Martinsville scores late to break stalemate with Tunstall

DRY FORK — It took three quarters to reach the end zone, but Martinsville was able to score in the fourth quarter to defeat Tunstall 11-0 in Piedmont District action Friday night.

With Martinsville (4-5, 2-0) and Tunstall (4-5, 1-2) scoreless, Marquill Eggleston scampered into the end zone from 9 yards out and Chris Scott ran in the two-point conversion to give the Bulldogs an 8-0 lead with 7:58 remaining in the contest.

On Martinsville’s next possession, Colin Welch kicked a 32-yard field goal with 1:19 left to put the finishing touches on its victory.

Martinsville coach Matt Foutz was happy to get back in the win column.

“I feel pretty good,” Foutz said. “I’m more relieved than anything. Neither offense had a whole lot going. Both defenses played well. It feels good to get one like this. We had so many opportunities to give in, and it was getting frustrating. But we hung in until the end and found a way to win.”

Tunstall’s best chance to score came when it had the ball in the Martinsville red zone midway through the second quarter, but the 14-play drive ended when Roger Dillard intercepted a JaQuan Hubbard pass at the 6-yard line with 4:45 to play in the first half.

Tunstall coach Buddy Brown said his team needs to improve on taking of advantage of some situations.

“We just missed some opportunities, and we didn’t get it done,” Brown said. “The effort was there, we just missed some opportunities. There were just five or six plays that made the difference. We had a chance to get on the board early, but we had some penalties and the turnover. The effort was there, we just didn’t make plays.

“We didn’t really change anything all night,” Brown said of his game plan. (Eggleston) and (Scott) are dangerous, and their fullback (Logan Harr) is a banger. If we could’ve gotten one early, then you never know.”

Despite coming away on top, Foutz thinks his Bulldogs have a lot to work on.

“We need to work on everything,” Foutz said. “We need to improve in all phases. We have yet to play a complete game, but we are close to putting it all together. We have been good on offense in some games, and been good on defense in some games. We just need to put it all together.

“Our confidence has been lacking,” Foutz said. Our guys had to step up, and they did. We found a way to win tonight.”

Foutz feels it is important for his team to get back into the habit of winning.

“We have been up and down all year,” Foutz said. “This is a good win, and it is good to get that winning feeling back. We are 2-0 in the district. We control our own destiny.”