The 50-50 raffle winner at high school football games usually gets drawn at halftime.
Friday night at Dwight Bogle Stadium Cave Spring got the giveaways going early.
Taking advantage of costly first half mistakes by the Knights, including two interceptions, a fumble and untimely penalties, Glenvar broke away from a 14-12 lead and rolled to the 41-12 win over the Knights. It was Glenvar’s third win in the last four years over Cave Spring.
Cave Spring came out of the gate strong, taking the opening kickoff and riding the running game by senior Zach Bowling to reach the Glenvar 5-yard line. On second down, Cave Spring quarterback Jacob Knight hit senior tight end Tyson Alderman in the left side of the end zone that put Cave Spring up 6-0 after the missed point with 7:04 left in the opening frame.
Glenvar responded with a pair of touchdowns, the first on a 1-yard plunge by Christian Smith that followed a 43-yard Landry Gerbers-to-Nathan Chapman bomb with 4:31 remaining in the first quarter. Gerbers followed with a 72-yard strike to senior Justice Forster on the first play of the second quarter that had Glenvar ahead 14-6.
Along the way Cave Spring had given up the ball on an interception, and missed a golden opportunity when Glenvar misplayed a punt snap, giving the ball to Cave Spring on the Highlander 21.
Cave Spring finally answered with an 8-yard keeper by Knight with 7:32 left in the second quarter, but Glenvar swarmed the Knights’ 2-point conversion attempt that left the visitors up 14-12. It would be Cave Spring’s last points of the game.
Glenvar capitalized on the second Cave Spring interception with 3:27 left in the half when Highlander junior Jordan Alexander picked off a tipped screen pass near the Knights 41 and raced inside the 5-yard line before fumbling the ball into the end zone where it was recovered by Glenvar sophomore Blake Custer. The missed PAT left Glenvar up 20-12.
Twenty-nine seconds later, Glenvar was back on the scoreboard. Junior Bradey Loder recovered a Cave Spring fumble, the third Knight turnover of the half, and one play later Loder went 24 yards to put the Highlanders up 27-12 heading to the halftime break.
After a scoreless third quarter, Loder put any designs of a Cave Spring comeback to rest when he rambled 70-yards for a touchdown with 9:20 left in the game and iced the cake with a 2-yard scoring run with 4:45 left in the fourth. Loder finished with 239 rushing yards. Bowling, despite being hampered by leg cramps, led the Cave Spring ground game with 108 yards.
Glenvar improved to a perfect 3-0 on the season, while Cave Spring saw its record fall to 1-2.
Bill Turner
