Richlands grounds Falcons
Richlands (56) vs. Abingdon (10)
Written: Oct 22, 2011
By MIKE DAVIS for the Daily Telegraph
RICHLANDS, Va. — The Blue Tornado defense had been looking to make some noise this season by putting the ball in the end zone and against the Abingdon Falcons Friday night, they roared.
Playing at Ernie Hicks Stadium/Emats Field, the Richlands defense punched their card with a score in the first half and forcing several fumbles. The compliment for their effort was a 56-10 Southwest District win over the Falcons for their ninth of the season.
“I thought our football team came out in the first half and played well from the first snap,” Richlands head coach Greg Mance said. “Abingdon has a very good defense and they lost three players offensively and that hurt them.”
“Both teams were hitting out there and you could hear the pads popping on the sideline and we got lucky in the first half and got a couple of turnovers deep in their territory and were able to capitalize.”
The Blues gathered 314 total rushing yards on the night and added 110 yards through the air courtesy of Reece Strong. Strong completed 4-of-7 passes with no interceptions and two passing touchdowns with two rushing touchdowns. Devon Johnson barreled through the trenches for a personal best 262 yards on 19 carries and three touchdowns taking his season total to 22 end zone visits.
“Devon had a big night and Eric Johnson came in and had some nice runs,” Mance said. “Reece Strong spread the ball around and Dustin Duggan got his first touchdown as a Blue Tornado. Todd McGlothlin has really came on in the past few weeks and our line did a good job. We had protection and we ran our routes well, so, we’re pleased with our effort.”
The Tornado defense stepped up to the plate early and attacked the Falcons on their first play from the line of scrimmage forcing a fumble at the Abingdon 35-yard line. Richlands’ Sam Lawson pounced on the gift giving the Blues the ball at the 34.
Strong went to work and after a short ground gain, found Gabe Hunsaker open just short of the goal line for a 26-yard strike. Strong called his own number and worked his way through the mass of bodies for a 3-yard touchdown minutes into the game. Strong kicked his first of eight extra points on the night to give the Blues the lead, 7-0.
Richlands added two more touchdowns in the first quarter when Strong and Johnson combined for scoring runs of one and 59 yards.
Then, Abingdon was able to push the chains inside midfield before a drive stalled and Mitchell Ludwig kicked a 35-yard field goal to erase the goose egg from the Falcons side of the scoreboard.
However, the Tornado was too strong and answered the three-pointer with four unanswered touchdowns to complete the first half.
Strong hit Dustin Duggan for a 64-yard touchdown marking Duggans first of the season. Then, the next Tornado touchdown came when Josh Compton put a massive hit on an Abingdon receiver and forced the ball loose in Falcon real estate. A.J. Johnson was there to collect the spoils for the Blues and recovered the fumble at the 31 and ran it back in for the score.
The final two scores of the half came when Strong found Todd McGlothlin breaking open near the goal line for an 18-yard touchdown hookup before Devon Johnson ran in a 30-yard run with seconds remaining in the opening half.
Both teams added a touchdown in the second half when Devon Johnson broke a 31-yard jaunt in the third for a score and Abingdon’s Justin Vance caught a 5-yard pass from Tyler Arnold with 24 seconds remaining in the game.
Abingdon finished the game with 170 yatds of total offense with 143 on the ground and Adam Hickman finished the night with eight tackles.
Compton keyed the Tornado defense forcing three turnovers while adding a tackle and three assists. Richlands Eli McReynolds and Michael Horton had had four tackles apiece and Hunter Brown had three.
Abingdon will play host to Tazewell next week and the Tornado is off with an open date before returning to action at Bulldog Stadium on Nov. 4
At Ermie Hicks Stadium/Emats Field
Abingdon.................................0 3 0 7 — 10
Richlands...............................21 28 7 0 — 56
Scoring summary
First quarter
R – Strong 3-yard run (Strong kick)
R – Strong 1-yard run (Strong kick)
R – Devon Johnson 59-yard run (Strong kick)
Second quarter
A – Ludwig 35-yard FG
R – Duggan 64-yard pass from Strong (Strong kick)
R – A.J. Johnson 31-yard fumble return (Strong kick)
R – McGlothlin 18-yard pass from Strong (Strong kick)
R – Devon Johnson 30-yard run (Strong kick)
Third quarter
R – Devon Johnson 31-yard run (Strong kick)
Fourth quarter
A – Vance 5-yard pass from Arnold (Ludwig kick)
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