Playing on a hot and humid August Friday night in Radford, the Bobcats' big first half propelled them to a 42-7 romp over the visiting George Wythe Maroons to open the 2023 season.

Radford capitalized on three Maroon fumbles and an interception that led them to a 28-0 halftime advantage. QB Landen Clark got the Bobcats on the scoreboard with 3:12 showing in the opening quarter as he ran in from 10 yards out.

Clark, who holds offers from Maine and ODU, then hit Brandon Thompson on a two-point conversion pass for an 8-0 lead.

After a Maroons fumble, Clark found Max Kanipe for a 38-yard touchdown pass. Clark added a two-point conversion run to up the score to 16-0 with 11:06 left in the first half. That's when special teams got in on the act. Radford recovered an onside kick and smelled blood.

This time, Clark would run in a touchdown from ix yards out with 9:15 showing in the second quarter. The two-point pass would fall incomplete with Radford up 22-0.

With 2:35 before intermission, Clark was chased out of the pocket, but showed off his wheels with a 22-yard rushing score. Luciano Pugliese's point after would hit the left upright and bounce out.

Neither team scored in the third quarter, but Radford made it a 35-0 running clock margin with 9:18 left in the game. The score came from second-string running back Keymoni Kimbrough, who caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Clark with Pugliese's kick splitting the uprights.

George Wythe would drive the ball on the Radford reserves and quarterback Tandom Smith connected with Laden Houston for a 55-yard strike as a couple of Radford defenders missed tackles. Thomas Mitchell's kick saw the scoreboard reading 35-7 with 6:51 to go.

Radford's reserves answered with Kimbrough taking a handoff and zig-zagging his way into the end zone for a 40-yard touchdown. Pugliese's kick made the final score 42-7 with just one minute remaining.

"We made too many mistakes early and got down to a good ball club," said George Wythe Head Coach Brandon Harner. "I thought we played well at times, but give them credit because they capitalized on our mistakes."

The Maroons, reigning Region 1C Champs, get a bye week before hosting defending State Champ Graham, which beat Bluefield (WV) in its opener.

Radford plays host to Giles on September 1st, seeking a 2-0 start before traveling to Virginia High to begin their September slate against their first Class 2 foe.

"I thought we played hard and ran the ball hard. We scored on some of their mistakes. Coach Harner does really nice job of coaching and they are hard to score on," remarked Radford Head Coach Michael Crist.

"We had some big plays and our defense settled down after that first drive."

Radford - 8, 20, 0, 14 = 42

George Wythe - 0, 0, 0, 7 = 7

Rushing - Radford - Clark 10-23, Kimbrough 7-86, Dehart-Lewis 9-38, Grubb 4-12, GW - Houston 6-30, T. Smith 8-28, B. Rainey 1-12, Bralley 1 ( Minus 3), T. Rainey 4-19, Campbell 1-0

Passing - Rad, - Clark- 12 of 24- 0 Ints.- 2 TDs- 185 yds., Gaither- 0 of 1- 0 ints.-0 Tds. 0 yds, GW - Smith - 15 of 22- 1 Int. 1 Td. - 130 yds.

Receptions - Radford - Kanipe 7-147., Kimbrough 1-18, Woodard 2-3, Taylor 2-17, GW - T. Rainey 3-16, Luttrell 3-8, Houston 4-64, Repass 3-31, Campbell 1-3, Clarke 1 -6

First Downs - Radford 16, GW - 10

Fumb./ lost- Radford 2 /0, GW - 4 / 4

Penalties - Radford 6-36, GW - 8-60

Turnovers - Radford 0, GW - 5

Total Yds.- Radford 344, GW - 226

Punts/ Avg.- Radford 6- 37.3, GW - 5 - 38.6