Hardy runs over Bulldogs to break record

In front of a rowdy, spirited home crowd on Friday night, Tunstall defeated the Martinsville Bulldogs by a score of 27-13. The win increased the Trojans win streak to four in row and tied them atop the district with George Washington.

The scoring started early in the first, with the offensive line opening up a gap for senior Clay Hardy to break off a 33-yard touchdown run, which was the only score of the first quarter. The Trojans held the Bulldogs on all their possessions in the quarter, even forcing a turnover on downs with about five minutes left, but then things got a little bit shaky for the Trojans.

The second quarter was looking to be all Tunstall, as they scored with about eight minutes left in the second period, when Grayson Hardy ran it in for another Trojan touchdown, his first of the night. The score was left at 13-0, after a missed extra point. This is when the Bulldogs showed up to play. The first score for Martinsville came with around two minutes left in the quarter, which cut the Trojans’ lead to 13-7. They quickly followed that with another score with under a minute left, and following a blocked extra point by sophomore Colin Moore, the Trojans and the Bulldogs went into the half with a tied score at 13-13.

Martinsville was unable to make it to the end zone in the second half, due to the aggressive defense on the Trojans side. After holding Martinsville on the first possession of the half, the Trojans offense opened up another hole for Clay Hardy, who ran it 46 yards to the house, extending the Trojans’ lead yet again to 20-13. After getting the ball on Tunstall’s side of the field, the Bulldogs seemed destined to score, but the Trojans’ defense held up yet again, and taking over after a punt that pinned Big Red deep in their own territory, the offense took over and went 98 yards in under a minute, with Clay Hardy breaking out for runs of 28 and 64 yards, and Grayson Hardy capping off the drive with a six yard run, which drove the lead to 27-13, ultimately ending the scoring for the night.

The fourth quarter was a matter of the Trojans draining the clock and holding the Bulldogs as they did all night. The Trojans crushed any hopes of a comeback by the Bulldogs when junior Buck Long intercepted a pass with the Bulldogs seeming destined to score yet again. The Trojans did indeed kill the clock after that, as they drained the final four minutes off the clock.

Clay Hardy also broke the single game school record for rushing yards with his performance. He averaged just under 14 yards per carry on the night behind a powerhouse offense. He broke off for three long runs in the third quarter of 28, 46, and 64 yards, which put Hardy at 138 yards for the quarter on those three carries alone.  His performance earned him the overall Player of the Game award and he also took the state lead in rushing yards for the year.

“[Being in the THS record books] is really big to me. I worked really hard to break this record and be in the record books, until someone comes along and breaks it,” said Hardy.

In addition to Clay Hardy’s career night and another dominant performance by the offense, the Trojan defense was also ready to play. Buck Long led the way with an interception while senior Michael Thomas and sophomore Colin Moore combined for 19 tackles on the night.

The Trojans are on the road next week on Friday, October 5, at George Washington High School to face the Eagles. This game will determine the lead contender for the division. 

“We’re going to have to play A1 football. It’s gonna be tough,” said Thomas.

This game will determine the lead contender for the division.  Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.