Tornado wins shootout with Pioneers

By DAVE COX/Staff
“Gentlemen, pick your weapon for the big battle tonight! You can run, throw or kick the football, but don’t celebrate after a score or there will be a penalty flag thrown. In fact, there will be 20 yellow hankies on the ground in this game and some controversial calls to make things interesting. The weather will be wet and cold, so there will be fumbles and intercepted passes. Defense? Forget it. There’ll be little of that because we want about 80 points scored. Now, take your positions and let the shootout begin!”
And so it was in a 46-32 wild and wooly Blues’ non-district win against Lebanon at Ernie Hicks Stadium/EMATS Field last Friday night. Over 700 yards of total offense was produced by two high powered offenses that neither defense could seem to stop.
Lebanon (4-3, 1-1 Clinch Mountain District) was the first to strike, with a little help from penalties. Richlands (6-1, 4-0 Southwest District) held the Pioneers on their first offensive possession, forcing a punt, but the Blues’ roughed the punter, giving the visitors new life. Lebanon then ate up nearly half of the first quarter clock before quarterback Andrew Jessee hit Kevin Widener on a six-yard scoring pass. Trevor Adams kicked the extra point for a 7-0 Lebanon edge with 6:26 left in the opening frame.
The Blues trailed exactly one minute and four seconds in this game as they needed just five plays to even matters. RHS quarterback Cody Johnson started his offensive highlight reel by hitting Bradley Strong with a short pass. Strong did the rest, making a highlight reel of his own as he put on some moves against the Lebanon defenders that made the fans and players alike stare in total disbelief on his way to a 45-yard touchdown run. Reece Strong added the PAT to make it 7-7 with 5:22 remaining in the first period.
The Tornado took the lead for good later in the quarter on a six-yard run by Cody Johnson on a play that followed a nice 39-yard run by Devon Johnson. Reece Strong booted the extra point for a 14-7 Blues’ lead with 1:27 left in the first chapter.
Sean Overton intercepted a Jessee pass near the end of the first quarter and that helped the Tornado keep the fireworks going into the second stanza. This time, the Blues turned the bulk of the chores over to Devon Johnson. Johnson responded with a nice 45-yard run for a score with 9:46 left before halftime. Reece Strong tacked on the extra point for a 21-7 RHS advantage.
Another costly penalty led to a second Lebanon score. The home team was flagged for pass interference on a play following a 31-yard pass from Jessee to Justin Adams. That moved the ball to the RHS 11. One play later, Jessee broke free for a 10-yard scoring run with 7:57 left in the second quarter. The extra point kick failed and it was 21-13.
It took the Blues just under two minutes to answer the Pioneer score. Cody Johnson hooked up with Austin Johnson on a 40-yard pass. Austin jumped into the end zone and that didn’t set too well with the nearest official who called unsportsmen-like conduct on the play to make Reece Srtong’s extra point kick effort 15 yards longer. It made no difference though as Strong still nailed it for a 28-13 Blues’ margin with 6:10 left in the second period.
A Richlands fumble helped the visitors make it a closer game just before the half. Garid Puckett recovered the loose ball to set the Pioneers up at the RHS 24. It took LHS eight plays to score from there. Jessee tossed a 5-yard pass to Jerome Cobb to set the score at 28-19 with 18 seconds left in the first half. The extra point kick was no good.
The Blues very nearly pulled off another score in the remaining 18 seconds after Austin Johnson gave them good field position with a 27-yard kickoff return that was also helped by a personal foul penalty against Lebanon on the play. After a 2-yard run moved the ball to the Lebanon 24, Reece Strong attempted a 41-yard field goal that just missed to end the half.
Cody Johnson worked his magic again midway through the third quarter, nailing Brandon Call in the back of the end zone on a 30-yard scoring pass, Johnson’s third of the game. Reece Strong hit Will Lowe with a two-point conversion pass for a 36-19 lead for the Tornado with 6:51 remaining on the third quarter clock.
Richlands was driving again at the Lebanon 30 later in the period when Nick Bush stepped in front of a Cody Johnson pass at the Lebanon 7-yard line. It actually was a blessing in disguise for the Blues though because it was a fourth down play. If bush had knocked the ball to the ground instead of intercepting it, the Pioneers would have taken over on offense at the 30 instead of the seven. That cost them dearly one play later. Cody Thomas jumped on a Lebanon fumble at the LHS six to put his team right back in business. Two plays later, Cody Johnson scored his second rushing touchdown of the evening on a three-yard run. Reece Strong booted the extra point as the Blues moved to a 43-19 edge with 2:09 left in the third period.
Lebanon made it a little closer by the end of the third as they just wouldn’t go away. Bush blasted over the goal line on a five-yard run with five seconds left in the third stanza. Trevor Adams was successful on the extra point to make it 43-26.
Another Richlands turnover left the door ajar just a little more for the visitors. Lane Addison recovered a Blues’ fumble on the first play of the fourth quarter to give his team an opportunity at midfield. The Pioneers took advantage of it, using 10 plays to score off of a three-yard run by Bush with 7:42 left to play. The extra point kick was no good and it was 43-32.
The Blues weren’t through just yet! Bradley Strong returned the ensuing kickoff 30 yards to set up shop at the Lebanon 44. A nice 26-yard run by Devon Johnson moved the ball to the LHS 18. Three plays later, the drive stalled at the Lebanon 25. That’s when Reece Strong kicked the third-longest field goal in RHS history from 42 yards out to set the final score at 46-32 with 4:37 left in the game.
Devon Johnson picked up 156 of the Blues’ 240 rushing yards on the night on 12 carries. Cody Johnson made eight of his 15 pass attempts for 184 yards. Austin Johnson caught three passes for 81 yards and Bradley Strong collected 61 yards on three catches.
Lebanon finished with 242 yards rushing, led by Justin Adams with 85 yards on 11 carries. Jesse threw for 55 yards on 16 attempts and four completions. Both quarterbacks were intercepted once each.
“I think we came out offensively and did a good job,” said Richlands head coach Greg Mance. “We had two long drives and we got the ball where we were supposed to. We’re really tickled with our offense.”
Cody Thomas led the Blues’ defense with 10 tackles and three assists. Hunter Brown chipped in with seven tackles and three assists. Zack Frazier made seven tackles and had two assists and Bradley Strong had six tackles and a sack.
“Defensively, we gave up some plays and they were able to get guys in the end zone, but overall we’re tickled, we beat a good Lebanon team.”
The Blues remain at home this week to host a much improved Graham squad in a very important SWD homecoming contest. The G-Men rolled to a 46-20 victory over Tazewell last week for their second district win in a row without a conference loss on their worksheet.