Michaels leads Blue Tornado to easy win over Bearcats
Richlands (45) vs. Virginia High (7)
Written: Sep 27, 2014
By JOHNNY WILSON
for the Daily Telegraph
BRISTOL, Va. — He's got a flashy name and a flashy game, and Friday night the River Michaels Show was prime time at DeVault Stadium.
The centerpiece of a multi-dimension offense, senior quarterback River Michaels had his hand in five touchdowns as Richlands strolled to an easy 45-7 Southwest District win over homestanding Virginia High.
"I guess you could say that I'm kind of the leader of it, but it's not about me," insisted Michaels, who threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more. "The o-line blocked very well tonight and our receivers caught every ball I put out there.
"We were clicking tonight."
Indeed.
The Blue Tornado (3-2) turned out 343 total offensive yards to Virginia High's 123 yards, while committing just one turnover and two penalties. In addition, Richlands quarterbacks completed 12 of 15 passes for nearly 200 yards.
Griffin McCauley led the Richlands ground game with 116 yards on 19 carries.
The performance was pretty much textbook for the longtime SWD kingpin.
"We take a lot of pride in how we play football at Richlands," said veteran head coach Greg Mance. "I wish people could see how hard these kids work, all summer and all spring. They love it, the breathe it, they live it.
"It would have been easy for these kids to throw in the towel when we lost to Union there after being up 28-7 and having already lost a tough one to Gate City, too.
“But we came back and played great when we went to Graham and then we beat a great Lord Botetourt team last week.
"Tonight we executed very well against a very dangerous team. To hold that kind of speed and that misdirection stuff to just seven points says a lot about our defense tonight."
Virginia High was never really in this one.
"We've got to be more physical up front," said second-year Virginia High coach Michael Crist. "But I told the kids that when adversity comes in life, you just go back to work. And that's what we'll do."
The Bearcats never could get a handle on Michaels, a 6-foot-2, 200-pounder who hit on 8 of 10 passes for 165 yards and scored on runs of 1 and 5 yards.
Michaels hit wideout Zeke Vance with scoring passes of 39 and 15 yards in the first half as Richlands raced out to a 24-7 lead at intermission.
The second-year starter then hit tight end Landon Lowe with a little 37-yard dump pass for a score on the third snap of the second half, a play in which the 6-foot-3, 260-pound sophomore rumbled through two tacklers on his way to the end zone.
"That sophomore is going to be a good one," Mance said. "He's just now starting to touch the tip of his talent.
"All our receivers did a good job tonight."
Richlands had four different receivers catch at least two passes, Vance and Brandon Waldron leading the way with three grabs apiece. Lowe caught two for a team-high 60 yards and Chace Collins snared a pair for 48 yards.
Waldron scored on a 1-yard pass in the fourth quarter from backup QB John Luke Asbury.
Virginia High avoided a shutout when Ivan Moore hit Tyjuan Marsh with an 8-yard scoring pass late in the second quarter.
Jordan Sewell caught two passes for 68 yards to provide the bulk of Virginia High’s offense.
Richlands will host Blue-field next Friday night.
Richlands..................10 14 14 7 — 45
Virginia High..............0 7 0 0 — 7
Scoring summary
R-Vance 39 pass from Michaels (Bandy kick)
R-FG Bandy 20
R-Michaels 1 run (Bandy kick)
R-Vance 15 pass from Michaels (Bandy kick)
VHS-Marsh 8 pass from I.Moore (Harr kick)
R-Lowe 37 pass from Michaels (Bandy kick)
R-Michaels 5 run (Bandy kick)
R-Waldron 1 pass from Asbury (Bandy kick)
Team stats
First downs: R 14, VHS 7; Rushes-Yards: R 35-145, VHS 35-47; Passing Yards: R 198, VHS 76; Passes (C-A-I): R 12-15-0, VHS 3-7-2; Fumbles-Lost: R 4-1, VHS 1-1; Penalties: R 2-15, VHS 6-52; Punts: R 2-36.5, VHS 7-30.2.
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