Richlands seeks second straight state title

Winning begets winning. Just ask Richlands football coach Greg Mance.

When the Blue Tornadoes make their third straight Group AA, Division 3 championship game appearance today against Charlottesville Monticello, they’ll do so in large part because of the extra practices they’ve accrued since 2004.

"Nick Colobro once told me that when you get to week 13 and week 14," Mance said of the Gate City coach, "you get 15 extra practices. He said that’s how you keep getting to this point year after year.

"I never believed him, but now that it’s happened for us, you see why he said it. Playing [for championships] every year serves as a springboard for next year."

Richlands seniors like Austin Fuller, Shane Wicks and Matt Davis have known nothing but winning and practicing in December. Of a possible 56 games – 10 regular season matchups plus up to four playoff games – the Blues will play their 55th game in four years.

Their record in that span is 49-5, with three losses against state champions (Salem in 2004, Turner Ashby in 2005, West Virginia Class AA champ Bluefield this year).

That kind of performance is why Fuller can sum up fans’ expectations four months beforehand and come off as someone dealing in reality as opposed to the wishful thinking found at so many other places around southwest Virginia.

"We’re expected to play for the state championship or people consider our season a failure," he said during media day in August.

Now that Richlands is here, can it make something of this appearance? That might just be the hard part against a team which Mance feels may be the best opponent he’s prepared for in 11 seasons as the Blues’ coach.

"They don’t make mistakes," he said. "They have the whole package. I’ve seen three games on tape, and I haven’t seen them punt once. Someone told me they’ve only punted 11 times all year."

That’s because the Mustangs have been scoring touchdowns at a rate to which Mance can relate, having seen his Richlands team roll up 95 TDs en route to last year’s Division 3 title.

In tailback Takeem Hedgeman, quarterback Michael Graham and wide receiver Daniel Lieb, Monticello has three players that many central Virginia pundits believe will play on Saturdays.

Hedgeman’s 2,700 rushing yards, as Mance noted with a laugh earlier this week, are nearly 900 yards more than the Blues have rolled up as a team. Hedgeman also needs just two touchdowns today to match the Virginia High School League’s single-season touchdown record of 50.

Graham has thrown for 2,095 yards and 16 touchdowns, mostly to Lieb, who has 1,390 yards and 12 TDs. The Mustangs have been held below 28 points just once and have piled up 40 or more points eight times, including last week’s 46-7 semifinal blowout of Poquoson.

As good as the Blues’ defense has been this year, their best defense might be an offense which goes slightly against its normal game plan today. Mance will emphasize a ball-control attack instead of hunting the big plays that Richlands normally seeks.

"Time of possession is a big thing for us; we’ve got to keep their offense standing on the sidelines," he said. "We’ve got to get first downs, but we can’t just run short routes or they’ll jump them and sit on them. We’ve still got to take our shots downfield."

While Monticello will enjoy advantages in speed and depth – it plays just one man both ways – the Blues know what it’s like to be here. And they have a chance to be the first southwest Virginia team to score repeat titles since Julius Jones-led Powell Valley did it in 1997-98.

"I think it would mean a lot to the town," quarterback Joel Elswick said. "We’re used to playing at this time of the year. We like the feeling of going to the same hotel, playing in Lynchburg every year."

bdent@bristolnews.com | (276) 669-2181

Richlands vs. Monticello

Kickoff: Noon

Site: Williams Stadium (12,000), Lynchburg

Records: Richlands 11-2, Monticello 12-1

Last Week: Richlands def. Brookville 24-14; Monticello def. Poquoson 46-7

Title Game Record: Richlands 2-1, Monticello 0-1

Did You Know?: Former Richlands football coach Billy Haun is the principal at Monticello. Haun coached at Richlands from 1987-90, going 8-3 in his first season and qualifying for the Region IV, Division 4 playoffs. He was 7-23 in his last three seasons as the Blues’ coach.

The Pick

Richlands is an underdog today, but a case can be made that it will beat a team with more speed and depth. The Blues know what this stage of the season is like, having played in the last two Division 3 title games. The favorite doesn’t always win these games -- witness Richlands’ performance in the 2005 title game against Turner Ashby. And in Austin Fuller, the Blues have a player whose track record in big games indicates he’ll come up big. But the signs seem to point towards a Monticello win, particularly if Richlands continues to miss scoring chances as it did in last week’s win over Brookville. If both teams play at the peak of their game, the Mustangs may have too many weapons.

Prediction: Monticello 27, Richlands 20