It took them a quarter to get started, but once they did there was no stopping the Glenvar football team last Friday night. The Highlanders took a 49-34 win over Giles at Highlander Stadium to solidify their hold on third place in the Region 2C rankings.
This one didn’t start off well for Glenvar. Giles scored on a rare pass out of their single-wing offense to take an early 7-0 lead. The Highlanders answered on a one yard run by Kyle Hanks but the extra point attempt failed and the Spartans maintained the lead.
Giles went up 14-6 early in the second period and Highlander coach Kevin Clifford was not happy. However, at that point the Glenvar offense started clicking and Giles had no answer for a relentless passing attack that accounted for 331 yards and four touchdown receptions.
“We were horrible the first quarter,” said Clifford. “They played hard but they made too many mistakes. Then from the second quarter on we played much better. I’m proud of our kids. Anytime you beat Giles it’s a good win.”
Glenvar tied the game at 14-14 when quarterback Aiden Wolk found Dagan Williams behind the secondary for a 40 yard TD pass, then hit Williams for a two point conversion. The Highlanders took a 21-14 halftime lead when Wolk dropped one in the corner of the end zone for Jackson Swanson from the 11.
The second half was all Glenvar. Wolk hit Williams again for a 34 yard TD pass, then connected with Nick Woodson on a beautiful 64 yard hookup. A second TD run by Hanks to close the third period made it 42-14 and DJ Johnson added a late score for some icing on the cake.
PHOTO BY BRIAN HOFFMAN
On the night Wolk completed 15 of 19 passes for 331 yards and four scores. That rivaled Zack Clifford’s 16 for 19 night in the 2014 state quarterfinal win over Giles on the way to Glenvar’s state championship. Zack threw for 350 yards and four TDs in that game.
“We thought we could throw the ball on them,” said Kevin Clifford of Friday’s win. “Our offense is geared to the pass and we were pretty efficient. The line blocked really well.”
The 49 points was the most Glenvar has ever scored against Giles, and if not for some ill-advised penalties it could have been even worse. A couple long pass plays were called back by hankies on the field.
Williams finished with 184 yards receiving on seven receptions. Swanson had four catches for 70 yards and Woodson had one catch for 64. Hanks rushed 14 times for 75 yards and Johnson had four carries for 30.
PHOTO BY BRIAN HOFFMAN
Defensively, Blake Custer had 14 tackles, including three for losses. Gabe Shaffer had a dozen tackles, Mason Anderson and Zach Moore had 10 each and Nick Williams had eight. Anderson had three tackles for losses and Moore had a sack.
The Highlanders have now won three games in a row and they’ll finish off the regular season this Friday night with a 7 pm game at Alleghany. The Mountaineers are 0-5 but Clifford won’t be taking them lightly.
“This is a huge game for us,” he said. “If we win this game we’re district champions. We’ve only won it twice since I’ve been here so this is a big game.
“Alleghany isn’t bad,” he continued. “They only lost to Covington 28-21 and they’ve switched around their offense. This is for the district championship and we take pride in that.”