Beavers run past Flying Eagles
Bluefield (56) vs. Woodrow Wilson (22)
Written: Sep 11, 2015
By GARY FAUBER
for the Daily Telegraph
BECKLEY — Jordan Smith had attempted eight passes combined in Bluefield's first two games. With weapons the likes of Mookie Collier and Carlos Reed at their disposal, there isn't much need for the Beavers to launch an aerial attack.
Which makes Bluefield even scarier when it does happen.
Smith completed 4 of 6 passes in the first half as the Beavers raced to a 42-14 lead on Woodrow Wilson. That performance kept the Flying Eagles completely off balance with Collier and Reed continuing their early season dominance, and Bluefield won 56-22 Friday at Van Meter Stadium.
The teams were meeting for the first time since 2004, and Woodrow never threatened. Collier returned the game's opening kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown, and Reed capped off the Beavers' first drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.
The scoreboard was not functioning, but a clock was not necessary for anyone to detect the trend.
"We were fortunate to get that kickoff return," Bluefield coach Fred Simon said. "It helped us. And then scoring again later. They played hard. They've got some physical kids. I'm just glad we got on them quick and didn't let them hang around, because it could have gotten real tough."
Collier's kickoff return was his second special teams touchdown in two games. He took a punt back 90 yards for a score in last week's 35-21 win over Mercer County rival Princeton.
He added a 53-yard touchdown run in the first quarter as the Beavers went ahead 21-0. Collier finished with 95 yards rushing, and Reed had 52 yards on nine carries.
The duo found another phase in which to contribute, with Smith being the thankful beneficiary.
Smith, a junior who had been hurt through much of his first two seasons, saw his arm used a little more than usual. Two of his passes went for touchdowns — 25 yards to Collier on the first play of the second quarter, and 51 yards to Reed late in the same period.
"We were just trying to help him out a little bit, because he hadn't played, really," Smith said. "We didn't want to put him in a tough situation and our backs carried us the first two games, but tonight he really helped us. Because I guarantee you Woodrow wasn't thinking pass. I wouldn't either. We didn't know, but we're tickled to death at what he did."
Smith, who said he is playing with more confidence this year, said it was a matter of the offense taking what the defense offered.
"I was pretty happy about throwing the ball," he said. "We don't really throw the ball because most people can't really stop our running game. We do a great job at both."
Woodrow (0-2) was playing without junior running back Meeko Harris, who watched the game from the press box because of an injury. He rushed for 165 yards and a touchdowns in the Eagles' loss to Greenbrier East last week.
The injuries didn't stop there. Junior Noah Norman was hurt on a 15-yard gain early in the second, then freshman Micah Hancock had to leave after a 1-yard gain in the fourth that gave him 69 yards on seven carries.
"We were down to no tailbacks there in the fourth quarter," Woodrow coach John H. Lilly said. "We're facing a little adversity right now. We'll get back in there and get back to work."
Bluefield fell behind 21-0 at Princeton last week before a lightning delay halted play. From that point the Beavers scored 63 unanswered points before Trey Cole got Woodrow on the board Friday.
Cole finished with 71 yards on nine carries for Woodrow. Quarterback Sutton Radford was 4-of-12 for 40 yards.
Bluefield will host Gate City, Va., next Friday. Woodrow will hit the road to take on Cabell Midland.
"We've just got to come back to work Monday and punch that time clock," Lilly said. "That's all we can do right now. We're not very good. We're not doing things very well. We've got a long way to go. But we'll be a better football team at the end of the season than we are now."
— Email: gfauber@register-herald.com and
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Bluefield (3-0).................21 21 7 7 — 56
WW (0-2)...........................0 14 0 8 — 22
First quarter
B—Mookie Collier 78 kickoff return (Zacary Springman kick).
B—Carlos Reed 2 run (Springman kick).
B—Collier 53 run (Springman kick).
Second quarter
B—Collier 25 pass from Jordan Smith (Springman kick).
WW—Trey Cole 11 run (Cole pass from Sutton Radford).
B—Smith 12 run (Springman kick).
WW—Micah Hancock 1 run (pass failed).
B—Reed 51 pass from Smith (Springman kick).
Third quarter
B—Jason Edwards 65 run (Springman kick).
Fourth quarter
B—Michael Price 3 run (Springman kick).
WW—Cole 2 run (Eddie Wilson pass from Radford).
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — B: Collier 9-95, Jason Edwards 6-82, Reed 9-52, Jamere Edwards 10-45, Smith 3-29, Price 1-3; WW: Cole 9-71, Hancock 7-69, Radford 9-37, Noah Norman 3-23, Hunter Foster 2-19, Jordan Hancock 1-5, Eddie Wilson 1-(-3).
PASSING — B: Smith 4-6-0-103; WW: Radford 4-12-0-40.
RECEIVING — B: Reed 3-78, Collier 1-25; WW: Raymond Thompson 3-41 Cole 1-(-1).
DEFENSE — B: Randall Maxey (FR).
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