Not once, not twice, but three times – in each of the past three years coming into 2009 the Cave Spring Knights had won just two games on the season. Head coach Tim Fulton pointed that out after his squad toughed out a hard-fought, last second defensive battle with the Northside Vikings last week to win 10-7.
At 5’10”, 150 lbs. placekicker Ethan Hafey hit a game winning field goal as time ran out, then was mobbed by teammates and fans afterwards. After being stuck on two wins for each of the past three seasons this was a big deal for Fulton, his players and the spectators at Bogle Stadium. The last few minutes featured turnovers and near misses by both teams.
“You can’t say enough about our defense…they were flying around- flawless,” said Fulton over the din of a nearby on-field celebration. He’s not concerned that his Knights might be considered one of the River Ridge favorites going forward. “We’ll worry about that later.”
Hafey, the son of former Cave Spring athletic director Joe Hafey, had never played football before this year – Fulton found the senior at a soccer tryout and told him he needed a kicker. “[Hafey] answered our call and stepped up for us big tonight.” It was his first ever field goal attempt.
Cave Spring quarterback Josh Woodrum, who passed for almost 200 yards, “is doing a great job,” according to the head coach, while Erik Jacobsen (106 receiving yards) is part of a group that can catch the ball. “We’re getting there,” said Fulton, “those young men are making plays.”
Northside’s highly touted team fell to 2-1 with the loss. “We felt like we played better in the second half, but … Cave Spring played a heck of a football game,” said head coach Burt Torrence. They just played better than we did.” Both the Vikings and Knights are in Region 3 – but in different divisions.
“Maybe we’ll have an opportunity to play again down the road,” said Torrence of a possible playoff rematch. “It’s a long season, we’re still 2-1 and control our own destiny.”
The Knights are “still relatively young,” on defense said Fulton, with lots more to learn going forward. Earning win number three to go 3-0 was just the tonic needed. “We’ve been stuck on that number [2] … the boys wanted to get rid of it.”
Cave Spring visits Patrick Henry this Friday night to do battle with a 1-2 Patriots club that is looking to make its own mark under new head coach Brad Bradley. Taking down an undefeated Knights team would give PH double its win total from all of last season.
By Gene Marrano [email protected]