The Highlanders were rocking again after downing James River in football last Friday, 31-7. Glenvar will keep the Virginia Media Rocking Chair in west Roanoke County for the 12th straight season and 23rd time in 29 meetings with the chair on the line.
The green and red rocking chair goes to the winner of this annual rivalry and the Highlanders have played the hammer to River’s nail in recent memory. The last time James River won this game the current Glenvar players were getting ready for kindergarten.
“Our kids played hard,” said Glenvar coach Kevin Clifford. “James River has a good team, but I think this was the best defensive effort we’ve had all season. And we took advantage of the opportunities we had.”
The Highlanders jumped on top early, scoring just 54 seconds into the game on a 24-yard run by Remi Gordon. Ranger Swanson then bulled over from the one and Glenvar led 14-0 after one quarter.
James River was still right in the game in the second period, but a 25-yard TD pass from Kiptyn Jones to Haden Henderson with just 26 seconds left in the half gave the Highlanders all the momentum heading into the locker room.
Glenvar made it 24-0 on a 27-yard field goal by Jones midway through the third quarter. They added some icing to the cake on a 12-yard Jones to Henderson touchdown pass early in the fourth before River scored with four and a half minutes to go to break up the shutout.
Gordon led the rushing with 75 yards on six carries and he also caught four passes for 45 yards. Garrison Burris had 44 yards rushing and Ranger Swanson had 28. Jones was 12 for 18 passing for 121 yards and Henderson caught six balls for 75 yards and two scores.
On defense Burris had a big game with 21 tackles. Henderson and Ryan Harris had 11 each while Jake Franklin and Bryan Mateo had 10 each. Mateo had a fumble recovery.
With the win Glenvar improved to 4-3 on the season with a big game this Friday at Radford’s Norm Lineburg Field. The host Bobcats are 5-1 with their only loss coming against undefeated William Byrd in a game Radford led by three touchdowns in the first quarter.
This has been a great rivalry over the years. The Highlanders are 16-16 in 32 meetings since they first played in 1996. Glenvar has won the past three meetings but over the years there have been some exciting games with dramatic endings.
“They’re a hard match for us,” said Clifford. “They’re well coached and they have dudes that we don’t have. We do well against schools that are similar to us, like Floyd and James River, but we’ve struggled against them. This is a big game for us.”
