Richlands Rips Through Scarlet Hurricane, 31-10

RICHLANDS, Va. – The Richlands High School football program has long been associated with powerful linemen, gritty running backs, accurate quarterbacks and perceptive coaching.

A fifth dimension has been added this season, and it has the Blue Tornado one step away from a sixth straight regional title.

Richlands showcased its speed Friday en route to a 31-10 win over the Marion Scarlet Hurricane in the Region IV, Division 3 semifinals at Ernie Hicks Stadium.

The Blue Tornado shook off a lackluster first half to defeat Marion earlier in the season. Friday’s game had the same pattern, as Richlands pulled away with a 24-point second half explosion.

The Blue Tornado travel to Cave Spring next Friday night for the regional title. Cave Spring cruised past Graham on Friday.

“We still want to play hard-nosed Richlands football, but we’ve added a lot of speed with some new guys this season,” said Richlands junior Bradley Strong. “When you have team speed, the defense has more things to worry about.”

The 5-foot-8, 155-pound Strong gave Marion defenders a headache with touchdown receptions of 48 and 26 yards. First-year Richlands quarterback Cody Johnson also hit 6-foot-3 tight end Cody Thomas on a 20-yard strike en route to a 169-yard passing performance.

“Cody really saw the field and spread things out, plus our offensive line did a solid job blocking,” said Strong, who added an interception.

Richlands (10-1) led just 7-3 at halftime, then junior speedster Austin Johnson opened the second half with a 93-yard kickoff return through the heart of the Marion return unit.
Johnson has converted five kick returns into touchdowns this season.

“We were where we wanted to be at halftime – in the game,” said Marion coach Mike Briscoe. “We were playing good defense, but that kickoff return was tough on us. It’s hard to match up with speed like that.”

Six-foot-one sophomore Devon Johnson, who has rushed for over 1,000 yards, managed just 51 yards rushing on 13 carries for Richlands.

The Richlands defense, led by Thomas, 6-foot-3 end Will Lowe and former Graham linebacker Skyler Bunker, had an answer for Marion’s Wing-T offense as the Scarlet Hurricane was held to under 200 total yards.

Marion’s final score came with just 1:26 left in the game, but Richlands coach Greg Mance said he never had time to relax.

“We beat a very good Marion football team,” he said. “I think we had around 190 yards offense in the first half, but we didn’t take advantage. We made some big plays there in the second half and did some good things on defense.”

Mance has been looking for creative ways to utilize his team speed, which is accentuated on the turf at Ernie Hicks Stadium. Strong zoomed past behind the Marion secondary for both of his scores.

“Bradley does a little bit of everything for us,” Mance said. “He catches the ball in traffic, runs great routes and has the ability to make people miss. Every team offense needs a guy like that.”

According to Briscoe, Richlands has a toxic blend of speed, skill and toughness.

“Richlands did what we thought they were going to do,” Briscoe said. “They don’t have to trick anybody because they have a good team.”

Briscoe was delighted with the progress of his team, which entered the season with just one returning starter on the offensive line.

Sophomore Brett Johnson finished off a sterling season for Marion with 37 yards rushing on 14 carries. Johnson also intercepted two passes.

“[Johnson] is a special player,” Briscoe said.

Mance also paid credit to Marion’s star sophomore.

“Brett can cut on a dime, and people don’t understand how strong he is,” Mance said. “Fans probably saw two of the best sophomore running backs in Southwest Virginia tonight in Brett Johnson and Devon Johnson.”

Senior fullback Eric Bane contributed 40 yards rushing and solid lead blocks for Marion.

Strong said the Blue Tornado cannot afford another lackluster first half next week against Cave Spring.

“We’ve been kind of sluggish early all year, and we want to improve on that,” Strong said. “We need to get better in every aspect of that game.”