By BRIAN WOODSON

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD, Va. — A shutout for the first time since 2007, and the largest margin of victory since 2006.

Both happened for Graham during the G-Men’s 31-0 win over Bland County for its first Mountain Empire District victory last Friday at Mitchell Stadium.

One of many contributors to the cause was Graham senior linebacker/running back Lamont Edwards, who was a one-man wrecking crew on defense, and did his part on offense too.

“He had an 18-tackle game and you can probably count on one hand how many times you see an 18-tackle game and they weren’t just assists, he was the primary tackler on 12 of the 18,” Graham head coach Mike Williams said. “An overall good performance, he forced a fumble, had two tackles behind the line and for us we’re about turnovers and tackles behind the line and he created both...

“You will have a lot of kids, it will take two, three or four games to get to 18 tackles so that is really impressive.”

So impressive that Edwards — who also ran for 51 yards and a touchdown — has been selected as the latest recipient of the Pocahontas Coal Association/Bluefield Daily Telegraph Player of the Week award.

“I feel like I kept it pretty consistent throughout the game, but everybody made plays that night,” Edwards said. “I am just glad the opportunity came for me to get this special award.”

It came at a good time for Graham. The G-Men had lost three straight, and needed a win in the worst way. They’d like to get their first two-game win streak of the season on Friday at Fort Chiswell.

“It was very important for our team,” Edwards said. “We just needed that extra push to get us going to the next level and hopefully we will bring it on Friday night.”

Williams isn’t shy about calling Edwards ‘the heart and soul’ of the defense, despite the senior standing just 5-foot-8 and 170 pounds.

“In terms of physical weight and size, no, he is not going to stand out in that regard, where he is going to stand out is with his speed, strength and athletic ability,” Williams said. “Even though he is small in stature, he is physically probably the strongest kid on the team and that is going up against guys that have 100 pounds on him.

“Don’t let his size fool you. I have seen him in there deadlift 500 and repping 225 on bench (press) so he is a strong kid even for a big kid, but especially for his size.”

That ‘heart’ was evident against Bland County, as Edwards helped the G-Men to their first shutout since a 28-0 win over Grundy on Oct. 5, 2007. It was also their largest margin of victory since a 41-0 blanking of Tazewell in the ‘06 playoffs.

“I feel like my coaches put me in a position to make plays and sometimes I came up with them and sometimes I don’t, but that is just part of a high school player, you have just got to get better,” Edwards said. “You have just got to be smart and play fast, that is the biggest thing.”

Williams added, “Pitching a shutout is kind of the holy grail for a defense, that is a hard thing to come by and we hadn’t come by one in over four years and leading that effort for us was Lamont Edwards.”

That performance followed a stellar week of practice, according to Williams, and Edwards received extra attention from defensive assistants Tony Palmer and Rex Bradshaw.

“I was just playing hard for my team and we just knew we had to get it done that night so I did whatever I could to help,” Edwards said. “Coach Palmer and Coach Bradshaw spent some time with me after practice and they really showed me to break down as a linebacker and play hard.

“I just did whatever I could to do to help the team and I was put in that position. I just feel like I had something to prove, this game was senior night and I hope we can continue this on.”

Graham (3-5, 1-2) still has hopes of a playoff berth, one season after a 1-9 campaign, but more wins are needed. Up next is Fort Chiswell, which only lost to top-ranked Grayson County last week because of a late blocked punt that turned into a safety and a 41-40 Blue Devils’ win.

“It’s football, anybody can win on any given night, you have just got to come out there and play with passion and if we all play as a team we can come out with the win,” said Edwards, whose G-Men are currently ranked 17th in Group A Division 2, and they need to be 16th to qualify for the playoffs. “Most definitely, for the seniors on this team we have been through a lot, and to make the playoffs this year would be great.”

Edwards has been through more than most. He injured his left knee in the second game of last season and had to spend the rest of a difficult year watching from the sidelines.

“It just taught me a lot of things like determination and how you can’t give up,” Edwards said. “I thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that He helped me get through it and I am still going strong. I think we are coming together as a team and that is the biggest part.”

He has rebounded from that injury to lead the G-Men with 82 tackles (42 solo stops), six tackles for loss, four forced fumbles, three sacks and a fumble recovery.

“He came out of the gates really strong this year, had double-digit tackle games and then hurt his ankle at Richlands, and I think that slowed him a little bit in the middle of the season,” Williams said. “He never missed a rep or a game, but you can tell he has really recovered from that and has really picked his game up.

“He really came out of the gate strong for us. He had a great game against Bluefield, I know the score doesn’t show it, but he has done that all season. I think that ankle slowed him a little bit, but he seems to be health-wise pretty good right now.”

