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G-Men rally, knock off 'Dogs
By LARRY HYPES
Bluefield Daily Telegraph The Bluefield Daily Telegraph Sat Sep 03, 2011, 04:58 AM EDT
BLUEFIELD — Late lightning blazed to Graham victory.
A pair of fourth quarter scores by the onrushing G-Men proved decisive as Graham rallied for a 21-12 non-district victory over Tazewell Friday at Mitchell Stadium.
First Cory Coppola and then Spencer Sheets touched paydirt for Graham (1-1) in the fourth stanza, who overcame a 12-7 deficit in the final 11 minutes to capture the victory against the Bulldogs (0-2).
New Graham coach Mike Williams claimed his first victory, although he credited his team and an assistant eye-in-the-sky for a late change in the game plan.
It marked the first time since 1955 that the two teams played outside the district, with Graham now in the Mountain Empire and Tazewell still in the Southwest.
The G-Men, however, beat Tazewell for their only win last season and claimed the triumph again last night. Both teams were 1-9 a year ago.
Graham’s new coach was not concerned with past history — he was happy with the night’s work and looking forward to building momentum.
“I don’t do a whole lot,” grinned Williams. “Our staff directs most of what we do, and assistant Billy Roach suggested we go away from the spread and get into the power-I near the end of the third quarter.
“He was spot-on with the decision and when we went to the running game, it was very good to us.”
So good, in fact, that the G-Men picked up 129 yards on the ground in the final frame, while holding Tazewell to -5 yards rushing in the last 12 minutes.
Aderrius Jackson put Graham in front in the first quarter with a four-yard touchdown at the 4:43 mark. That capped a 5-play, 56-yard march marked by big runs (14 and 16 yards by Sheets), a big reception (19 yards by Gabe Hurt), and a big penalty (personal foul) against Tazewell.
Samuel Stowers drilled the PAT as the G-Men took a 7-0 advantage following a ragged first few minutes.
Both teams fumbled early, as Graham’s Marshall Hawley recovered a Bulldog bobble on the 20-yard line with less than a minute gone off the clock. Tazewell’s defense stiffened, and eventually blocked a 35-yard field goal try by Stowers as Mikal Moore tipped the ball at the line of scrimmage.
On the next drive following their touchdown, the G-Men returned the favor, losing the football near midfield when Tazewell’s Joe Grubb and Jimmy Roberts fell on a loose pigskin. Neither team was able to take advantage of those errors, however.
Graham picked up 325 total yards, including 242 on the ground while Tazewell gained 262 as the Dogs rushed for 162 overall.
Tazewell sparkled in the second stanza.
Roberts had a key sack of Sheets to force a punt, and Jalen Jordan returned the ball to Graham’s 45. Oakley Lowe made two successive strong plays, picking up 10 yards on second-and-long and then getting 8 more for a first down on Graham’s 33.
Moore danced down the left sideline for 14 and then got five more, moving the pigskin to the Graham 14. Two plays later, Cody McCann lofted a 14-yard scoring aerial that Jordan was able to leap up and grab for the score with 7:06 left in the half.
Andrew Murray kicked the extra point to knot the score at 7-7.
Tazewell held the G-Men, and a short Graham punt gave the Dogs good field position on the 37. Graham then rose up and stopped the Dog spread to force a field goal try. Murray split the uprights from 42 yards out, pushing Tazewell ahead 10-7 just 3:37 away from halftime.
Williams changed quarterbacks for the next Graham drive, bringing in Gray Baker, who tossed a 30-yard completion to Jackson, who made a couple of dazzling moves on his way downfield to push the pigskin inside the G-Men 25.
Tazewell’s Brad Bowles powered inside on the rush, however, and the next Graham pass floated high over the middle where Jordan intercepted for the Dogs and returned the ball to the 40 before time expired in the second period.
In the third period, Murray missed a 28-yard field goal try, but the Dogs later took a 12-7 lead on a safety when the ball was snapped out of the end zone on a fourth-and-23 following a strong defensive series by the Bulldogs.
Then the tide turned and Graham grounded out the win.
Jackson gained 55 yards on three successive carries before freshman Coppola (41 yards in the fourth quarter) powered through tacklers for a 20-yard score with 11:54 remaining. Stowers was right down central on his PAT kick. The G-Men took a 14-12 advantage and never looked back.
Bringing tacklers like the G-Men of old, the withering defensive rush by Graham generally held Tazewell at bay offensively in the closing minutes.
The last serious Bulldog march was halted by Graham’s Cody Hatfield, who intercepted a pass on the five-yard line with 5:32 to play, giving the G-Men the football and the momentum again.
“I’m proud of my team,” said Tazewell coach Brandon Tate. “Late in the game, we went away from what we are coached to do and that cost us dearly. I’m not pleased with the result. But the players fought hard, I appreciate that.
“Our guys never gave up. We just have to finish the deal. We will get there. My hat is off to Graham. Coach Williams is doing a fine job, and his staff and players are getting it done.”
Graham marched 95 yards in impressive, clocking-eating fashion to secure the triumph. Sheets, who ran for 61 yards in the final quarter, had 21 on a 4th-and-6, and later scored on a 1-yard run 1:44 to play. Stowers again kicked the PAT and the G-Men enjoyed a nine-point advantage.
Jackson finished with 110 yards rushing to lead the G-Men. Moore gained 80 on the ground for Tazewell.
Williams was pleased with the offensive change, but said his defense made some big plays although he felt there was more there to be taken.
“We had three interceptions we should have made and dropped, but when Cody (Hatfield) picked off that pass inside the 10, I thought that really sealed the deal for us,” noted Williams. “We take pride in finishing strong. Tazewell jumped on us early but we came out late in the game and jumped right back on them too.
“I’m glad we got this first win under our belt. It feels good for me, I admit that, to get that win as Graham head coach but this was a team effort by everybody in this locker room or it would not have happened.
“Everybody gets the credit for it. Tazewell gave us a hard run. They are well coached and they will be a good team before long.”
McCann finished with 62 yards passing for the Bulldogs and Sheets (53) combined with Baker (30) for 83 for the G-Men.
Tazewell travels to Blacksburg on Friday, while the G-Men go to Richlands for a showdown with the SWD champion Blue Tornado the same night.
At Mitchell Stadium
Tazewell......0 10 2 0 — 12
Graham.......7 0 0 14 — 21
1st Quarter
G--Jackson, 4-yard run (Stowers kick)
2nd Quarter
T--Jordan, 14-yard pass from McCann (Murray kick)
T-Murray, 42-yard field goal
3rd Quarter
T-safety, ball snapped out of end zone
4th Quarter
G-Coppola, 20-yard run (Stowers kick)
G-Sheets, 1-yard run (Stowers kick)
———
TEAM STATS
TZ GR
First Downs 11 16
Rush Yards 100 242
Pass Yards 62 83
Penalty-Yards 5-44 7-40
Penalties -- Graham 7-40, Tazewell 5-44
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