Game Time Blog

FINAL: Gar-Field wraps up it’s second win of the young season, a 13-8 decision over Stonewall.

The Indians improve to 2-0 and the Raiders fall to 0-2.

Be sure to look for a story in the News & Messenger E-edition and in Sunday’s edition of the paper as well as video and a photo slideshow on InsideNova.com.

Thanks for tuning in and we’ll see you again next week.
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1:48: Nick Meyer picks up a first and goal at the 4 to all but ice the game.
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2:03: Stonewall takes a timeout on defense after Gar-Field picked up another first down at the Raider 19 on the legs of—yes, you guessed it—Bryce Miller.
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3:56: Miller is just demoralizing the Raiders defense, now. He just tore off for 15 more yards to move beyond 160 yards in the game.
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5:24: Now it’s time for the Bryce Miller Show. Gar-Field, with the exception of a 12-yard pass from Jackson to Neal, is trying to vaporize the clock with Miller’s legs. He’s getting the ball almost every play.

Miller is over 130 yards for the night.
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7:33: Stonewall must not have a field goal kicker. On fourth and five on Gar-Field’s 23, the Raiders elect to go for it. A holding call ends all hope of scoring on this drive.

The ball is turned over to the Indians at their own 21. Gar-Field leads 13-8.
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9:12: Stonewall recovers a fumble on the ensuing play. The phantom player No. 42 for the Raiders picked up the loose ball.

If you know who this player is, please claim him in the comments section…
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9:16: Third and 24. That’s what the Indians are staring at after a delay of game penalty.
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10:46: Jackson bobbles the shotgun snap and can only cover the ball at the Gar-Field 37, bringing up second and long.
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END OF 3RD: Miller goes over 100 yards on the ground with a pair of carries to kill the period.

He’s now at 110 yards on 15 touches as Gar-Field enters the final quarter leading 13-8.
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1:11: Stonewall can’t do anything with the turnover, though and are forced to punt after a three-and-out. The Raiders push the Indians back to their own 22 with the punt.

Arlando Budd, after beginning the game with a run of minus-12 yards, now has 72 yards on 16 carries and is starting to be the runner coach Mike Dougherty is turning to most this game.
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2:37: Aaron Jackson, however, was just intercepted by A.J. Means at the 27. The Raiders take over at the 36 after an illegal block penalty on the return.

Gar-Field still leads 13-8.
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Under 4 minutes to go: Miller cannot be stopped, you can only hope to contain him. After picking up 16 yards and a five-yarder, he’s up to 97 yards on 13 carries.
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5:17: Sean Blackman brings the Raiders to second and goal from the 1 yard line on a scamper through the Gar-Field defense.

Arlando Budd punches it in on the next play, the 13th of the 77-yard drive, and gives Stonewall it’s first score of the game. Rolando Fender breaks the plane on the two-point conversion, bringing the score to Gar-Field 13, Stonewall 8.
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7:58: With all the running going on by both teams—and Stonewall in particular—the new field seems to be holding up quite well. Not many slips or loose footing in the game, if any.

It will be interesting to see how the turf holds up when the weather turns sour. Today has been a clear night with a warm start. When the rain and snow hits it will be the real test.
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8:55: Gar-Field takes a timeout on defense. Stonewall has the ball at the Gar-Field 43 with a second and about one to go.
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9:43: Budd just ripped another long run, picking up a first at the Raider 48 in the process.
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10:47: Aaron Jackson fumbled the snap and fell on the ball on fourth down, turning the ball over at the 23.

A 10-yard run by Arlando Budd later and it’s first and 10 from the Stonewall 33.
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3rd quarter, 11:48: De’Vonte Piggott opens the second half with a 63-yard kick-off return. Miller was on the field (deep for the return) and even through a block to spring Piggott.

