The Abingdon Falcons Get Two-Point Conversion to Beat Rustburg 35-34 in Overtime
The Abingdon Falcons re-wrote the schools history books Friday night with a thrilling 35-34 overtime win over the visiting Rustburg Red Devils in the first round of the 3A West VHSL playoffs. Junior quarterback Jake Sturgill hit junior receiver Jeffrey Wallace with the two-point conversion in overtime to propel the Falcons to the first playoff victory since 1996. The Falcons had already removed one old record, by hosting the first home playoff game since 2003.
Abingdon 35, Rustburg 34 OT
Rustburg 6 0 14 7 7-34
Abingdon 0 6 7 14 8-35
Scoring Summary
R-S.Baker 5 run (kick failed)
A-D.Yates 5 pass from Sturgill (kick failed)
R-Garland 4 run (kick blocked)
R-Garland 21 run (M.Jones pass from Dan.Jones)
A-D.Yates 9 pass from Sturgill (Dick kick)
A-Wallace 10 pass from Sturgill (kick blocked)
R-Dan.Jones 3 run (Nunnally kick)
A-Sturgill 1 run (Wallace pass from Sturgill)
R-Dan.Jones 1 run (Nunnally kick)
A-Wallace 12 pass from Sturgill (Wallace pass from Sturgill)
Team Stats
First Downs: R 29, A 25; Rushes-Yards: R 60-249, A 36-112; Passing Yards: R 141, A 229; Passes (C-A-I): R 13-20-1, A 28-36-1; Fumbles-Lost: R 2-1, A 0-0; Penalties: R 14-130, A 11-90; Punts: R 1-18, A 3-30.6.
The Falcons did not give up after falling behind 27-19 in the fourth quarter when Rustburg quarterback Dante Jones ran three-yards into the Abingdon end zone with 7:05 left in the fourth quarter. The Falcons moved down the field following the ensuing kickoff, to the Red Devils 38-yard line where Abingdon turned the ball over on downs and taking the air from the home standing fans with 4:59 left in the game.
Rustburg began methodically running the ball while the Falcon coaches were using their time outs in an attempt to save some time on the clock. On fourth-down and two, the Falcon defensive front of Dakota Vandyke, David Doss and Justin Fannon made key stops and got the football back for the Falcons with less than three minutes left in regulation.
On the second play of the drive, Sturgill hit senior receiver Derrick Yates on the left side for an 18-yard catch and run and the Red Devils were penalized at the end of the play for a personal-foul for targeting the helmet of Yates. While the officiating crew were marching off the additional 15-yards, a Red Devils player picked up the flag and threw it, costing Rustburg an additional penalty moving the Falcons to the 10-yard line with 1:05 remaining in regulation.
Playing the last minutes of regulation without Yates, the Falcons attempted to get the ball into the end zone before time expired. On fourth-down and 13 seconds left on the clock, Sturgill called his own number and dove for the end-zone bringing the Falcons to within two points with 8 seconds left in regulation. Abingdon lined up for the two-point conversion where Sturgill hit Wallace in the end-zone tying the game at 27.
The Falcons won the coin-toss and elected for defense in the overtime segment while the Abingdon fans all stood and cheered their team on. On third-down and one, Jones punched the ball in to put Rustburg up 34-27 following the PAT by kicker Ben Nunnally.
The Falcons offense took the field with Yates remaining on the sideline. On the first play, Sturgill was sacked for a two-yard loss. But not to be discouraged, Sturgill who had passed 28 of 36 passes for 229 yards on the night, hit Wallace for a 12-yard touchdown on the second offensive play in the overtime to bring the Falcons to 34-33. Abingdon coach Darren Reed called time-out to discuss the options. Reed chose to go for the two-point conversion because the Falcons had missed one PAT in the second quarter and had one blocked in the fourth.
The Falcons gave the Red Devils a different look in the formation by overloading the right side with a tight-end and bringing Doss and Fannon from the defensive line to the backfield as blockers behind the right end. The Red Devils took the bait and overloaded their defense to the power side of the Falcons and bit on the fake handoff to Matthew Fulton. Sturgill then passed a strike to wide open Jeffrey Wallace on the left side of the end zone for the two-point conversion and the win.
During the timeout to discuss the extra point try, Wallace told his coach and quarterback that he wanted the football, and the play worked like it was drawn up propelling the Falcons to the second round and a road trip to Northside on Friday night.
Sturgill, while passing for 229 yards, also carried the football 29 times for 92 yards and a score. Rustburg quarterback Dante Jones rand 29 times for 124 yards and two touchdowns.
Rustburg got on the board first in the first quarter for a 6-0 lead on a five-yard dive, but the extra point failed. It appeared that the Red Devils were going to extend their lead in the second quarter when quarterback Jones attempted to move over the left side on first-and-goal from the three-yard line, but senior defensive lineman Justin Fannon met Jones on the two-yard line with a big hit, knocking the ball out that was recovered by the Falcons on the one-foot line.
Abingdon drove 99-yards and was capped off with a 5-yard scoring pass from Sturgill to Yates. The extra point bounced off the left up-right knotting the game 6-6 that remained until the second half.
Other SWVA First Round Scores:
Bland County 64, Patrick Henry (GS) 57
Honaker 39, Northwood 26
George Wythe 42, Twin Springs 0
Radford 49, Twin Valley 0
Rural Retreat 28, Auburn 17
Union 42, Gretna 7
Glenvar 35, Virginia High 6
Giles 49, Ridgeview 0
Dan River 28, Wise County Central 21
Richlands 63, Grayson County 7
Galax 48, Narrows 18
Graham 35, James River 16
Saturday’s Games:
Hurley 26, Parry McClure 20
J.I. Burton 45, Covington 16
Appomattox 57, Lee High 7
The Abingdon Falcons re-wrote the schools history books Friday night with a thrilling 35-34 overtime win over the visiting Rustburg Red Devils in the first round of the 3A West VHSL playoffs. Junior quarterback Jake Sturgill hit junior receiver Jeffrey Wallace with the two-point conversion in overtime to propel the Falcons to the first playoff victory since 1996. The Falcons had already removed one old record, by hosting the first home playoff game since 2003.
