Beavers welcome ‘amazing’ Bucs

By BRIAN WOODSON

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD — Fourty-two days.

That is how long it will be before Bluefield plays another home game after tonight’s visit from Charlotte Country Day.

Better get out to Mitchell Stadium to see the Beavers. Fred Simon figures it will be worth the price of admission, no matter what the outcome.

“They are amazing to watch,” said Simon, Bluefield’s head coach for 25 years. “I enjoy watching them because they are not as big as some of these teams, but when you watch them, ‘boom’.

“They knock them back a little bit, they don’t budge after that and they get off the blocks and they are on to the ball carrier.”

Even though the Buccaneers have won the only three meetings in this series — two by convincing margins — Simon encourages all Beaver — and football — fans to congregate at Mitchell Stadium.

Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.

“I think people will see two good football programs, and you will see a first class act from Charlotte Country,” Simon said. “Their kids play hard, they are gentlemen, they are fundamentally sound, the coaches are good people.

“I am just saying it is a class program. They play football as good as anybody we play, they are a fine and good football program.”

Tonight starts what could be termed a ‘murderer’s row’ schedule for the Beavers. The Bucs (2-1) won the NCISAA state championship last season by defeating Charlotte Latin, which will serve as Bluefield’s opponent next week in North Carolina.

That will be followed by a visit to Gate City, which won the Group A, Division 2 state championship last year.

No wonder last week’s 41-27 come-from-behind win over Greenbrier East was so important to Bluefield’s postseason hopes.

“We needed it to have a chance,” Simon said. “Our players came back, down 14-3 and coming back and away from home is what was good, it was very good for us.”

Bluefield rallied behind a strong running game, led by sophomores Montel Leggett (162 yards, 3 touchdowns) and D.J. Edwards (17-85 1 td, 49 yards passing), while the Beavers’ defense forced four turnovers, including an interception returned for a score by Jeff James.

The Beavers fell behind 14-3, narrowed the margin to 14-10 at the break, and then scored 31 second half points to pull away from the Spartans. C.J. Manns returned from injury to lead Bluefield with 9 1/2 tackles.

“I was just pleased with the effort, not the mistakes, but the overall effort I was pleased with it,” Simon sad.

That came one week after a loss to Princeton, in which the Tigers victimized the Beavers with big plays.

“They were hurt after Princeton, we saw it in their eyes, it hurts because we knew we didn’t play our best, but they knew it,” Simon said. “At East we got behind, but they still knew that we had a chance and they sucked it up.

“Once we got that I think they now see we are a pretty good team. Let’s cut these stupid mistakes out and let’s keep going.”

Doing that against the Bucs will be a challenge. Simon says they are that good

“I don’t know if they are big, but they are big enough,” Simon said. “They are good-sized players with a nice build, quick, physical, a very good football, as good as anybody we will ever play. We can count them as good as anybody we will ever play...

“I guarantee you they could bang heads with anybody in this state.”

Charlotte County Day, which plays in a private school league in North Carolina, enters with a 2-1 record, having sandwiched a pair of wins (55-13 vs. Carolina Pride, 38-6 vs. First Assembly, Concord) around a 21-7 defeat to Charlotte Catholic.

“I guess people can choose to come there besides just getting recruited,” Simon said. “They have a real nice coaching staff, coach (Bob) Witman does and excellent job with them along with their staff...

“They’re just a well-coached, well-organized machine and a very good experience for us.”

Much impresses Simon about them, including quarterback Michael Radford — who has replaced Clemson recruit Morgan Roberts — and a defense that will be tough to tame.

“Their quarterback is about 6-2, probably about 195, runs well, throws well, and he has got some nice receivers,” Simon said. “Their defense is real physical, you are not going to move them really far off the ball, they get to the ball, they cover well, they’re very good defensively.

“If we get a few points it will definitely be hard earned and well worth it, but it will be tough.”

The 5-foot-6 Leggett leads the Daily Telegraph coverage area with 454 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground. Edwards, who is also a sophomore, has run for 163 yards and thrown for 342 more, while improving with each game.

“I think he is improving week after week, he is starting to get more confident with the system and the players around him,” said Bluefield offensive coordinator Fred Simon Jr. “He is starting to kind of direct the offense in practice and in the games he is starting to see some things that comes natural to him as a quarterback.

“Some things he picks up and just goes with it, but we think he is coming right along real well.”

He is also playing both ways, having to also be the last line of defense as a safety in the Bluefield defense.

“Let me tell you the safety position is no cakewalk either,” Simon said. “Usually a sophomore will just play one way for us, and he is playing two crucial positions. He is a sophomore kid whose body is not bad, but it is not the body of a junior or a senior, playing both ways and having to run.”

The reason schools like from Charlotte are on the schedule is that the Beavers continue to have trouble getting area teams to put them on the slate.

“To me to be the best you play the best,” Simon said.

Unfortunately, not everyone shares Simon’s philosophy, and he would much prefer a points system in the WVSSAC that takes into account strength of schedule.

“The disadvantage of it is we get beat we get nothing from it as far as that, but other than that we gain a lot of experience from it,” Simon said. “I just wish there was a different way or a point system in the state of West Virginia where you are treated fairly and I don’t think we are

“I don’t think we are treated fairly for a tough schedule in West Virginia, but you have got to do what you have to do.”

No matter what happens tonight, Simon wants his young Beavers to avoid allowing the big play, control the ball on offense, and simply play hard from the beginning to end.

“We are inexperienced too and I think that is the key, but they are at least trying,” Simon said. “We are just going to fight and hang in there, as long as we are getting better every week I can live with it.”

—Contact Brian Woodson

at bwoodson@bdtonline.com