Myers leads Dan River’s comeback over Martinsville

RINGGOLD — R.J. Myers ran for two touchdowns as Dan River came from behind in the second half to defeat Martinsville 18-7 on a rainy Friday night.

Although Myers’ first score on the opening drive of the second half cut Martinsville’s lead down to one point, it was his second touchdown that turned the momentum in Dan River’s favor for good.

Myers took the handoff and rumbled 37 yards for the touchdown, breaking more than five tackles along the way while carrying a few more Bulldogs along with him to the end zone. The play not only gave Dan River a 12-7 lead, but it ignited the Wildcats’ bench.

“That’s just will,” Dan River coach Ferrell Edmunds said. “R.J. is a kid that willed himself into the end zone. He’s been asking for the ball all year.”

Because Dan River (3-4) failed to get in the end zone on its pair of two-point conversion attempts, the Wildcats were not out of trouble yet. And they certainly escaped a mistake that could have been costly.

With a little more than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Dan River whiffed on a punt and Martinsville (3-5) recovered on the Wildcats’ 30-yard line. Dan River’s defense, however, stopped the Bulldogs on fourth down to avoid any consequences from its mishap.

From there, Dan River drained the clock — something it did especially well in the second half. Martinsville used its final timeout with 39.8 seconds to play, hoping to stop the Wildcats on third down and potentially get the ball back with a few seconds left.

The Wildcats needed just 6 yards for the first down to seal the game. They got 46. Dantony Dickerson found a hole in the Martinsville line and trotted into the end zone untouched with 31.8 seconds left.

“In the first half we tried a lot of things that didn’t work,” Edmunds said. “Our strength is our running game. We simplified things.
“In the second half, we felt committed to the run. They were stacking eight men in the box, but we felt like our men up front could control the line of scrimmage. We stuck with it and short passes and moved the ball up the field.”

Myers had eight carries for 107 yards and Dickerson had 14 rushes for 89 yards.

While Dan River’s ground game flourished in the second half, Martinsville’s dried up. The Bulldogs ran 18 times for 107 yards, including 80 by Chris Scott on 13 carries. In the second half, Martinsville was limited to 37 yards of offense — all on the ground.

“They played really physical and real hard tonight and they beat us to the punch,” Martinsville coach Matt Foutz said. “They turned the tables on us and controlled the clock and kept the ball away from us. When we had it, we just really couldn’t get anything going.”

Martinsville took its opening drive of the game 85 yards for a touchdown. Logan Harr bounced off several defenders for a score from 11 yards out to help the Bulldogs take a 7-0 lead with 8:23 left in the first quarter. That lead held up through the first half, until Myers got the Wildcats’ offense going.