Abingdon 35, Rustburg 34 OT
Rustburg 6 0 14 7 7-34
Abingdon 0 6 7 14 8-35
Scoring Summary
R-S.Baker 5 run (kick failed)
A-D.Yates 5 pass from Sturgill (kick failed)
R-Garland 4 run (kick blocked)
R-Garland 21 run (M.Jones pass from Dan.Jones)
A-D.Yates 9 pass from Sturgill (Dick kick)
A-Wallace 10 pass from Sturgill (kick blocked)
R-Dan.Jones 3 run (Nunnally kick)
A-Sturgill 1 run (Wallace pass from Sturgill)
R-Dan.Jones 1 run (Nunnally kick)
A-Wallace 12 pass from Sturgill (Wallace pass from Sturgill)
Team Stats
First Downs: R 29, A 25; Rushes-Yards: R 60-249, A 36-112; Passing Yards: R 141, A 229; Passes (C-A-I): R 13-20-1, A 28-36-1; Fumbles-Lost: R 2-1, A 0-0; Penalties: R 14-130, A 11-90; Punts: R 1-18, A 3-30.6.
The Falcons did not give up after falling behind 27-19 in the fourth quarter when Rustburg quarterback Dante Jones ran three-yards into the Abingdon end zone with 7:05 left in the fourth quarter. The Falcons moved down the field following the ensuing kickoff, to the Red Devils 38-yard line where Abingdon turned the ball over on downs and taking the air from the home standing fans with 4:59 left in the game.
Rustburg began methodically running the ball while the Falcon coaches were using their time outs in an attempt to save some time on the clock. On fourth-down and two, the Falcon defensive front of Dakota Vandyke, David Doss and Justin Fannon made key stops and got the football back for the Falcons with less than three minutes left in regulation.
On the second play of the drive, Sturgill hit senior receiver Derrick Yates on the left side for an 18-yard catch and run and the Red Devils were penalized at the end of the play for a personal-foul for targeting the helmet of Yates. While the officiating crew were marching off the additional 15-yards, a Red Devils player picked up the flag and threw it, costing Rustburg an additional penalty moving the Falcons to the 10-yard line with 1:05 remaining in regulation.
Playing the last minutes of regulation without Yates, the Falcons attempted to get the ball into the end zone before time expired. On fourth-down and 13 seconds left on the clock, Sturgill called his own number and dove for the end-zone bringing the Falcons to within two points with 8 seconds left in regulation. Abingdon lined up for the two-point conversion where Sturgill hit Wallace in the end-zone tying the game at 27.
The Falcons won the coin-toss and elected for defense in the overtime segment while the Abingdon fans all stood and cheered their team on. On third-down and one, Jones punched the ball in to put Rustburg up 34-27 following the PAT by kicker Ben Nunnally.
The Falcons offense took the field with Yates remaining on the sideline. On the first play, Sturgill was sacked for a two-yard loss. But not to be discouraged, Sturgill who had passed 28 of 36 passes for 229 yards on the night, hit Wallace for a 12-yard touchdown on the second offensive play in the overtime to bring the Falcons to 34-33. Abingdon coach Darren Reed called time-out to discuss the options. Reed chose to go for the two-point conversion because the Falcons had missed one PAT in the second quarter and had one blocked in the fourth.
The Falcons gave the Red Devils a different look in the formation by overloading the right side with a tight-end and bringing Doss and Fannon from the defensive line to the backfield as blockers behind the right end. The Red Devils took the bait and overloaded their defense to the power side of the Falcons and bit on the fake handoff to Matthew Fulton. Sturgill then passed a strike to wide open Jeffrey Wallace on the left side of the end zone for the two-point conversion and the win.
During the timeout to discuss the extra point try, Wallace told his coach and quarterback that he wanted the football, and the play worked like it was drawn up propelling the Falcons to the second round and a road trip to Northside on Friday night.
Sturgill, while passing for 229 yards, also carried the football 29 times for 92 yards and a score. Rustburg quarterback Dante Jones rand 29 times for 124 yards and two touchdowns.
Rustburg got on the board first in the first quarter for a 6-0 lead on a five-yard dive, but the extra point failed. It appeared that the Red Devils were going to extend their lead in the second quarter when quarterback Jones attempted to move over the left side on first-and-goal from the three-yard line, but senior defensive lineman Justin Fannon met Jones on the two-yard line with a big hit, knocking the ball out that was recovered by the Falcons on the one-foot line.
Abingdon drove 99-yards and was capped off with a 5-yard scoring pass from Sturgill to Yates. The extra point bounced off the left up-right knotting the game 6-6 that remained until the second half.
Other SWVA First Round Scores:
Bland County 64, Patrick Henry (GS) 57
Honaker 39, Northwood 26
George Wythe 42, Twin Springs 0
Radford 49, Twin Valley 0
Rural Retreat 28, Auburn 17
Union 42, Gretna 7
Glenvar 35, Virginia High 6
Giles 49, Ridgeview 0
Dan River 28, Wise County Central 21
Richlands 63, Grayson County 7
Galax 48, Narrows 18
Graham 35, James River 16
Saturday’s Games:
Hurley 26, Parry McClure 20
J.I. Burton 45, Covington 16
Appomattox 57, Lee High 7
