The rivalry between the Glenvar and Giles football teams has once again become comparable to the rivalry between the hammer and the nail, only this time Glenvar is the hammer.

After getting pounded for years, the Highlanders have now won five the past six games against Giles. Last Friday in Pearisburg the Highlanders were able to silence the annoying Spartan truck horn as the Glenvar defense kept big plays to a minimum in a dominating 38-6 win.

“Our kids really got after it,” said Glenvar coach Kevin Clifford. “That’s a tough place to play, but our kids played hard and played for all 48 minutes. We never had a letdown.”

Although Giles is now just 4-5, their worst record in many years, Clifford stressed to his players the Spartans were not a team to take lightly.

“Their losses have all been against teams having good years,” he said. “We expected to get their best shot.” If Friday night was Giles’ best shot, that says a lot about the Highlanders. Glenvar dominated the game, leading 17-0 at the half and opening a 31-0 lead before Giles ran back a kickoff 98 yards late in the third quarter. “We should have shut them out,” said Clifford. “I would have liked to have gotten a shutout, but it was still a good win. That’s all that matters.”

Colby Street scored Glenvar’s first touchdown on a one yard run, giving the Highlanders a 7-0 lead after the first quarter. Then Bradey Loder broke free for a 7l yard touchdown, and Kaid Fuhrman added a 35 yard field goal to his two extra points for the 17-0 halftime lead.

Glenvar put it away in the third quarter. Street scored on a five yard run, then Landry Gerbers found Justice Forster on a 52 yard TD pass play. Giles ran back the ensuing kickoff to make it 31-6, but Loder added a fourth quarter TD on a 41 yard run for the final tally.

Bradey finished with 163 yards rushing on 18 carries while Street had 128 yards on 11 attempts, and both had two scores. That’s an average of just over 10 yards per carry on 29 rushes against a defense that is traditionally stingy against the run.

Gerbers was six for 16 passing for 155 yards, with three completions each to Nick Sebolt and Forster. Sebolt’s went for 58 yards and Forster’s for 97. On defense Street had 19 tackles while Maxx Philpott had 11, including a sack and five tackles for losses. Forster had six tackles and an interception. With the win Glenvar is now 9-0 and the Highlanders can complete a perfect regular season when they host Radford on November 2nd. This Friday the Highlanders have a bye, giving them two weeks to prepare for what may be their toughest challenge of the regular season.

Radford is 7-1 and second to Glenvar in the Region 2C rankings. Last week the Bobcats hammered visiting James River, 31-13, to give the Knights just their second loss of the season. The other was to Glenvar. “It will give us two weeks to prepare for them,” said Clifford. “It will give us a little reprieve late in the season, but it’s still a grind. We’ll continue to work hard and try to keep getting better every day.”