Tornado chills Lebanon
Richlands (42) vs. Lebanon (7)
Written: Nov 15, 2014
 By TOM BONE
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
RICHLANDS, Va. — It’s an accepted fact that tornadoes cannot sustain themselves in sub-freezing temperatures.
The Richlands Blue Tornado, however, is clearly a whole different phenomenon.
With wind chills at 11 degrees at game time, Richlands awoke from a bit of a bumpy start to overwhelm the Lebanon Pioneers 42-7 in a first-round game of the Region 2A-West playoffs on Friday night at EMATS Field-Ernie Hicks Stadium.
“It’s just a mindset. We knew this arctic front was coming in here,” said Richlands (8-3) head coach Greg Mance. “We told the kids ... you’ve just got to block out the cold, and play.”
A couple of seniors stood out for the Blue Tornado. Quarterback River Michaels completed 10 of 14 passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns, while scoring twice on the ground via keeper plays.
Mance said about Michaels, “He played really well tonight. I thought he got the ball where it was supposed to go; he made some nice throws.”
Running back Griffin McCauley tore up the Pioneers defense, going over the 100-yard mark in the first quarter, before his night ended on the first play of the second half when he injured his knee. He gained 172 yards rushing and had 14 receiving yards.
“That kid was really coming on,” Mance said. “We’re really hoping he’s OK, because he’s been the spark to our offense.”
The coach said he was unsure about the extent of McCauley’s injury, adding that he was taken to a local hospital.
Michaels said about McCauley, “It’s a big loss we have. Hopefully he’ll bounce back.”
On Richlands’ second offensive play, McCauley rambled 65 yards to the end zone.
In less than six minutes of playing time in the second quarter, Michaels scored on a sneak, and threw his two touchdown passes to forge a 28-0 halftime edge.
Inexperience showed for Lebanon (6-5), which fumbled the ball five times, losing two.
The Pioneers also lost starting quarterback Ben Sexton to what was believed to be a tear in the meniscus in his knee. As a team, Lebanon completed two of nine pass attempts.
Running back Matt Hurd carried the load for the visitors, running hard with the ball 20 times. His final carry, a 14-yard touchdown run, lifted his game total to 105 yards.
Michaels spread the credit for Richlands’ win to his receivers and his linemen.
“I give it to the line, too, for giving me the time to sit back there and make my reads,” the senior said. “The receivers just executed really good tonight. They kept their hands warm and didn’t let the cold weather bother them.”
Lebanon played without five starters after a week that head coach Phillip Henley called “in 30 years, probably the toughest week of my career.”
“We patched together what we could this week,” Henley said. “A lot of freshmen played tonight, against a really good Richlands team. ... The first quarter-and-a-half, they played well.”
Mance said, “My hat’s off to them. They had a ton of injuries tonight, but they kept battling, kept competing, and that’s the mark of a good football team.”
Richlands will play next weekend at Marion, which beat Chatham 40-21.
“We’re peaking at the right time. The kids are getting some momentum,” Mance said. “We hope to take a big crowd to wherever (because) our kids really feed off our fans.”
At EMATS Field/Ernie Hicks Stadium
Lebanon..........0 0 7 0 — 7
Richlands..............7 21 14 0 — 42
First Quarter
R - Griffin McCauley 65 run (Alex Bandy kick), 6:49
Second Quarter
R - River Michaels 8 run (Bandy kick), 6:41
R - Zeke Vance 10 pass from Michaels (Bandy kick), 4:25
R - Chandler Hylton 25 pass from Michaels (Bandy kick), 1:16
Third Quarter
R - Michaels 3 run (Bandy kick), 9:27
R - Brandon Waldron 5 run (Bandy kick), 5:24
L - Matt Hurd 14 run (Peyton Owens kick), 3:06
———
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — L, Matt Hurd 20-105, Ben Sexton 6-3, Walker Dillon 3-13, Charlie Fields 2-7, Will Stamper 3-(-5). R, Griffin McCauley 13-172, River Michaels 2-11, Chase Collins 1-14, Brandon Waldron 4-21, Dillan Elswick 4-5, Team 1-(-33).
PASSING — L, Sexton 0-3; Stamper 2-6-64 yd.-0-0. R, Michaels 10-14-115-2 TD-0 intc.; John-Luke Asbury 0-1.
RECEIVING — L, Matthew Clatterbuck 1-50, Andy Stoots 1-14. R, Bryce Farris 3-29, McCauley 2-14, Vance 3-29, Hylton 1-25, Waldron 1-18.
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