Magna Vista spoils Tunstall’s homecoming

DRY FORK — Magna Vista went winless through the 2007 and 2008 campaigns, but have found winning to their liking in 2009 — and they brought their show on the road Friday night and thumped the Tunstall Trojans 35-3.

Magna Vista (4-4) wasted little time in stating its case for Piedmont District supremacy as the Warriors blooped their kickoff over the first row of Tunstall blockers and Micah Belton recovered for the Warriors on the Tunstall 46 yard line. From there it only took three plays to cover the distance as sophomore quarterback Harvey Taylor connected with wideout Tyler Davis on a hitch route at the 35 and Davis sidestepped a couple of tacklers and then sprinted the rest of the way for the early lead.

The Warriors made it 14-0 before the end of the first period as Taylor made a nice play fake to his running back and then kept it himself for an 11-yard run to paydirt. Kevin Reid followed with the second of his five extra points on the night.

The Tunstall offense, with leading rusher Justin Williams and all-Region IV lineman Alan Broadnax on the sidelines nursing injuries, never got untracked during the game as the Trojans were held to 46 total offense for the game. Starting quarterback Evan Huffman was lost to a leg injury in the second quarter and saw no action in the second half.

Keifer Mosely set up the third Magna Vista score in the first half with an interception that put the Warriors in business at the Tunstall 48. Thaddeus Carter ran it in from three yards out to make it 21-0 by halftime.

Taylor scored the first of his two second-half touchdowns on the Warriors first possession after the break to end any doubt about the outcome of the game. He went the final 19 yards up the middle with less than two minutes off the clock in the third quarter.

The Trojans avoided the shutout as Zach Rice booted a 33-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter after a Tunstall drive stalled inside the Magna Vista 10.

Magna Vista finished the night with 203 yards on the ground and 154 yards passing.

Tunstall coach Buddy Brown offered no excuses for the loss but offered his praises to the Warriors. “Coach Favero has come in and done a good job turning their program around,” said Brown. “They were the better team tonight.”

The Trojans, who dropped to 0-2 in the Piedmont and 3-5 overall, will travel to Bassett next Friday to take on the Bengals.