By HARRISON HAMLET
(RIDGEWAY, Va.) – Martinsville head football coach Bobby Martin said last week he knew his team was in for a tough challenge when they visited Henry County to play Magna Vista on Friday night.
The Warriors lived up to their opponent’s billing, exploding for 42 first-half points in a 62-0 win over their rivals from the City of Martinsville.
Quarterback Dryus Hairston guided the Warriors’ early explosion, completing 12 of his 14 passes for 211 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers.
“I thought we came out and played the way we needed to from the get go
The defense played great and tackled well,” Magna Vista head coach Joe Favero said. “Offensively, Dryus was in control the whole game and efficient in what we were doing. We were clicking early and that’s what you want.”
Hairston’s top targets included Ty Grant (two catches for 79 yards and a touchdown), Tyler Johnson (four catches for 44 yards), and Drew Santoemma (four catches for 45 yards and a touchdown).
Magna Vista tailback Louis Taylor made the most of his eight carries, rushing for 74 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while catching one, as well.
“We never have a hard time pointing Louis towards the endzone,” Favero said. “He has a nose for scoring even when he doesn’t touch the ball a bunch.”
Despite the lopsided score, Martin felt his team has improved through his first five games as the head Bulldog.
“When you watch the tape, it wasn’t as bad as the scoreboard said,” Martin said. “We’ve made so many improvements in so many areas, but if you make one mistake against them, it all blows up.”
Martin pointed towards two plays in particular when describing how quickly things can turn against Magna Vista. First, a Tavion Gravely fumble recovery for a touchdown, then a Dekavis Preston punt return touchdown.
Martin felt his Bulldogs were in the right spot to recover the fumble and make the tackle on Preston, but couldn’t execute either play, expanding the Martinsville deficit.
“We’ve made progress, but it’s hard to measure on the scoreboard,” Martin said. “One mistake and a talented team like Magna Vista takes advantage of that.”
For Favero, the performance of his Warriors was a return to form after a loss to Franklin County. But, the 12th year head coach is looking for consistency from his team, which has manufactured dominant performances in Weeks One, Three, and Five, but has struggled in Weeks Two and Four.
“We need to figure out how to be great next week,” Favero said. “We’ve had running clocks against some good teams, but we need to improve consistency, our focus, and being ready to play.”
The win moves Magna Vista to 4-1 on the season as they prepare for a trip to Tunstall (0-4) this week.
“They play well at times and have good players they just make some mistakes that have hurt them,” Favero said of Tunstall. “They move the football and play good defense. I’m sure they’re looking for consistency and to improve. For us, it’s about continued focus and trying to get better .We still have a lot of things to work on need to stay focused and get better every week.”
Martinsville (0-5) will host Patrick County (2-3) this week as the Bulldogs search for their first win of the year against a Cougars running game that is firing on all cylinders.
“They’re fun to watch on film, they pound that rock,” Martin said of Patrick County. “It’s pretty to watch on film. That big boy (Dae’Shawn Penn) runs with authority and likes contact. He’s going to be a handful. Hopefully we can use our speed to put them in a bind. You can’t run from them, they’re going to line up and run at you. They’re going to challenge your manhood.”
Magna Vista High School 62, Martinsville High School 0
MHS – 0 0 0 0 – 0
MVHS – 21 21 13 7 – 62
