Thursday Night Football is coming to Bogle Field tonight and two undefeated teams will put their records on the line in a special, prime time game.
Hidden Valley will host Glenvar tonight as the Titans and Cave Spring share Bogle Field. The Knights are scheduled to play Alleghany on Friday at Bogle so Glenvar had the option of playing Thursday or Saturday against Hidden Valley. That was an easy choice for Glenvar coach Kevin Clifford, whose son Kyle is having a wedding party on Saturday.
With no other game in town, this showdown should draw a good crowd. It has all the makings of a good one as Glenvar comes in at 3-0 after defeating Cave Spring, 28-14, at Glenvar last Friday. Hidden Valley is also 3-0 with wins over Cave Spring(14-12), William Byrd(42-10) and Northside last Friday, 42-7.
“They killed Byrd and Northside and they’re going to be a challenge,” said Clifford. “They run a spread offense and we need to clean up some things from last week. We had too many silly penalties. I don’t mind penalties that come from effort, but when you have dead ball penalties that will really hurt you.”
Glenvar led just 13-7 over Cave Spring at the half . Quarterback Aiden Wolk, back after a week off with knee soreness, ran for a five yard TD to give Glenvar the lead but the Knights tied it up on a 28 yard run by Landon Altizer in the second period with just two minutes left before the half. Glenvar answered just a minute and 15 seconds later when Wolk found Dagan Williams free in the end zone for a 20 yard TD pass with 45 seconds until intermission. The extra point attempt was blocked.
The Highlanders took control in the third period. Kyle Hanks scored on a seven yard run, then Wolk bulled his way over from one and Glenvar lead 25-7 despite missing a two point conversion try and having another extra point kick blocked.
Tyler Pierce kicked a 25 yard field goal in the fourth quarter to give Glenvar a little more cushion and the Knights scored a late TD to account for the final score.
Wolk finished 13 for 25 passing for 145 yards and he also ran for a career high 90 yards on 14 carries. He usually has few called running plays but on this night he was Glenvar’s second leading rusher.
“When we only have one back we have to make him a runner,” said Clifford. “He’s a big, tough kid and he’s a downhill runner.”
Hanks, who earns his keep carrying the ball, had a good night with 127 yards rushing on 27 carries. Williams caught four balls for 69 yards and Mason Anderson had four catches for 52.
On defense Nate Johnson and Nick Williams had 10 tackles each , Ben Holliday had nine and Anderson had seven. Glenvar also had five interceptions, with Anderson and Eli Carter getting two picks each and Dagan Williams with one.
This week will be Glenvar’s second straight game against a Class 3 opponent. That’s good for extra points in the VHSL point system for the Class 2 Highlanders, but only if their opponent has a good year.
“Unless they win, it doesn’t really matter,” said Clifford in regards to the 0-3 Knights. “They’ll win some games. Nick’s(new coach Leftwich) done a good job in a short period of time. Their kids played hard the whole game.”