Update:
Some games on Friday night were toss-ups, but the Radford Bobcats made sure that their game was anything but, securing a 44-7 win in blowout fashion.
The game started out slow, scoreless in the first quarter, the Bobcats took an early 8-0 lead setting the tone, going for a two-point conversion early in the contest.
An Appomattox County fumble in the second quarter would not help the Raiders’ comeback cause, as Radford’s Sam Long would recover the fumble and take it the distance for a scoop and score, taking a 15-0 lead.
It was explosive play after explosive play for the Bobcats all night and the Raiders had no answers on Friday as Radford ran away with the contest.
Original:
Friday night marks region quarterfinals, and some games are a toss-up in terms of who the winner may be; you can include our 1st and 10 Game of the Week into that category.
It’s a 4-5 matchup in Region 2C, Appomattox County at Radford, two programs that know what it takes to win it all.
Nestled in the Seminole District hotbed sits Class 2 and Dogwood powerhouse Appomattox. They say iron sharpens iron, and that couldn’t be more true for the Raiders, who opened up their 2025 season playing up against three straight Seminole District foes.
“Helps a lot just because we play those bigger schools that almost all of them are going to be in the playoffs all the time, so it gets us ready for playing against good teams,” Stephen Castello, Appomattox County Head Coach, said.
“It’s a good test to see where you are at the beginning of the season and what you need to do to get better and get better,” Matthew Martin, Raiders lineman, said.
They did, after a 1-3 start to the year. The Raiders turned it around, going 5-1 with a playoff berth on the way.
“Like the Alta Vista game was a big game. Like that really showed a couple of kids that we could be pretty good, and our coaches always reinforced that about how we had the potential to be amazing and we just gotta live up to it. At this point in the season most teams know what works,” Castello said.
Apomattox, with the strong foundation of teamwork and the power of one, makes it happen behind their front five.
“So right now our offensive line has been doing a pretty good job with their run blocking. The last several games we’ve had multiple guys carry the ball and produce the running game,” Castellos said.
“We just get the ball to our playmakers. That’s the most important part. Our offensive line has been amazing this year, and just getting the ball to people that know how to use the ball is what’s going to score points for us,” Martin said.
But in the Region 2C quarterfinals, Radford will put that to the test.
“They’re a good team. The linemen are good. Good at pass blocks, you know, running the running game. Everything. You know, they’re a really good team and, you know, we hope to beat them in the playoffs,” Mark Aloese, Raiders linebacker, said.