Blues roll over G-Men to claim county title

By DAVE COX/Staff
A third quarter offensive explosion by the Blues vaulted Richlands to a convincing 49-21 Southwest District homecoming football victory over the visiting Graham G-Men last Friday night at Ernie Hicks Stadium/EMATS Field.
The upset minded G-Men kept things close through the first half, but after the Tornado hung 29 third quarter points on the big, bright scoreboard at the Ernie, it ended any hopes for a win for Graham (2-6, 2-2 SWD), which had routed a pair of district opponents prior to last Friday’s encounter with Richlands (7-1, 4-0 SWD).
The Blues must now turn their attention to a huge road trip to Hillsville this week for an all-important conference contest with the Carroll County Cavaliers, also unbeaten in the SWD. That game will basically be for all the marbles in the district with each team having one final SWD game left on its schedule after next Friday. Richlands closes out with Grundy at home and Carroll travels to Mitchell Stadium to face Graham in regular season finales on November 6.
Last Friday, the Tornado concentrated entirely on the G-Men! Graham came to Richlands fired up and riding a ton of momentum after winning big against Grundy and Tazewell the previous two weeks. That momentum showed somewhat through the first two periods last Friday. The G-Men trailed only 20-14 at the break, but their world fell apart quickly in the third frame! The Blues came out breathing fire after what was probably a very spirited halftime talk from RHS head coach Greg Mance and his staff. Whatever was said in the field house made the Blues respond early and often in the third quarter. The Richlands defense kept the visitors in their own end of the field the entire third period as the G-Men got no further than their 45 yard line. Meanwhile, RHS quarterback Cody Johnson fired a touchdown pass and ran in two scores and Devon Johnson added a rushing touchdown in the quarter to seal the deal for the Blues. Cody Johnson finished a busy night with four rushing touchdowns and a TD pass, racking up 241 all-purpose yards, 145 passing and 96 rushing. Devon Johnson posted 67 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns and Cody Parnell had a productive night as well with 62 yards on just five carries.
“We fought a good battle tonight and made some nice plays,’ said a happy Mance after the game. “I thought Bradley Strong made some great plays and Cody Johnson had a great night. Cody Parnell ran the ball well and the offensive line did a great job for us.” Strong failed to reach the end zone, but led the Blues in pass receptions. He caught three passes for 62 yards and one of those ended up just shy of pay dirt at the Graham one to set up a Tornado score by Devon Johnson in the third quarter.
After holding Graham to virtually nothing on its first offensive series of the night, the Blues went to work in earnest with good field position at the GHS 44 yard line. The drive was highlighted by a 38-yard run by Parnell to the Graham two. Cody Johnson took care of the rest on a pair of one-yard runs. The second sent him into the end zone for the first of his four rushing touchdowns. The extra point failed, but the Blues were ahead to stay at 6-0 with 7:24 left in the opening quarter.
The rest of the first period passed quietly with neither team threatening. An interception by Albert Fajardo changed all that early in the second stanza. The Blues need just five plays to move from their own 18-yard line to pay dirt. Devon Johnson ripped off a pretty 47-yard scoring run with 9:03 left until halftime. Reece Strong added the extra point kick for a 13-0 RHS lead.
With its back to the wall, Graham answered quickly. Two runs produced eight yards before GHS quarterback David Marrs went 39 yards on a keeper play to the RHS 36. Aderrius Jackson collected the other 36 on the next play to put the visitors on the scoreboard for the first time. David Pelts booted the extra point to cut the Blues’ margin to 13-7 with 7:07 remaining in the second chapter.
Richlands put on its longest drive of the night next to give the Blues some extra breathing room. A 10-play march covered 67 yards and ended up in the hands of Cody Johnson on a nifty 19-yard score. Reece Strong tacked on the extra point for a 20-7 edge with exactly two minutes left before the break.
Graham used those two minutes to perfection on a drive that used nine plays for a touchdown with only three seconds left in the first half. Marrs found Zack Michel open on a 35-yard scoring pass and Pelts added the extra point to make it a 20-14 game at the half.
Sandy Sahyouni was crowned Homecoming queen and Zack McClanahan Homecoming king during the halftime festivities. Shortly thereafter, the Blues did a little crowning of their own!
It took just two plays for Cody Johnson to start the third quarter scoring parade. He tossed a 50-yard scoring bomb to a wide open Brandon Call who virtually walked into the end zone. Reece Strong threw the two-point conversion pass to Mason Taylor to set the score at 28-14 with 11:26 left in the third frame.
Less than two minutes later the Blues struck again, thanks to a 41-yard punt return by Bradley Strong. One play later, Cody Johnson scooted 20 yards for his third rushing touchdown on the night. Reece Strong was true on the extra point kick for a 35-14 Blues’ edge with 9:34 left in the third period.
Another quick score came in less than two minutes after Cody Johnson nailed a pretty pass to Bradley Strong, who was brought down 45 yards later at the GHS one. Devon Johnson bolted in from there with 7:31 remaining in the nightmare third for Graham. Reece Strong added the PAT to make it 42-14.
The Tornado was not through just yet! A five-play drive moved the ball 59 yards with Cody Johnson doing most of the work. He had runs of 14, 13 and one yard to post his final touchdown of the evening on the one-yard run with 2:32 left in the third quarter. Reece Strong did his thing to set the score at 49-14.
Graham added a cosmetic score in the fourth quarter against many Richlands subs. Mickel raced 19 yards to the house and Pelts added the extra point to set the final score at 49-21 with 3:05 left to play.
Graham rushed for 220 yards, led by Marrs who ran for 73yards on 12 carries and Jackson with 70 on eight carries. Marrs passed for 59 yards on 15 attempts and five completions. He was intercepted once. Cody Johnson threw the football 15 times and completed nine passes. He was not intercepted.
The Richlands defense was led by Cody Thomas with nine tackles and four assists. Nick Wolfe had six tackles. Bradley Strong finished with five tackles and one assist. Will Lowe forced a turnover and had five tackles, four for loss of yardage.
“Carroll County’s undefeated in the district and they’re playing on their own field,” said Mance of the challenge facing his team this Friday at Hillsville. “It’s going to be a battle, but I think we’re starting to come together here towards the end of the season. I feel much better about our offense. We’ve played great defense all year long and I really thought tonight the group that went unsung was our special teams. Overall, it was a great effort from all three units tonight.”