Blues roll over Patrick County

By DAVE COX/Staff
Richlands got in a little bit of trouble early in their Region IV, Division 3 semifinal football game against Patrick County at Ernie Hicks Stadium/EMATS Field last Friday night. The Cougars couldn’t stay out of trouble the rest of the game!
After allowing speedy Patrick County running back John Harris to score on a long 61-yard run to start the game, The Blues reeled off 41 unanswered points in a 41-14 spanking of the visiting Cougars Friday to advance to the Region IV, Division 3 championship contest at Tazewell this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. The Bulldogs ran roughshod over the hapless Graham G-Men 43-14 in the other region semis on Saturday.
Richlands (8-3) played nearly perfect in all phases of the game Friday after Harris broke open for his initial score of the night. Harris, despite running up 206 yards rushing on the night on 27 carries, was denied access to the end zone again until the final minutes of the game when the field was full of defensive reserves for the Blues.
Offensively, Joel Elswick simply put on a passing clinic the entire contest! He completed his first nine passes and finished a brilliant 18-of-21 on his attempts with no interceptions. Elswick threw touchdown passes to four different receivers and ran in a score for good measure.
“This was probably one of the best games I’ve ever had,” Elswick said. “The credit goes to my wideouts for getting open and my linemen for giving me time to throw.”
RHS head coach Greg Mance heaped words of praise on his signal caller. “Joel is a great student of the game, and he’s getting better all the time,” Mance said. “Joel played real well at Graham, but this was the best I’ve seen him.”
On the other hand, Patrick County (7-4) suffered three turnovers, losing two fumbles and coughing up the football on one interception. The Cougar passing game, as expected, was virtually non-existent. PCHS quarterback Jacob Reynolds completed just one of five pass attempts for five yards and his running game that was so consistent against Martinsville a week earlier didn’t show up either as the RHS defense kept him bottled up in his backfield most of the night.
Harris made the fans sit up and take notice as he broke through on a second-and 14 play from his own 39 to cruise untouched to the end zone with 8:53 left in the first quarter. Reynolds booted the extra point for a 7-0 Cougar edge at the point. That was the only cause for celebration among the Cougar faithful the entire night.
Elswick and company quickly went to work on then ensuing kickoff, marching down the field from their own 20 to pay dirt in 11 plays that were textbook perfect. Elswick hit four different receivers along the way, completing tosses to Brad Strong, Blayke Wilson, Christian Hearl and Taylor Sizemore. He nailed Hearl twice, the second going 16 yards for the initial Tornado tally of the evening. Hearl managed 54 yards receiving on five catches in the game. Reece Strong tied the game at 7-7 with his kick with exactly four minutes left in the first period. The best was yet to come for Richlands and a receiver that did not catch a pass in that initial drive would later prove to be the best of the day in the receiving department for the Blues.
After stopping Patrick County on a four-and-out series, the Blues started at their own 18 and nine plays later, Elswick posted his second TD pass of the game. This one traveled 13 yards and ended up in the sure hands of Bradley Strong, who finished the night with 77 yards receiving on five catches. Reece Strong tacked on the extra point for a 14-7 Blues’ edge with 10:38 left until halftime.
Two plays later Bradley Strong scooped up a Patrick County fumble and returned it 20 yards to the Cougar one before he was stopped. Two runs by Elswick converted into a touchdown from a yard out. Reece Strong’s kick made it a 21-7 game with 9:02 left in the second quarter and the rout was on!
Richlands was held out of the end zone for the first time on its next drive, but the crowd was presented with a preview of things to come when Ethain Keene went high to snatch an Elswick pass right out of the hands of a Cougar defender on what turned out to be a 26-yard completion for the Blues. It was only the first of three Keene receptions that gave him the high receiving numbers for the Tornado in the game. Keene finished with 85 yards on three key catches.
RHS picked up right where it left off in the first half with a scoring march to start the second. Elswick went to Keene for a second time in the contest and this one went for 40 yards. A third pass to him resulted in a 19-yard score with 8:39 left in the third frame seconds later. The Cougars broke through to block the extra point kick, but it was out of hand at 27-7.
Christian Hearl intercepted the only pass Patrick County tried in the third quarter and that led to another Blues’ score. Although pinned deep in its own territory at the RHS 10 after the intercept, it took just seven plays for the Blues to get to the house again. A 52-yard pass from Elswick to Bradley Strong was the key play of the drive. Elswick found a new receiver for his fourth TD pass of the game. He lofted a beauty to Cody Bartkoski that netted 15 yards with 9:30 left to play. Reece Strong booted the extra point and the Blues surged out to a 34-7 margin.
The only downside to the game for Richlands was the loss of running back Taylor Sizemore with a concussion, but he still led the Blues in rushing yardage with 41 yards on seven carries before he left the game. His replacement, Eli Hearl, fared just fine in his absence. Hearl darted 12 yards for the final Tornado score with 7:39 to play. The tally came just two plays after his brother Christian Hearl fell on a Cougar fumble at the PCHS 12. Reece Strong kicked his final extra point and then took over at quarterback the rest of the way.
Harris scored his second touchdown from the 10 yard line with 3:55 left to play and many of the RHS defensive starters resting on the bench. Reynolds rounded out the scoring with his extra point kick.
Richlands managed 100 yards rushing in the game, led by Sizemore’s 41 yards. Eli Hearl had 37 yards on 12 carries.
Elswick passed for 286 yards, the third most in a single game ever at Richlands. Elswick passed for a school second-best last year with 287 yards against Monticello in the state championship game at Lynchburg. Elswick has passed for over 200 yards five times in his high school career.
Patrick County head coach Brad Dalton perhaps summed up Elswick’s performance best when he referred to the senior quarterback in a post-game interview Friday.  “(Elswick) would be an All-American if he played us every week,” Dalton said. “He hit his spots and we didn’t have an answer for him.”
Defensively, the Blues were led by Derek Jackson with 12 tackles and two assists. Cody Thomas registered six tackles and five assists. Chuck Payne had six tackles and three assists and Will Lowe seven assists. Keene added four defensive tackles to his outstanding offensive effort. Bartkoski also turned in a great defensive night with three tackles, three assists and a sack.
“We played well in all areas on offense and I was very proud of how our defense responded against a running back (Harris) that I’m sure will go to the Division I level (in college),” Mance said.