By BOB REDD

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BLUEFIELD, Va. — None of the players on the current Graham High School football team had ever beaten their main rival, the Bluefield Beavers, that was until this past Friday night when the G-Men claimed a thrilling 23-21 win over their crosstown foes.

Leading the way for the G-Men was quarterback Spencer Sheets. Sheets completed 12-of-16 passes for 89 yards and ran 12 times for another 113 yards leading Graham to victory and earning Player of the Week honors from the Bluefield Daily Telegraph/Pocahontas Coal Association.

Graham head coach Mike Williams speaks highly of Sheets.

“He’s really sort of a field general,” Williams said. “You can’t coach every detail of a game, it’s not possible, but he makes decisions out there you’re glad he does.”

One such decision this Friday night occurred following a Graham touchdown and Sheets was the holder for the extra point attempt.

“A lot of people thought I called a two-point conversion. What is was, was a high snap. The rush starts coming in, Spencer takes it and turns a negative into a positive,” Williams said. “I’ve seen few players in my coaching days do that the way Spencer does.”

Off the field Sheets is a soft-spoken, well-mannered young man, but between the lines he is intent on carrying out his responsibilities and defeating the opponent at hand. He said that beating Bluefield was great, but now there is another task at hand.

“The feeling Saturday morning was incredible, all the fans and everyone walking up to you, congratulating you,” Sheets said. “After it sunk in Saturday, we started Monday focusing on Tazewell.”

That focus and determination is what has helped Sheets develop into the starting quarterback and captain at Graham. In the off-season he attended quarterback camps, including one at Wake Forest University.

“They taught me a lot more about working with your eyes, playing the safety off and always keeping the ball in the right position,” Sheets said.

Last week against Bluefield, Sheets displayed a quick release and seemed poised in the pocket, things he also learned at the camps.

“The line does a great job blocking, but you only have a certain amount of time to get rid of the ball, and you want to get rid of it as quick as you can so your wide receivers can get out there and make a play in space,” Sheets commented.

Being a leader on the team is something that Sheets enjoys and Williams said the youngster does well.

“One thing I was pretty certain of as a coach is that the sun is going to rise and Spencer was going to be voted captain,” Williams said. “It’s obvious that he’s a leader on the team. He has kids over to his house all the time.

“In terms of character, a few guys can parallel him. He’s the type of guy you want your own kids to come up and be like. I don’t worry about what Spencer is doing on Friday or Saturday nights. I don’t worry if he’s coming into school late, or skipping class. I don’t even think about that with him.”

Sheets said, “I love being around all these guys, being the quarterback, it means the world to me and I wouldn’t trade anything for it.”

Sheets is not sure if he will continue playing football after high school. Off the field his main goal is to continue progressing in his studies.

“I want to focus on my grades, get my SAT up and find a college to go to,” Sheets said.

Sheets and the G-Men have another rivalry game this week when they line up against the Tazewell Bulldogs.