Clintwood Falls to Franklin in Group A, Division 1 State Championship

SALEM, Va. – Rick Mullins’ voice was almost completely drowned out by the commotion erupting from the home team’s victorious crowd.

The Clintwood coach’s players encircled him – many with their heads bowed toward the turf, others with watering eyes – as Mullins grappled for words that could console a team that had just lost the state title.

There were none.

“This is a tough one,” he said after a few seconds of silence. “When we look back on these days, it’s a lot of good memories. Don’t ever forget that.”

Clintwood lost 28-20 to Franklin on Saturday in the Virginia High School League Group A, Division 1 championship at Salem Stadium. For the second time in two years, the
Greenwave returned home just a few points shy of the state championship.

“It’s a little bit harder [this year],” senior Alec Osborne said. “Last year we were hoping to win, this year everybody expected us to come back and win. We disappointed a few people.”

The game did not end as Mullins had expected and as many around Southwest Virginia had predicted since the Greenwave lost to Buffalo Gap in last year’s title game: with
Clintwood as state champions for the first time since 1978.

“I thought when we left here today we’d have a state championship trophy,” Mullins said. “Obviously, it’s very, very disappointing. I thought we were the [better] team coming out here today, but [Franklin] earned it. They deserve it.”

Clintwood was outgained 410-164 by Franklin in total offense, but the Greenwave kept producing big moments that kept their championship hopes alive.

Osborne answered a Franklin first-quarter score by returning the ensuing kick 85 yards for a touchdown.

Senior quarterback Heath Counts gave the Greenwave a 20-14 lead entering halftime when he drove the offense 57 yards in less than three minutes.

And while the Greenwave defense bent against the powerful Bronco attack, it rebounded to stop Franklin twice on fourth downs in the first half and later forced a punt that gave
Clintwood a chance to tie the game with 3:48 seconds remaining.

“I though our defense played pretty well all day,” Mullins said. “They gave up some yards, but we held the big play down and that’s what we knew we had to do.”

Nursing a 20-14 lead in the third quarter, the Greenwave’s first three drives in the second half ended with an interception, a turnover on downs and an interception.

Meanwhile, the Broncos powered through the smaller Greenwave defense, racking up 263 rushing yards on 56 carries. Their first two drives in the second half were of 14 and 12 plays, respectively, and both were capped by 1-yard Donzell Shearin touchdown runs.

“We told [our players] at halftime that it’s do or die,” Franklin coach Darren Parker said. “Do it and take home the state championship or go home crying.”

And still, with just under four minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Greenwave had a chance to atone for all of its second-half miscues. Clintwood received the ball at its own 28-yard line, trailing by eight points.

Counts was able to move the Greenwave close to midfield, converting on third-and-nine with an 11-yard pass to Ryan Lyle, but a sack forced Clintwood back to its own 32.

Shearin grabbed his second interception on the next play, wrestling a short pass away from a Greenwave receiver to seal Franklin’s second Virginia state title.

“What you saw today,” Parker said after the game, “was probably one of the best state championship games I’ve ever seen.”

Shearin ended the game with 51 yards, but the bulk of the Bronco offensive load was carried by senior Isaiah Hudson, who had 145 yards on 29 carries.

Clintwood’s star runner, senior Chris Robinson, carried the ball 15 times for 38 yards. He entered the title game with 1,698 yards.

“We knew they had a great defense,” Mullins said. “We knew it’d be tough to run on them. That’s why we came out throwing, and we had some success throwing. [Franklin] just did a great job.”

Counts finished 10 of 16 for 119 yards.

And while the Greenwave’s 30-year state-title drought did not end on Saturday in Salem, Clintwood’s players walked off the field feeling sorrow, yes, but also a sense of pride at having been a part of the team’s return to the prep football elite.

“I’m disappointed in a way, sad, but then in another way I’m also happy,” Osborne said. “It’s probably been 30 years since we went back-to-back state … hopefully they can come back next year.”

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