BUENA VISTA, Va. The Radford Highlanders put up a tremendous fight in the first half of the game, keeping the Knights out of the end zone until that last four minutes of the 2nd quarter. Despite Radford keeping SVU to just 8 plays in the first quarter, the Highlanders’ offense also struggled to put points on the board.
The Highlanders would go into halftime down 16 to 0 and would not score until the final minutes of the game, when corner back Jared Pugh recovered a fumble and ran it back 71 yards for the score. By then however, the game had been sealed with SVU already up 44 points.
The Knights’ quarterback Zack Garner led their offense with 105 total passing yards, exploding past Radford’s defense in the second half. The SVU defense also had a good night, keeping the highlanders to just 60-total offensive yards.
Despite a tough night for Radford, the Highlander’s defense gave a heroic effort in their attempts to stop the high-powered SVU offense. Veterans Jared Pugh and Michael Massey led the team in tackles while the defense got more sacks than the SVU Knights. Although the team struggled in many areas of the game that night, the Radford Coaches still saw a great deal of potential in both the defensive and offensive units.
The Highlanders will now prepare to host the Southern Tech Wildcats, whom they are set to play on September the 11th at 4pm.