Piggott broke at least one tackle on the run, shaking off kicker Andrew Hunt at about the Gar-Field 45. First and 10 at the Stonewall 28.
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1ST HALF LEADERS:
> Rushing—STONEWALL: Sean Blackman 11 carries for 76 yards; GAR-FIELD: Bryce Miller 9-74
> Passing—STONEWALL: Brandon Simmons, 1-3, 1 yard, 2 INT; GAR-FIELD: Aaron Jackson 6-17, 43
> Receiving—STONEWALL: Dion Chatman 1 for 1; GAR-FIELD: John Neal 3 for 31

> Stonewall has out-rushed Gar-Field 100 yards to 62. The Raiders have also turned the ball over three times, two of which led to Indian scores.
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END OF FIRST HALF: Gar-Field’s Ayala makes the 33-yard attempt count giving the Indians a 13-0 lead heading into the third quarter.
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0:10 Miller’s right leg is taped almost all the way up to his knee and he has a slight limp on the sideline.

Gar-Field is moving the ball through the air; Dominique Campbell just hauled in a terrific leaping catch at the 15. A spike later and Gar-Field is lining up for a field goal attmpt.
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1:09: Gar-Field forces Stonewall to punt after an ineffective series, but Miller’s still not quite ready.

The Indians are going to the spread for the remainder of the half, anyway, it seems.
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2:44: The Indians are forced to punt with their starting running back stuck on the sideline. Miller is having his right ankle re-taped by the trainer and it looks like he should return, perhaps by Gar-Field’s next possession.
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3:58: After picking up a first down on a seven-yard run, Bryce Miller is slow to get up. He grabbed his right leg while writhing on the ground.

Miller, who has 74 yards on nine touches, walked off the field under his own power after being attended to by the team trainer and coach Tom Gryder.
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4:53: And Bailey comes up with his second interception of Brandon Simmons. About a 15-yard return.

Simmons just threw up his hands in disbelief—or frustration with a receiver downfield?—before chasing after the sophomore linebacker.
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6:40: Blackman, looking to pass, pulls the ball down and scrammbles for more than 10 yards and benefitted from an outstanding block by Jerry Budd. Had Budd not thrown that block, Blackman would have only picked up about five yards on the play, bringing up third down.

Blackman has 82 yards on 10 carries so far.
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7:20: Another fumble on the snap for the Raiders (after forcing a punt). Blackman recovered it, but this is becoming a trend for Stonewall.
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9:14: Jackson nearly escaped, but he was eventually sacked for a loss of about 10 yards. Add on the offensive pass interference the play before and it’s third-and-forever from their own 27.
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2nd quarter, 11:11: Blackman is stuffed on fourth and short, turning the ball over to the Indians on downs. Blackman has picked up 65 yards on seven carries, though.
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END OF 1ST: Gar-Field leads 10-0 despite trailing Stonewall in total offense. The Raiders have collected 84 yards while the Indians earned just 53.

Of course, Stonewall also has more turnovers, a fumble to begin the game and an interception. Both plays led to Gar-Field scores.
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1:19: Aaron Jackson nudges his way into the end zone to cap the nine-play, 51-yard drive. Anthony Ayala tacks on the extra point and puts Gar-Field ahead 10-0.
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2:14: John Neal just pulled in a pass and broke two tackles on his way to inside the Stonewall 5. After a run that’s stuffed, Gar-Field has second and goal from the 1.
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3:14: On fourth and five, Bryce Miller picked up more than enough yardage on a sweep left, blowing through the Stonewall defense. He’s up to 44 yards on six carries after the ensuing run.
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5:11: Brandon Simmons, under pressure from a host of Indians, just threw an interception just in front of the goal line. David Bailey returned the ball 46 yards nearly to the 50.
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6:46: The Raiders have marched down the field methodically, penetrating the Indians’ 5-yard line. They’ve picked up five first downs on this series and are at second and goal from the 2.
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8:09: After a quick first series that ended in a lost fumble, Stonewall’s newly installed single-wing offense is looking like it might be pretty effective. There are still some bugs to work out—bobbled snaps and hand offs mostly—but Sean Blackman already has 37 yards on three carries.

