If not for some legs cramps, Reeds Spring High School would have a new single-game rushing leader.
Korey Robinette rushed for 281 yards on 16 carries, but sat out most of the fourth quarter with what he termed as "minor cramps," as teammates pulled away from the Mount Vernon Mountaineers 47-34 at Carl Langley Field.
Robinette fell 15 yards shy of the school's single-game record, set by Dustin Patton in the mid 1990s.
"Dang," said Robinette, after learning how close he was to setting the record. "I still have a whole season, so I'll get it then, maybe."
Robinette and his teammates ran wild, accounting for 647 rushing yards on just 54 carries (averaging 11.98 yards per carry), but struggled to pull away from the pesky Mountaineers.
"I really thought we controlled our line of scrimmage," said Reeds Spring coach Lance Gosch.
With the game tied at 14-14 early in the third quarter, Mount Vernon marched down the field and had first and goal at the Wolves' four yard-line. They didn't score.
"I was proud of our kids," Gosch said. "Our kids battled back there. We held them out."
Two plays later, Robinette reeled off an 83-yard touchdown run. Andrew Montemayor answered, hauling in a 69-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Garrett Hadlock, knotting the score 21-21.
Montemayor finished with 142 receiving yards and two touchdowns on seven receptions. But his biggest play came on defense.
After driving the length of the field, Reeds Spring seemed prepared to take the lead back, but Austin Staugaard's pass was intercepted with just one hand by Montemayor at the goal line. Then, he used two feet to run 100 yards and give his team the lead. The back-breaking play, or so it was thought, put the Mountaineers in front 27-21.
It didn't last.
Forty-seven seconds later, Robinette juked one defender and sprinted 79 yards for a touchdown, his third of the night. When cramps forced him to the sideline, reserve tailback Seth Stamps entered and filled Robinette's shoes. With 54 seconds left in the third, Stamps scampered 11 yards for a score, giving the Wolves a 35-27 edge.
"We had a couple guys out there that weren't expected to play that did a nice job for us," Gosch said.
With Robinette sidelined, Reeds Spring got more bad news when fellow tailback Keenan Haynes went down late in the third with an apparent ankle injury. Stamps, Staugaard, and fellow reserve Kelly Newton stepped up. The trio helped grind out a 92-yard, fourth-quarter drive that ate 6:47 of clock. Staugaard capped it off with a one-yard touchdown plunge with 3:32 remaining, that seemingly put the game away at 41-27.
"That was big," Gosch said. "They had some momentum going, we had a penalty that backed us up, and then we chewed up most of the quarter. That was a big, big moment for us."
Mount Vernon had one last gasp, though. Just 30 seconds after Staugaard jumped into the endzone, Hadlock found Massie on a 59-yard touchdown strike, pulling the Mountaineers back within 41-34 with three minutes left. But it was too little, too late.
Colter Whitten, on his first ever varsity carry, took the football 74 yards to the endzone on the next play from scrimmage, putting the Mountaineers away for good.
"I do a lot of stuff in scout offense, and I score on our starting defense almost every play," Whitten said. "I was kind of hoping I'd get a big run, so it felt really good when I actually got one."
Massie finished with 238 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 11 catches. Hadlock was 27/38 passing for 459 yards and four touchdowns.
Mount Vernon 6 8 13 7 34
Reeds Spring 7 7 21 12 47
First Quarter
MV – 7:51 Hadlock to Montemayor 20-yd reception (PAT missed) 7-0
RS – 2:40 Hayes 38-yd run (Gertson PAT) 7-6
Second Quarter
RS – 8:53 Robinette 1-yd run (Gertson PAT) 14-6
MV – 2:28 Hadlock to Massie 38-yd reception (Hadlock to Massie) 14-14
Third Quarter
RS – 8:40 Robinette 83-yd run (Gertson PAT) 21-14
MV – 7:29 Hadlock to Montemayor 69-yd reception (Buttram PAT) 21-21
MV – 5:02 Montemayor 100-yd interception return (PAT missed) 27-21
RS – 4:15 Robinette 79-yd run (Gertson PAT) 28-27
RS – 0:54 Stamps 11-yd run (Gertson PAT) 35-27
Fourth Quarter
RS – 3:32 Staugaard 1-yd run (PAT blocked) 41-27
MV – 3:01 Hadlock to Massie 59-yd reception (Buttram PAT) 41-34
RS – 2:44 Whitten 74-yd run (2-pt failed) 47-34
