The Glenvar football team scored all its touchdowns through the air in an opening night win over Galax last Friday. The Highlanders took a 28-14 win at Highlander Stadium.
Glenvar fell behind early, as the Maroon Tide led 7-0 after one period on a 32 yard run by Ian Ashworth right up the gut. However, Glenvar’s offense started cranking it up in the second quarter as quarterback Aiden Wolk found Jackson Swanson open and the junior speedster took it 74 yards to the house.
The Highlanders took the lead for the first time with just under five minutes left in the half. Wolk found Dagan Williams on a screen pass and he went 30 yards for a score and Glenvar had a 14-7 lead.
The Highlanders put it away in the third period. On Galax’ first possession of the second half the Tide was faced with a fourth and short at their own 34 and decided to go for it. Glenvar’s defense came up big, stopping a run in the backfield to take over in excellent field position. Six plays later Wolk hit Williams for their second TD connection on the night, this one for 19 yards and a 21-7 Glenvar lead.
A bad snap by the visitors set up Glenvar’s fourth TD. The Highlanders recovered at the Tide 29 and just before the third quarter ended Wolk found Swanson again for a 16 yard TD. Tyler Pierce was good on his fourth straight extra point kick and Glenvar had a 28-7 lead and control of the game heading into the fourth quarter. Galax scored one more time in the fourth period, but Glenvar came out on top, 28-7.
“It was an ugly win, but we’ll take it,” said Glenvar coach Kevin Clifford. “We had a bad first quarter but we settled down and the kids played with a lot of determination. We have four new offensive linemen and we were still knocking the rust off. We’ll continue to get better.”
It was the 10th straight season Glenvar opened with Galax, not counting the unusual spring season, and the Highlanders now hold a 6-4 edge in the series.
“I like playing them first, they’re a quality team,” said Clifford. “That game sets a tone for the year. I was proud of our kids, it was a good first game win.”
Wolk finished the game with 243 yards passing and four TDs. He completed 14 of 28 attempts with Swanson catching seven passes for 161 yards while Williams caught six for 84. Kyle Hanks led the rushers with 35 yards on 13 carries.
On defense Mason Anderson had a big night. He was in on 18 tackles, including five for losses. Nate Johnson had 14 tackles with two sacks and two for losses. Nick Williams had 12 tackles, with two for losses, and Shane Gibson had 10 tackles.
This week the Highlanders will go on the road for the first time as they visit the “dog pound” to take on the Martinsville Bulldogs. It will be the season opener for the ‘Dogs, and their first game since the fall of 2019 after opting out of the 2020 season due to COVID concerns. Martinsville was winless in 2019 and has lost 21 of their last 22 games.
“They’re athletic, big and they can move,” said Clifford, who isn’t taking the Bulldogs lightly. “It will be a tough road test for us.”
