Richlands survives conditions to top Wave
Richlands (39) vs. Grundy (14)
Written: Nov 07, 2014
By LLOYD COMBS
for the Daily Telegraph
GRUNDY, Va. — For Richlands good field position more than made up for bad field conditions.
The Blue Tornado overcame Grundy's muddy field behind the running of Griffin McCauley and River Michaels to conclude the regular season with a 39-14 win over the Golden Wave Thursday night at Nelson Memorial Field.
McCauley ran for 149 yards and two touchdowns, while Michaels scored three TDs on just nine carries and added a 10-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Farris, all in the first half as the Blues (7-3) took a 39-0 halftime lead.
Winnning is always fun, but the field conditions at Grundy following torrential rains for over 24 hours prior to the game made it even more entertaining for Michaels and company.
"It was fun, it don't get no better than that. That was backyard, old-school ball," the senior quarterback said. "It was hard to throw the ball and the centers had a hard time snapping it back there, but that's football and it's fun and it was fun with the running game tonight."
Richlands, which should host a first-round playoff game next weekend, punted Grundy back on its own 3-yard line early and the Blues never relinquished field position the rest of the half.
A Wave fumble and interceptions by Canaan Addison and Brandon Waldron kept the game on Grundy's end of the field through halftime.
"We pinned them back on the three-yard line and we got field position early and we kept it and that was a key," said Richlands coach Greg Mance. "We capitalized on all three turnovers.
"We set field position with one of them and we scored after the rest of them and we got into a rhythm on offense. We put a tight end to get an extra player and kept them spread out."
Michaels and McCauley did the rest as Richlands got its mud legs under it. McCauley scored the first TD of the night on a 7-yard run.
The senior setback broke off a 44-yard touchdown run just before halftime. Michaels scored on runs of 1, 35 and 26 yards, respectively.
"I was very, very pleased," Mance said. "We play on the turf, we practice on turf, we came down here for warmups and we saw the field, and there's nothing Grundy could do about it, it's Mother Nature. It's the worst I've seen in the 27 years I've been coaching, but it's football.
"It's an outside game, you got to deal with it, you got to play in it and I thought our kids did a great job. We didn't turn the ball over in the first half, I thought the offensive line did a great job against their pressure and we ran the ball with Griffin McCauley and River extremely well.
And the defense created three turnovers and we go in up 39-0 at the half, and to play in these conditions I was worried about scoring 21 points."
Grundy (0-10) had somewhat better field position itself in the second half and got on the scoreboard twice with a running clock. Junior Dylan Wolford made two good cuts on his way to a 35-yard touchdown run and later tossed a 22-yard TD pass to sophomore Christian Jackson.
"Whenever you're playing on your own end of the field the whole game it's tough to get things going," said Grundy coach Jeremy Ward.
"Turnovers kept giving them good field position.
"They had some bad snaps and mis-communication, too we just never could luck up and get the turnover. But, I'm pleased with our kids, they've fought all season and they were up against a very good football team."
Mance praised the Grundy kids, who counted four freshmen and four sophomores on the field on defense.
"Give Grundy credit, those kids you got to take your hat off to them," he said. "They're 0-10, they're down 39-0 and I think they played harder in the second half than they did in the first.
"Those guys are going to be special if they stick with it. We have a lot of respect for those guys."
At Nelson Memorial Field
Richlands.................14 25 0 0 — 39
Grundy.....................0 0 0 14 — 14
Scoring Summary
R-McCauley 7 run (Bandy kick)
R-Michaels 1 run (Bandy kick)
R-Michaels 35 run (Bandy kick)
R-Michaels 26 run (kick failed)
R-McCauley 44 run (run failed)
R-Farris 10 pass from Michaels (kick failed)
G-Wolford 35 run (run failed)
G-Jackson 22 pass from Wolford (Anglin run)
Team Stats
First Downs: R 14, G 6; Rushes-Yards: R 35-226, G 32-80; Passing Yards: R 39, G 68; Comp-Att-Int: R 4-11-0, G 3-7-2; Fumbles-Lost: R 3-0, G 5-2; Penalties: R 8-40, G 5-20; Punts-Average: R 2-40.0, G 2-25.5.
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