Streak broken

CHATHAM – Tunstall wanted to work on its passing game, but intermittent rain forced it to work on its consistency.

The Trojans scored touchdowns on sustained drives on its first two possessions and held on for a 20-7 win at Chatham in a Pittsylvania County rivalry game on Friday.

Tunstall (2-1) kept five rushers active throughout the game, and four of them logged more than 60 yards for the game, led by Justin Williams’ 90 yards on nine carries.

“I thought we were efficient,” Tunstall coach Buddy Brown said. “They hung around. We got a great stop near the end of the first half, and boom we give it right back.”

Tae Gunter scored twice in the first half on runs of nine yards and 1 yard to put the Trojans up to a comfortable 14-0 edge.

Chatham (1-1) drove the ball 30 yards from the Tunstall 49 yard line, but couldn’t convert it into points with 1:50 left in the first half.

The Trojans backed up farther with an illegal motion penalty, but Dre Thomas picked up the distance for a first down on a third-and-15, but he lost the ball in the process.

On the next play, Chatham quarterback Buzz Keel found Solomon Witcher streaking along the right sideline with 38 seconds to play in the first half and converted a 35-yard touchdown completion. The momentum swing fizzled in the lockerroom as the Cavaliers took the opening drive of the second half for minus-5 yards.

Tunstall responded with a 70-yard drive spanning nearly seven minutes of game clock that ended with quarterback JaQuan Hubbard fighting for a three-yard score on a fourth-and-goal.

“Both teams played hard,” Chatham coach Malon Dalton said. “They were more physical than us. They tackled much better than us.”

Brown said Chatham’s size in the middle of the line caused the initial Tunstall gameplan to focus a bit more on the pass. Hubbard completed only one of five attempts, with all five passes attempted in the first half. The Trojans were able to seal the ends and use a variety of backs to rack up yards on the outside.

“That’s what the Wing-T will do to you,” Dalton said. “They ran that offense well.”

Tunstall gained 340 yards of its 356 total offense on the ground. The Trojan defense held Chatham to 187 total yards.

Chatham’s Keel completed 4-of-8 passes for 94 yards, including two completions to Witcher for 68 yards.