failed to move the chains in the second half and finished the night with 85 total yards.
“Offensively we took a step back on a couple of things,” Pardue said on East Surry’s progress from Week 1. “But that’s a really good defense. They’ve won 32 in a row for a reason. AT does a great job.”
Pardue said the Cardinals will take 24 hours to think about the loss before flushing it and moving on to West Stokes in Week 3.
“Our kids fought to the very end,” Pardue said. “They fought really, really, really hard, and I’m proud of them. We’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing and getting after it.”
Scoring
East Surry — 0, 7, 0, 0 — 7
Mount Airy — 0, 7, 7, 14 — 28
1Q
No scoring
2Q
4:07 MA 7-0 — Taeshon Martin 10-yard TD run, Ethan Clabo PAT
0:56 ES 7-7 — Braxton Davis 18-yard TD reception on Carter Motsinger pass, Braden Snow PAT
3Q
1:58 MA 14-7 — Saul Oakley 9-yard TD reception on Landon Gallimore pass, Ethan Clabo PAT
4Q
5:55 MA 21-7 — Taeshon Martin 1-yard TD run, Ethan Clabo PAT
1:45 MA 28-7 — Taeshon Martin 32-yard TD run, Ethan Clabo PAT
Offensive Stats
East Surry Cardinals
TEAM
49 passing yards and one touchdown on five completions, two interceptions
36 rushing yards on 30 carries, two fumbles
85 total yards
INDIVIDUAL
Passing: Carter Motsinger 5-of-10 for 49 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions
Receiving: Braxton Davis three receptions for 52 yards, one touchdown; Stevie Keener two receptions for -3 yards
Rushing: Troy Watson 11 carries for 37 yards; Noah Felts seven carries for 22 yards, one fumble; Chris George four carries for 6 yards, one fumble; Carter Motsinger eight carries for -29 yards
Kicking: Braden Snow 1-of-1 PATs
Mount Airy Granite Bears
TEAM
29 passing yards and one touchdown on three completions, one interception
199 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 38 carries, one fumble
228 total yards
INDIVIDUAL
Passing: Landon Gallimore 3-of-6 for 29 yards, one touchdown, one interception
Receiving: Saul Oakley two receptions for 28 yards, one touchdown; Taeshon Martin one reception for 1 yard
Rushing: Taeshon Martin 24 carries for 160 yards, three touchdowns; John Martin two carries for 17 yards; Bryson Taylor three carries for 11 yards; Landon Gallimore four carries for 8 yards; Zach Goins two carries for 8 yards; DJ Joyce three carries for -5 yards, one fumble
Kicking: Ethan Clabo Stroup 4-of-4 PATs
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