He was just sprung with a terrific block by Arlando Budd on a sweep, resulting in a 24-yard gain and a Stonewall first down in Gar-Field territory.
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9:56: Anthony Ayala put the Indians on the scoreboard first with a 31-yard field goal. Gar-Field leads 3-0.
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10:01: Aaron Jackson nearly connected on a 14-yard touchdown to John Neal, but the ball was just out of Neal’s reach, bringing up fourth down.
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11:00: Stonewall’s Arlando Budd fumbled on Stonewall’s third play from scrimmage and Gar-Field recovered at the Raider 16 yard line. After Bryce Miller picked up five on his first carry of the game, the Indians are threatening to score with a second and five.
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1st quarter, atmosphere: Just a quick note on the feel of the game—compared to the last three games I’ve been to, Gar-Field’s open-air press box offers a feeling of being closer to the action than Battlefield, Potomac or Forest Park’s press boxes.
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> Coin toss: Gar-Field won the toss and deferred to the second half. Stonewall elected to receive and the game will be getting underway shortly, albiet a little later than the scheduled 7:30 p.m. start time.
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>Pre-game: Our game reporter for today, Hugh Rist, was just on the field and said the new turf feels like walking on carpet.

It is indeed a very attractive green, landscaped very close and almost resembles an artificial surface. The field numbers are pristine and easy to read.

Now we’ll just have to see how long the field stays this way.
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Welcome to the News & Messenger Game Time Blog for the Stonewall-Gar-Field game.

Stonewall heads to Gar-Field’s Ralph L. Barnette Stadium for a Cedar Run-Cardinal matchup tonight at 7.

Let’s go over a few keys to today’s game.

> Piggott plays big: Gar-Field’s 5-foot-10 De’Vonte Piggott was a huge factor in last week’s 27-13 win over Potomac in the season opener. Piggott, the News & Messenger’s Player of the Week, intercepted a pass for a 62-yard touchdown, stripped a Panther ball carrier for another turnover and caught a long pass for a second score.

The Indians (1-0) will need more contributions from Piggott to stay hot and begin the season with back-to-back victories.

> Transition time for Stonewall: The Raiders are moving beyond the Williams/Thigpen era now, and the biggest sign of that is the wholesale change in their offense. Stonewall (0-1) is now running a single-wing, a look that is based on confusing defenses with direct snaps to the quarterback or either running back.

The Raiders might want to take a look at what Loudoun’s Mickey Thompson did at both Park View in the late ‘90’s and Stone Bridge in the early ‘00’s. Thompson is one of the most successful coaches in that county’s history and he ran the single-wing at different times for both schools. It’s a look that isn’t familiar to many teams and that adds to the effectiveness.

It’s not just the offense that’s had an overhaul, though. The Raiders are running a new-look 3-5-3 defense, too, giving them flexibility in the defensive backfield and allowing them to throw different coverages at opposing offenses.

> Finding footing: Gar-Field’s turf has been replaced and it should be interesting to see if there is any difference in play tonight. Coach Tom Gryder said the school installed a Bermuda turf for the playing surface and this will be one of the first times it’s been used.

> About last week: As already mentioned, Gar-Field beat host Potomac despite a car accident that sidelined nine players, including several starters. The Indians relied on both quarterback Aaron Jackson (9 for 19, 160 yards, 1 TD) and running back Bryce Miller (93 yards on 21 touches) as well as Piggott.

For the Raiders, it wasn’t as happy a start to the year. Stonewall traveled out to Martinsburg, W.Va. and fell behind early. The Raiders scored two touchdowns in the fourth, but just couldn’t muster enough offense in the final period to overcome the deficit, falling 31-17.

Stonewall recovered an onside kick late in the game and just missed on a second. Arlando Budd rushed for a team-best 60 yards on 21 carries and quarterback Brandon Simmons was effective passing for 186 yards on a 12-of-24 performance.