By LARRY HYPES
TAZEWELL, Va. — Charity began at home and it cost the Tazewell Bulldogs.
Giving away four first half interceptions helped George Wythe march to an early four-touchdown lead and the visiting Maroons rolled to a 48-6 non-district win Friday at Bulldog Stadium.
Robert Yonce purloined the pigskin on successive drives in the second stanza, scoring twice on interceptions for George Wythe (1-0), whose experience and size was too much for the scrappy Bulldogs (0-1) to overcome.
“They (George Wythe) have a good team. No wonder they are favorites to win their own district.,” Tazewell head coach Bobby Wyatt said. “We knew it would be a learning experience for us but we are proud of the way we kept hitting the entire game.”
A big hit with the Dogs was Matt Muncy’s dazzling 75-yard kick return for a touchdown with 1:49 remaining. Muncy grabbed the ball and raced up the right sideline untouched for the score.
Yonce opened the scoring in the first stanza when he went 35 yards with an interception at the 2:09 mark.Michael Jones drilled the PAT for a 7-0 advantage.
Devin Smith’s interception set up the next Maroon touchdown, a two yard plunge by Seth White early in the second quarter. Jordan Eller then intercepted a Tazewell aerial to give the Maroons a first down in Bulldog territory a series later. George Wythe quarterback Jacob Sharitz dived in for a one-yard score, with Jones’ kick pushing the advantage to 14-0.
Yonce scored again with a pass pickoff, skipping 25 yards for a six-pointer. Jones missed the kick and GW led 20-0.
Yonce grabbed another Tazewell pass, returning it 51 yards with less than two minute left in the second quarter to position George Wythe for another TD. Fullback Larry McCoy bulled into the end zone from two yards away at the 1:20 for a 27-0 halftime margin.
Two more touchdowns in the third frame, one a two-yard run by White and the other a pass from Sharitz to White padded the Maroon margin. White finished with 62 yards rushing while Brandon Atwell grabbed three passes for a whopping 85 yards.
White added a two-yard score in the final stanza, before Muncy finished the scoring with his run for the Dogs. The extra point was no good for THS.
McCoy ground out 99 yards rushing for George Wythe, which outgained Tazewell 193-79. Sharitz was 6-of-11 and 164 yards passing while T. J. Rasnick shared passing duties with freshman Cody Lockhart.
Lockhart came in on the final series of the first half. He completed a 45-yard pass to freshman Josh Mitchem and Rasnick came within inches of catching a touchdown pass in the closing seconds of the half.
Rasnick, who led the Dogs with 37 yards rushing, also completed a 42-yard pass to Muncy in the opening quarter.
Andrew Rhudy had 36 yards rushing for THS. Rasnick recovered a first quarter fumble to halt the first Maroon drive, and “Bruiser” Moore had a solid game along the line with another fumble recovery for Tazewell. Lockhart also recovered a fumble for Tazewell.
The Bulldogs travel to Gate City next Friday.
at Bulldog Stadium
George Wythe.................7 20 14 7 — 48
Tazewell........................ ..0 0 0 6 — 6
First Quarter
GW—Yonce 35-yard interception return (Jones kick)
Second Quarter
GW—Sharitz 1 run (Jones kick)
GW—Yonce 25-yard interception return (Jones kick)
GW—McCoy 2 run (kick failed)
Third Quarter
GW—White 2 run (kick failed)
GW—White 10 pass from Sharitz (Jones kick)
Fourth Quarter
GW—White 8 run (Jones kick)
TZ—Muncy 75 kick return (kick failed)