It has shown on the field. In addition to his defensive prowess, he had 51 of Graham’s 418 yards rushing against the Bears, including a touchdown run of 16 yards. The G-Men had two players — Aderrius Jackson (111) and Gabe Hurt (124) — reach 100 yards and Edwards had a big part in that.

“He had a touchdown for us, he found the end zone, he had 10 yards a carry and not showing up on the stat sheet is he blocked and hit hard for us all night for everyone else that got to run the ball,” Williams said.

“Coach knows I can do it, he put me in and I just got the ball and ran hard and that is all there was to it,” said Edwards, a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens’ linebacker Ray Lewis. “That is what we have to do if we want to continue to win.

“We have to be able to spread the ball around and get positive yards and hopefully we can do that Friday night.”

There is little doubt the G-Men will get the same effort from Edwards. An aspiring college football player, he doesn’t know any other way to play, and not just on game day.

“He had a great practice week so I am not surprised by the effort,” said Williams, in his first season at Graham. “He probably had one of his best practice weeks both on offense and defense this season so his effort didn’t surprise me in that regard. He had some big hits so I am excited for him that he earned this award this week.”

While Edwards is winding down his career, he’s excited about what the future holds for Graham football.

“Good things take time, I believe here in a couple of years you will see something special here at Graham,” Edwards said. “I think if they buy into this program, there will be some special seasons.”

Edwards had a special week. He smiled when told of the honor — his first in four seasons at Graham — but he is more concerned with team goals.

“Personally, I wanted it, but now my focus is mainly on my team,” Edwards said. “I just want to make the playoffs.”

—Contact Brian Woodson

at bwoodson@bdtonline.com

Honorable Mention

Bland County (31-0 loss to Graham): Jakob Haun, 15-63 rush; Johnny David, 11-45 rush.

Bluefield (27-14 over Oak Hill): Brad Fox, 10-120 rush, 1 td (78); Montel Leggett, 14-49 rush/1 catch 4 yards; C.J. Manns, 10-86, 1 td (42) rush; Ryan Shorter, fumble recovery for td (20), keyed the aggressive defense.

Giles (44-6 win over Floyd County): Brad Kessinger, 11-127, 2 td (69, 3) rush; Ethan Mitchell,12-154, 2 td (6, 1) rush; Cody Vaught, int return for td (36).

Graham (31-0 over Bland County): Aderrius Jackson, 12-111 rush; Gabe Hurt, 4-124 rush, 1 td (68) / 2 catches, 11 yards; Spencer Sheets, 12-87 rush, 1 td (1)/9 yards passing / 1 catch, 6 yards; Samuel Stowers, 1 fg (32), 4-4 on extra point kicks; Corey Coppola, 10-46 rush, 1 td (2).

Grundy (42-17 loss to Clintwood): Nick Travis, 2 td passes (1,5); Ben Rife, 2 td catches (1,5).

Honaker (22-19 loss to John Battle): Ty Hall, 2 td pass (15, 1).

Hurley (14-8 over Haysi): Billy Stacy, int return for td (52) third quarter game-winning score; Austin Cooper, 2 int on defense; Tyler Berglowe, 1 td rush (1), 1 2-point conversion.

Mount View (38-12 loss to Meadow Bridge): Maurice Brown, 1 td rush (53) / 1 td catch (35).

Princeton (27-3 loss to Cabell Midland): Brandon Barrett, 42 fg.

Richlands (56-10 win over Abingdon): Devon Johnson, 19-262 yards, 3 td rush (59, 30, 31); Reece Strong, 4-7, 2 td passes (64, 18) / 2 td rushes ( 3, 1)/8 extra point kicks; Josh Compton, forced three turnovers; Eli McReynolds, 4 tackles; Michael Horton, 4 tackles; Hunter Brown, 3 tackles

River View (42-8 over Liberty): Jacob Muncy, 9-14, 246 yards, 3 td passing, 2 2-point conversion passes; Chad Franklin, 3-117, 1 td receiving (58); Leshon Benton, 4-51, 1 td receiving (8), 1 two-point score; Brandon Thomas, 2-78, 1 td receiving (53); Joseph McClanahan, 9-42 rushing, 2 td (1, 5); John Bailey, 8-45 rush.

Tazewell (53-0 loss to Carroll Co.): Jarred Ball, 46 yards rushing.

Note: Two weeks remain for the 2011 edition of this award. Coaches are urged to make recommendations (by Tuesday) and to report all statistics to the Daily Telegraph (by Wednesday) by calling (304) 327-2813 or email to sports@bdtonline.com