Singer Dinah Washington won a 1959 Grammy for “What a Difference a Day Makes.”
Friday night at Dwight Bogle Stadium is was more the case of what a difference two minutes make.
Taking advantage of a pair of breakdowns in the Terrier secondary late in the first half, Cave Spring used the momentum to pull away for the 33-7 win over William Byrd in the season opener for both teams.
Both teams were jockeying for position throughout most of the the opening two quarters before lightning struck.
“We were hammering back and forth,” Cave Spring head coach Tim Fulton noted at midfield after the contest. “It was like an old-time boxing match.”
The Knights finally got on the scoreboard midway through the second quarter, when senior placekicker Tyler Garner connected on a 22-yard field goal to give Cave Spring a 3-0 lead.
The Terrier offense stalled on the ensuing possession, leading to a pooch punt that set up Cave Spring at their own 21 with just over three minutes left.
The Knights went to the air, and when junior Tyler Rice got behind the Terrier defense, quarterback Alex Emery hit him in stride for a 79-yard scoring strike that upped the Cave Spring lead to 10-0.
Moments later, senior defensive back Ty Albritton picked off a Byrd pass and Emery followed with a 41-yard touchdown toss to Matt Gliniecki that sent Cave Spring to the halftime break with a 17-0 lead.
“Those were two big plays,” Terrier head coach Jeff Highfill noted. “We’re young and inexperienced. We lined up wrong and on both passes there were blown assignments. A couple guys are freshmen and sophomores back there. For us, it’s on-the-job training.”
Cave Spring put to rest any chance of a Terrier comeback when they took the second half kickoff and marched 70 yards with Rice going over from one yard out to make it 24-0.
“When we made it 24-0 on a sustained drive to start the second half, I thought we were in good shape,” Fulton said. “The real key tonight was the great defensive effort.”
The Knights held Byrd to only 70 total rushing yards. William Culicerto was the bright spot for the Terriers, throwing for 81 yards.
Cave Spring later added a fourth quarter score on a 62-yard TD catch by Dakota Kidd before Byrd finally got on the scoreboard after a Knight punt reception miscue that led to a Terrier touchdown pass. Garner capped off the scoring with a late field goal for the Knights.
The Knights controlled the rushing game with Jon Roach picking up 152 yards on 35 carries while Emery added 89 yards on 12 keepers.
“They gave me the ball more than I expected,” Roach said. “It seemed like I’d get the ball two or three straight times, then Alex would run it. Good hype at halftime after the quick scores. Our effort showed on the scoreboard tonight.”
“This was a very big win for us,” Cave Spring captain Zac Foutz noted. “At the Lord Botetourt scrimmage, we realized we could push guys around. Tonight puts to rest that Cave Spring is weak.”
– Bill Turner
