Richlands Hopes To Continue Win Streak

Greg Mance is a movie buff.

The head coach of the Richlands Blue Tornado football team usually watches dramas five days a week, with marathon sessions on Saturday afternoon. Most of the flicks have featured feel-good endings over the past six years.

Then there was a horror movie on Aug. 28.

In the season opener against Gate City, Richlands managed just 155 total yards in a 10-7 loss. Mance and his fellow coaches remained in the expansive field house at Ernie Hicks Stadium well past midnight.

“I didn’t get a lot of sleep that night,” Mance said. “We watched the game tape a bunch of times Friday and Saturday. We didn’t like what we saw.”

Mance converted that rare home loss into a harsh learning experience.

“Gate City came right at us and we just didn’t play well,” Mance said. “We’re not accustomed to losing, so we challenged the kids.”

Richlands answered the challenge with nine straight wins and its sixth straight Southwest District title. The Blue Tornado host Marion (8-3) Friday in the Region IV, Division 3 semifinals, and Mance hopes to see more maturation.

“We started out the year so daggone young,” Mance said.  “It’s been fun to see things come together.”

Mance started just two seniors on offense and one on defense against Gate City. Senior transfer Cody Johnson had two years of starting experience as the quarterback at Big Creek High School, but was not familiar with the spread formation employed by Richlands. Shaking off the tentative start against Gate City, Johnson finished the regular season with 991 yards passing and 13 scores with just five interceptions.

Sophomore Devon Johnson contributed 1,006 yards rushing and 13 scores, while junior speedster Austin Johnson added 15 touchdowns and 507 yards receiving.

The Johnsons starred as Richlands posted a 27-7 win at Marion Oct. 9. Richlands led just 14-7 after three quarters, then Austin Johnson scored on a long pass and a jet sweep.

“Marion is a very solid team. We were just able to hit a couple of big plays,” Mance said.

The offensive standouts for Marion include sophomore wingback Brett Johnson (892 yards rushing, 13 touchdowns), senior fullback Eric Bane (705 yards rushing) and senior quarterback Matt Noe (eight touchdowns).

“Johnson is one of the best backs in Southwest Virginia, the fullback is very tough and Noe is a tall kid with great vision,” Mance said. “Marion had around an 11-minute drive against Lebanon. This is going to be a tough task for our defense and offense.”

Marion’s aggressive defense has allowed just 13.2 points per game.

The Richlands coaches have followed their usual routine of this week in an effort to unravel tendencies and weak spots.

In addition to the post-game work on Friday night and Saturday afternoon, Mance and his assistants meet for up to seven hours each Sunday.

In retrospect, Mance feels his team benefitted from the marquee showdown and film review against Gate City.

“We learned a lot about ourselves that night,” Mance said. “We worked on some things after that game, and seemed to find our stride around midseason.”

In Friday’s other Division 3 game, Roanoke-based Cave Spring (8-2) from the River Ridge District will host Graham (5-6).
Six-foot senior quarterback David Marrs has keyed Graham’s resurgence from an 0-5 start. Marrs has thrown for 1,077 yards and 12 touchdowns while rushing for 847 yards and 11 scores.

Five-foot-eight senior Tanner Howell (795 yards), 215-pound senior Zack Mickel (570 yards) and 5-6, 155-pound sophomore Aderrius Jackson lead the Graham running game. Six-foot-two, 222-pound senior Torren Byrd has caught 36 passes for 515 yards and six scores.

Cave Spring features quarterback Josh Woodrum, who has passed for 1,575 yards and nine touchdowns. Quentin Dill caught 56 passes for 863 yards receiving, while Sam Wright rushed for 671 yards and Michael Cole scored 12 touchdowns.

Cave Spring is the top seed in the region, and would host next week’s regional finals with a win Friday.