River runs Richlands to state semis
Richlands (35) vs. Gate City (28)
Written: Nov 30, 2014
By LARRY EDENS
for the Daily Telegraph
GATE CITY, Va. — “A River Runs Through It” is a highly-regarded 1992 film about fly fishing.
On Saturday, it was Richlands’ quarterback River Michaels, who ran through, around, and passed over a usually reliable Gate City defense in a 35-28 win over the Blue Devils at Legion Field.
The remarkably calm senior shredded Gate City’s secondary for nearly 350 yards through the air in a passing attack that was relentless from the Blue Tornado’s very first offensive play — a 23-yard strike to sophomore wide receiver Chase Collins.
Four plays later, senior wide receiver Chandler Hylton hauled in a 49-yard touchdown bomb from Michaels and the slugfest was on.
Richlands head coach Greg Mance was more than pleased with the effort of his veteran quarterback and equally stalwart teammates.
“Our line gave us time to throw and River was on-the-money,” Mance said. “I couldn’t be more proud of this group. We had a good week of practice — two days of them in the snow — and they believed in the coaches and themselves.
“My hat is off to Gate City. They’ve got a great program and great football team. To come down here and beat them in this environment says a lot about these kids.”
Spotted 14 points late in the first quarter, the Blue Devils responded with a 65-yard scoring drive led by senior running back Evan Baker, who amassed 45 yards rushing in the drive.
Senior running back Caleb Herron capped the drive off with a 12-yard touchdown run early in the second period.
After the ensuing kickoff, an undaunted Michaels continued to put the pressure on Gate City with a 74-yard scoring march that culminated in a five-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Cade Mullins.
The drive took less than four minutes off the clock and after senior Alex Bandy’s point-after-touchdown the score was 21-7.
Gate City added one more touchdown before the break when sophomore quarterback Hunter Collier shook off an ankle-grabbing defender before scampering 50 yards to paydirt with just under six minutes to play in the half.
The Blue Devils had one final attempt to score a game-tying touchdown late in the second quarter, but Collier’s fumble on Richlands’ one-yard line and through the end zone resulted in a change of possession with just over one minute to play. Richlands lead at the half 21-14.
There were plenty of fireworks and drama to abound in the second half.
A one-yard touchdown run by Baker midway through the third quarter knotted the score at 21. Six plays later, Richlands’ senior wide receiver Zeke Vance got onboard the Blue Tornadoes’ on-the-fly scoring train when he pulled in Michaels’ 45-yard touchdown pass.
Not to be outdone and trailing 28-21, the Blue Devils would make Michaels pay for one of his few mistakes in the game when senior defensive back Wesley Byrd intercepted a pass and returned it 57 yards for a touchdown.
After senior Neth Gardner’s PAT, the score was again tied at 28-28 with just under eight minutes remaining. But for Michaels, he saved his best for last.
After being sacked for the first time in the game and facing a second-and-17 from his own 28-yard line, Michaels completed a seemingly harmless three-yard pass to Hylton. But Gate City was called for a face-mask penalty that put Richlands at first-and-10 on their own 48-yard line.
Gate City head coach Bill Houseright singled that play out as a game-breaker.
“Anytime you’re in a ballgame like this, it always boils down to a play or two here and there,” Houseright said. “We had them stopped, but the penalty was big.
They were able to march right on down the field after that.”
Indeed, from that point on, it was Michaels’ show. In a spread offense that he has mastered since a youth, he took the Blue Tornado the remaining 52 yards with a series of pass and run plays that would end when he carried the ball over the goal line for the go-ahead touchdown with just over two minutes to play.
“We call that play our spread-out-right. It’s our bread-and-butter play. Gate City has a great defense. They’re quick and they hit pretty hard,” said Michaels. “Our mindset was to just keep getting first downs and running out the clock. It doesn’t get any more fun than this.”
Gate City’s valiant effort to tie the game ended with a one-yard run and three consecutive incomplete passes from the Richlands’ 17-yard line. The Blue Tornado took a knee as time expired.
Houseright was gracious in defeat.
“Michaels did a tremendous job throwing the football and they executed and made the plays they had to make,” he said. “It was one heck of a ballgame. I just didn’t like the outcome.”
For Mance, there was little not to like.
“We were getting blown off the line of scrimmage early, but we made great adjustments in the second half,” he said. “We found a way to win and that’s the mark of a good football team.”
at Legion Field
Richlands......................14 7 7 7 — 35
Gate City....................0 14 7 7 — 28
Scoring Summary
RIC-Adkinson 49 pass from Michaels (Bandy kick)
RIC-Michaels 1 run (Bandy kick)
GC-Herron 11 run (Gardner kick)
RIC-Mullins 6 pass from Michaels (Bandy kick)
GC-Collier 50 run (Gardner kick)
GC-Baker 1 run (Gardner kick)
RIC-Vance 41 pass from Michaels (Bandy kick)
GC-Byrd 57 interception return (Gardner kick)
RIC-Michaels 1 run (Bandy kick)
Team Stats
First Downs: RIC 20, GC 20; Rushes-Yards: RIC 28-106, GC 33-303; Passing Yards: RIC 335, GC 30; Comp-Att-Int.: RIC 20-28-2, GC 3-11-0; Fumbles-Lost: RIC 3-1, GC 2-0; Penalties-Yards: RIC 6-45, GC 2-30; Punts-Average: RIC 0-0, GC 0-0.
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