Bradshaw 'a man playing against boys' during his prep career in SWVA

On a September night nine years ago at Bristol’s Gene Malcolm Stadium, Graham and Virginia High battled in a non-district football game that was devoid of much defense.

One team would score and the other would answer back as the statistics piled up and the scoreboard operator kept busy.

But there was one major difference. One of the teams had a running back by the name of Ahmad Bradshaw.

“Whenever [Graham coach Glynn Carlock] wanted to score, he’d just give it to Ahmad and he’d just do his thing,” said John Adams, the Virginia High coach at the time. “It was like a man playing against boys. It was like a varsity boy playing against an eighth grader.”

After VHS pulled within 41-34 with a little more than three minutes left, Bradshaw polished off the Bearcats with a 32-yard scoring jaunt to clinch a 48-34 triumph.

Bradshaw would finish the victory over VHS with 314 rushing yards and five touchdowns, one of many awe-inspiring, yardage-compiling, memory-bank-storing nights he would have wearing a Graham uniform.

He finished his prep career with 5,665 rushing yards. What was it like trying to stop one of Southwest Virginia’s all-time greats?

“Very frustrating,” said Richlands coach Greg Mance. “We didn’t beat him in his four years at Graham. We had him on the ropes once or twice and he’d always have a big play or kickoff return or something like that. … He just had that drive and innate ability. He was very instinctive and very explosive.”

Bradshaw’s skills have translated to the game’s highest level.

He will be starting in the backfield for the New York Giants on Sunday in the 46^th edition of the Super Bowl.

Coaches from the Mountain Empire tuning into the game will probably have flashbacks to their games against the bruiser from Bluefield. Bradshaw’s breakaway speed was second to none in high school, but his hard-nosed running style was equally as impressive.

“One of the things that stood out then and stands out now is how strong he is,” Mance said. “He’s not very big, but you couldn’t tackle him; two people couldn’t tackle him. He just had this drive. He had to score when he got the ball.”

Former Abingdon coach Scott Allen would agree with that assessment. The Falcons suffered a 49-14 loss to Graham during Bradshaw’s senior season of 2003.

“I think one of the things that stood out the most, above his athleticism, was just the toughness he showed,” Allen said. “He went hard every play, finished every play. He seemed to be a real leader on a good high school football team.”

Graham compiled a 36-14 record during Bradshaw’s stint at the school from 2000-03 and that came against a tough schedule. The G-Men finished as state runner-up during his sophomore season.

He left a lasting impression on all those that saw him play.

“Ahmad does something every game that impresses me,” the late Carlock told the Bristol Herald Courier in ’03. “Ahmad plays like there is no tomorrow and we’re just blessed to have someone like him.”

Back on that Friday night in 2003, Adams left the field pondering what he had just seen from the guy from Graham.

“I always look at a guy and see how much better he was than the guys around him,” Adams said. “Bradshaw was just head and shoulders above everybody else on the field.”

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