Dan River runs over William Byrd

The Dan River Wildcats put up a flurry of points in the first half on their way to beating the William Byrd Terriers 46-20 Friday night in Ringgold.

Senior Demario Hunt scored the Wildcats’ first touchdown on their first possession of the game.

The Wildcats added seven more points after the Terriers’ quarterback fumbled a snap. Markorey Adams grabbed the ball and took it 32 yards to the end zone. Dan River scored three more rushing touchdowns before William Byrd found the end zone.

At halftime, Dan River led 32-7.

But the Terriers came out strong after intermission with a pass heavy offense. They scored 13 straight points to pull within 12 of the Wildcats’ lead in the fourth quarter.

Dan River went three and out on the next possession and punted. On the first play, Junior Deon Hairston out-jumped a Terrier receiver to grab an interception for the Wildcats.

“Players make plays,” said Ferrell Edmunds, Dan River’s head coach.

Running back Ezander Shelton took advantage of the turnover with a 46-yard rushing touchdown. The Wildcats tacked on a two-point conversion, making the score 40-20 and distancing themselves with less than 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

“One thing coming into this game, we wanted to establish the run right away,” Edmunds said of his team’s seven touchdowns on the ground.

He added that his team came out flat at the beginning of the second half but still gave themselves a chance to win. The Wildcats have good senior leadership and experience, which helped them stay composed.

“We came out and fought,” he said. “We’ve got kids with a lot of heart.

“We will always give ourselves a chance to win the game. Our kids fought to the end.”