Blues overpower Trojans
Richlands (58) vs. Tunstall (7)
Written: Nov 19, 2011
By TOM BONE
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
RICHLANDS, Va. — Richlands has been waiting for the start of the playoffs. They didn't have to wait long to start making a statement when the whistle blew on Friday night.
The Blue Tornado was razor-sharp in the Group AA, Region IV, Division 3 semifinal, dismantling the Tunstall Trojans 58-7 and pitching a shutout until the game's final 24 seconds.
“Defensively, offensively, special teams, it was just an all-around great effort,” said Richlands (11-0) head coach Greg Mance. “It's the best we've played, without a doubt.”
“What can you say about your defense when you go into halftime and they've got negative yards?” Mance said. “Defensively, it's the best we've played. The kids were flying around, tackling in space, attacking the line of scrimmage.”
“Offensively … we just had a big night,” he said. He mentioned only one weakness. “We had a couple of turnovers in the red zone we've got to get corrected,” he said.
“You can name 15 or 20 players who played extremely well. We told our kids, at playoff time, the cream comes to the top and you've got to pick up your play, and I thought out kids did that tonight.”
“They were fired up tonight,” Mance said. “We challenged them all week. We told them we've been off two weeks, and everyone's questioning whether we can play four quarters, and can we play in space. … We answered some questions tonight.”
Devon Johnson rushed 17 times for 197 yards and three touchdowns, and Reece Strong completed 10 of 13 passes for four scores in the dominant offensive performance.
The fourth play from scrimmage gave Richlands a 2-0 lead when the Tunstall snapper lofted the ball past the punter and out of the end zone.
Strong said, “We were up 2-0 and we hadn't even gotten [the offense] on the field. That was big.”
The offense didn't stay on the field long in the first quarter, scoring on possessions lasting three plays, one and five to roll up a 23-0 lead after 12 minutes of play as Johnson ran roughshod through the Trojans defense and receivers got open behind the secondary of Tunstall (5-7).
The two second-quarter scores came on pass plays. Todd McGlothlin snagged a pass and stretched his arm across the goal line with 7:40 left before the half, the first of his two receiving touchdowns. On the next possession, a long slant-out pass by Strong was tipped into the air by Tunstall's Nolan Hendrix, and it fluttered to Blue Tornado receiver Gabe Hunsucker, who carried it to the end zone with 4:08 left before the break.
Tunstall incurred negative-22 yards rushing in first half.
Johnson got his final six-pointer after accounting for all 61 yards on a drive early in the third quarter. He was replaced by sophomore Colton Staten, who gained 50 yards on three consecutive carries, capping it with a 38-yard scoring run with 5:18 left in the third for Richlands' final touchdown.
Strong's eighth extra-point kick of the night produced a 58-0 score.
The Trojans' score came in the final minute on a drive against Richlands substitutes, with sophomore Peyton Farrior finding the end zone from 19 yards out.
Richlands did not have to punt until 9:10 remained in the game. Tunstall had to boot the ball away eight times. The Blue Tornado was flagged for 11 penalties costing 110 yards while the Trojans had five penalties for 50 yards.
The home squad ran for 285 yards and passed for 227, racking up 512 yards, while the visitors were limited to 81 total yards of offense – only climbing out of negative figures after Richlands began substituting players.
McGlothlin had three catches for 107 yards and A.J. Johnson had five grabs for 65 yards and a touchdown.
Mance said the receivers “give you matchup problems. You've got Devon Johnson coming out of the backfield. It makes it tough on defensive coordinators, because we've got some weapons, [including Strong], the best quarterback in Southwest Virginia.”
Strong said with all the talent around him on offense, “It feels really good out there.”
Tunstall quarterback Evan Huffman was harassed all night and was 4-for-14 passing. Farrior wound up the leading ground gainer for the Trojans with 41 yards.
Richlands returns next weekend to the Region IV championship game for the eighth straight year. It will be a rematch with Cave Spring (8-3), which defeated Martinsville 41-9 on Friday night.
Mance said, “I'm just happy about moving on to the region championship. We're proud of our football team, a great bunch of men.”
— Contact Tom Bone
at tbone@bdtonline.com
At Ernie Hicks Stadium/EMATS Field
Tunstall................................0 0 0 7 — 7
Richlands...........................23 14 21 0 — 58
First Quarter
RHS — Safety, Tunstall snapped ball out of end zone, 10:39
RHS — Devon Johnson 31 run (Reece Strong kick), 9:55
RHS — A.J. Johnson 27 pass from Strong (Strong kick), 8:25
RHS — D. Johnson 4 run (Strong kick), 0:27
Second Quarter
RHS — Todd McGlothlin 15 pass from Strong (Strong kick), 7:40
RHS — Gabe Hunsucker 26 pass from Strong (Strong kick), 4:08
Third Quarter
RHS — McGlothlin 66 pass from Strong (Strong kick), 10:56
RHS — D. Johnson 9 run (Strong kick), 8:55
RHS — Colton Staten 38 run (Strong kick), 5:18
Fourth Quarter
Tunstall — Peyton Farrior 19 run (Nolan Hendrix kick), 0:24
———
TEAM STATS
Tun Richl
Rushing yds. 37 285
Passing yds. 44 227
Total offense 81 512
Comp-att-intc. 4-15-1 10-13-1
Fumbles-lost 3-1 2-2
Penalties-yds. 5-50 11-110
———
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING – Tunstall, Motley 12-3, Huffman 8-(-24), Shoemake 9-18, Farrior 4-41. Richlands, D. Johnson 17-197, Strong 1-(-2), Colton Staten 5-77, A.J. Johnson 4-2, Taylor Ratliff 2-0, Chandler Click 3-18, Frank Taylor 1-(-1).
PASSING – Tunstall, Evan Huffman 4-19-0 TD-1 intc.; Matt Pyrtle 0-1-0-0. Richlands, Strong 10-13-4-1.
RECEIVING – Tunstall, Jake Whittaker 1-19, Luke Simpson 1-11, Travis Shoemake 1-6, Elijah Motley 1-7. Richlands, A.J. Johnson 5-65, Todd McGlothlin 3-107, D.J. Flack 1-30, Gabe Hunsaker 1-26.
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