By MIKE DAVIS
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
RICHLANDS, Va. — Former district rivalries will meet tonight when the Blue Tornado travel north to meet Graham on the gridiron. Both come into the contest unbeaten in their first two games of the season and would like nothing better than to knock the other off their winning streak.
“It’s our third game of the season and we’re a lot like Graham,” Richlands head coach Greg Mance said. “They played in front of about 10,000 people at the Beaver game and then, another big crowd at the Tazewell game. We played at Gate City and then, and home against Union in front of 5,000 on both of our games, so, we’ve played in front of big venues.”
The G-Men had a strong second half against Tazewell a week ago to come away with an eventual win, 34-15. Graham accounted for 291 yards on the evening with a balanced attack.
“Graham has a very good football team and any time you beat one of the best teams in West Virginia (Bluefield) you’ve got a football team. They come off the ball up front and (Spencer) Sheets is a dynamic quarterback,” Mance said. “He can run the ball and throw the ball and the one thing that that stands out on tape is he makes good decisions and that makes him a leader. So we’re going to have to find a way to contain him.”
“They have some really stable running backs and they rotate them in and out and we’re going to have to work hard to contain their running game. Their receivers do a great job and defensively they’re sound.”
Richlands also found themselves in a dogfight against Union who came within two points of handing the Blue Tornado their first loss of the season. Richlands finished the night with 336 total yards paced by Colton Staten in the ground attack who carried the ball 22 times for 197 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
“Colton has the makings of a great high school tailback,” Mance said. “He can run over you and he has speed, he has great vision and he can make you miss. He has a lot of potential and when a back gets 190 yards you know the offensive line is doing a great job and they opened up some really good holes.”
Gray Baker, a Graham transfer, led the Tornado air game with 223 yards completing 12-of-18 passes with a passing touchdown and one on the ground. He also rushed for 55 yards on five carries.
“Gray Baker had his first career start at Richlands High School and did a great job,” Mance said. “He threw the ball well and he’s starting to understand the system more and he’s quick. He’s the fourth fastest (player) on the team.”
Both teams had more than a few setbacks during the game with penalty yardage becoming an Achilles heel. Graham and Richlands combined for over 250 yards in penalties and in the Blues Tornados’ case, kept Union in the game.
“We’ve been going good on good all week in practice,” Mance said. “We changed the scout team and changed the cadence and since we’re going good on good, they understand they know they have to pull up because we need everyone healthy on Friday.
“We’ve got to do a better job teaching technique in individual periods and then when we get to team sometimes we get our shoulders turned or their arms too wide. So we’ve got to do a better job. The kids are young, but they’re getting smarter every time they play.”
The Tornado has won four straight against the G-Men who last beat the Blues in 2007 (18-13).
“It’s Richlands versus Graham and it’s always been a big rivalry game,” Mance said. “They’ve always had a lot of tradition and pride in their football team and so do we and it’ll be a hard hitting game.
“We’re not going to intimidate them and they’re not going to intimidate us and I think there’s a mutual respect for each other.”
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.