HEARTBREAKER: Dan River falls to Appomattox in overtime

RINGGOLD — Justin Gunter saw some daylight on the left side of the formation and appeared to have the edge as Dan River was attempting to score the game-tying two-point conversion in the first overtime against Appomattox.

As the junior quarterback began to turn the corner, a sea of Raiders defenders came swarming to the ball — holding the Wildcats out of the end zone and out of the playoffs.

The Appomattox defense finally made a stop against the Dan River rushing attack, giving the Raiders a 28-26 victory and ensured Appomattox a share of the Dogwood District title and a berth in the Region B Division 2 playoffs.

With the loss, Dan River (5-4, 2-3 Dogwood) is mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.

“They knew the play, they knew what we were doing and they knew who to go for,” Gunter said. “It hurts a lot. We came with the attitude of ready to win, but it just didn’t come out like we expected it to.”

Appomattox (8-2, 5-1 Dogwood) scored first in overtime after Kenny Scott slipped a few tackles and zig-zagged his way into the end zone. Scott found M.J. Pennix for the two-point conversion.

Gunter had both carries on the Dan River possession. He almost got into the end zone on his first run and then he was able to power his way in on second down. Gunter followed his three blockers on the two-point attempt, only to be swallowed by several Appomattox defenders.

“That’s the game,” Appomattox coach Ben Martin said. “That’s what put us over the top and it forced them to have to keep their offense on the field and not leave it up to special teams. Our defense came up with a huge play. They’d been getting outside on us all night long and our defense adjusted to it finally when we needed to.”

With a little more than 4 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Appomattox stopped a Dan River drive on fourth down. Up 20-12, the Raiders were in position to run out the clock as the Wildcats had one timeout.

Dan River senior lineman D.J. Hamlett made a game-saving play when he was able to break through the line on the first Raiders’ play following the change of possession and steal the Appomattox handoff at the Raiders 40-yard line.

The Wildcats were able to convert off the turnover, as Trey Edmunds was able to run it in from 27 yards out with 2:20 left. Gunter powered his way into the end zone on the two-point conversion to tie it up at 20.

“Some of our kids went out there and showed that their senior year meant something,” Dan River coach Ferrell Edmunds said. “I’m proud of the kids that fought to the end. We had some big turnovers in the game. Hard pill to swallow.”

After Appomattox punted the ball on the first possession of the second half, Appomattox senior wide receiver Neal Thomas was able to strip the ball from Dan River wide receiver Kevin Eldridge and raced 30 yards for a touchdown, giving the Raiders their first lead of the contest at 14-6 after he snared the two-point conversion.

“I seen that he was bobbling it and took it from him and ran down the field,” Thomas said of the fumble return. “I got a good block from Rico (Rose) and it was a big score for us.”

Thomas came up big for Appomattox when it appeared Dan River would have momentum heading into halftime. With less than a minute left and facing fourth down, Scott looked to his favorite target down the field and Thomas was able to corral the pass from a Dan River defensive back and fall into the end zone for a 38-yard score with 20 seconds remaining to tie the game at 6-6.

DeMarrio Hunt opened the scoring with a 3-yard run less than a minute into the second quarter and finished with 13 yards rushing. Gunter totaled 121 yards of total offense (78 rushing and 43 passing) and added a 30-yard touchdown scamper with 3:31 left in the third quarter.

R.J. Myers recorded 20 tackles for the second consecutive year against Appomattox and added two sacks.

Scott finished with a game-high 84 yards rushing and Joe Reed added 67 yards on the ground and a 10-yard touchdown that put Appomattox up 20-12 with 6:30 left in the fourth quarter.

“The defense made stops. Sometimes, you roll the dice,” Ferrell Edmunds said. “I’ll never second-guess a call. I laid it on the line and gave the kids an opportunity to win. … Our kids got to learn how to win and how to finish. I’m proud of the kids.”

Appomattox 28, Dan River 26, OT
Appomattox 0 6 8 6 8 -  28
Dan River 0 8 6 8 6 -  26
Second quarter
DR – Demarrio Hunt 3 run (kick blocked), 11:25
A – Neal Thomas 38 pass from Kenny Scott (run failed), :20
Third quarter
A – Thomas 30 fumble return (Thomas pass from Scott), 6:42
DR – Justin Gunter 30 run (pass failed), 3:31
Fourth quarter
A – Joe Reed 10 run (run failed), 6:30
DR – Trey Edmunds 27 run (Gunter run), 2:20
First overtime
A – Scott 4 run (M.J. Pennix pass from Scott)
DR – Gunter 1 run (run failed)
Team statistics
Appo DR
First downs 10 6
Rushes-yards 40-166 39-149
Passing 5-9-0 7-9-0
Passing yards 62 43
Total offense 228 192
Fumbles-lost 3/2 3/2
Penalties-yards 2-10 8-55
Individual statistics
Rushing: Appomattox – Scott 18-84, Reed 16-67, Pennix 2-11, Mark Wright 1-6, Josh Wilson 2-(-2), Team 0-0. Dan River – Gunter 11-78, Edmunds 9-43, R.J. Myers 2-18, Ezander Shelton 8-15, Hunt 6-13, Deon Hairston 1-(-14), Team 3-(-4).
Passing: Appomattox – Scott 5-9-0 62. Dan River – Gunter 7-9-0 43.
Receiving: Appomattox – Thomas 2-62, Wilson 2-1, J.J. Rose 1-(-1). Dan River – Edmunds 2-19, Terrell Davis 1-14, Kevin Eldridge 4-8.
Records: Appomattox 8-2, 5-1 Dogwood; Dan River 5-4, 2-3 Dogwood.