By BRIAN WOODSON

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BRADSHAW — Opposing defensive backs are starting to learn his name.

Keep playing like he did in River View’s 38-35 loss last Friday to fourth-ranked Man, and they won’t be the only one.

“I just went out and ran my routes and tried to get open,” River View sophomore Cody Howie said. “Once I did, Michael (Price) would throw me the ball and I would find a way to the end zone...

“They were quick slants, and I would just out-run them.”

That happened four times. Howie caught seven passes against the Hillbillies for 221 yards, including touchdowns of 64 and 55 yards in the final quarter, and earlier completions from 35 and 42 yards.

It was a performance worthy of recognition, even if Howie isn’t a magnet for attention.

“Everybody was telling me I did a good job and was bragging on me,” Howie said. “I don’t like a lot of hype, it is just not the thing for me.”

In this case, Howie will accept it, having been selected as the Pocahontas Coal Association/Bluefield Daily Telegraph Player of the Week.

“It surprised me honestly,” said Howie, during a phone interview on Wednesday. “I didn’t find out about it until like 20 minutes (ago). I was really excited, and then everybody knew and they were coming up to me and telling me congratulations.”

It was a record-breaking night for the Raiders (1-3), who entered the contest with Man — which defeated River View 46-8 last year — without Jordan Wilson, one of the area’s top running backs.

“Jordan was out so our running game was on shaky ground anyway, Man is good sized and we were having problems run blocking them,” River View head coach Gehrig Justice said. “They started putting them up in the box so they gave us the pass.

“That is our philosophy. If they give us numbers we are going to take what they give. We were able to hit some passes and hit big plays on them.”

There was a time, not that long ago, that a team throwing the ball on the southwest side of McDowell County was a rare occasion. Long-time Iaeger and River View head coach Mitch Estep was never much for passing the football.

“If I would have went to Iaeger, I probably would have been playing wing or tight end,” said the 6-foot-3, 180-pound Howie. “I have always liked playing receiver, I have liked playing it since little league, I love that position.”

Justice replaced Estep at the start of last season, and hasn’t been afraid to change up the offense, which has been met with mixed reactions among the local football faithful.

“It is both, we get some say that we are excited that you are opening up the offense, but at the same time, when those (passes) aren’t completed, they are like go back to running,” Justice said. “Fans are always about just whatever is working.

“We are kind of the same way. We just had a matchup the other night and Cody just kept getting open and we just kept calling the same play and it kept working.”

With the run game bottled up and the Raiders trailing early against the Hillbillies, Justice decided to put the ball in the air. It worked. Sophomore quarterback Michael Price completed 15-of-22 passes for 318 yards, and four touchdowns, all to Howie.

“Him and Price combined for six schools records the other night as far as touchdown passes, touchdown catches, receptions, completions, yards,” Justice said. “We had a pretty good night between those two.”

That duo has become close on the field and off.

“He came to my house not too long ago and we went out in the yard and threw some passes,” Howie said. “He is really accurate with the ball, and he can move around good.”

Howie actually started as a freshman last season, catching about 12 passes, but he worked in the offseason and is definitely developing the total package.

He already has 19 receptions and eight touchdowns in four games for the Raiders.

“I can catch pretty good and I have pretty decent speed, but I have to get my routes down pat really well,” said Howie, who credits his improvement to attending a receiver camp last summer at Concord, which is where Justice’s brother, Garin, is head coach.

“(Man) was trying to jam me at the line, and they probably would have if hadn’t gone to that Concord receivers camp over the summer. It definitely helped me a lot, I can’t wait to go back next year.”

It’s not just Howie on the outside. Junior Tyree Baker is also a talented receiver, having caught six passes last week for nearly 60 yards.

“They really complement each other real well,” Justice said.

Justice likes the potential shown by Howie, who also plays safety on defense, and is involved in both basketball and baseball.

“He is 6-3, and he has the ability to go up and get high balls as far as jump balls,” Justice said. “He had two or three catches where he just goes over the cornerback and just makes a play on it, and he has got a step.

“Once he gets his shoulder pads north and south he is hard to catch...In the past I have had a couple of guys that have been wide receivers like Josh Bailey of Gilbert, I think Cody has that same kind of potential.

“If he will get into the weight room and commits into the camps, he is kind of unlimited as far as his future.”

That future includes high hopes for Howie, who wants to keep playing after his days in Bradshaw are through.

“That is my dream, I want to try to go to Concord or Marshall or anywhere they will be able to take me,” he said. “Hopefully one day I can take it further and go to the NFL.”

His immediate future appears to be bright at River View, with several sophomores contributing, leaving Justice confident that the Raiders will be just fine when Wilson has moved on after this season.

“It showed a lot of people that there is life when Wilson is gone,” said Justice, about Friday’s performance against Man. “With these sophomores and we are kind of changing the philosophy a little bit where you are throwing it.

“The people saw what the future holds. There were people saying with Jordan gone, ‘What are we going to do’, that gave us some good insight into the future.”

The Raiders are 1-3 this season, having lost three in a row since a win over Mount View, which was definitely a memorable experience for River View when the West Virginia University band performed prior to the game.

“It was great, I wanted to show them what we can do and maybe they can spread the word to West Virginia and get some scouts down there for Jordan and Tyree and all the seniors,” he said. “That is what I was trying to do. I was just trying to open some eyes and show people that McDowell County can do something.”

They certainly did just that last week. Not even their own classmates were giving them much of a chance against the Hillbillies, who are now ranked third in the Class A WVSSAC ratings.

“I believe we surprised a bunch of people, the kids in school were telling us that we were going to get beat really bad,” said Howie, whose Raiders host Notre Dame on Friday. “I have faith in my team, I believe we can do a lot of better than anybody thinks we can.

“It was (motivating) for me because I wanted to prove everybody wrong because I know what we are capable of doing....If we would have had one more drive, we would have won that game.”

The better a player gets, the more attention he will receive, not only from the public, but also from the other team. That has definitely been happening to Howie, even before his performance against Man. In a recent game at Herbert Hoover, a defender asked him if he was Cody. Once that was confirmed, he told Howie he was going to shut him down.

Did it happen?

“No,” said, Howie, with a laugh.

bwoodson@bdtonline.com

/ Twitter @bdtwoodson

Player of Week Honorable Mentions

Week 4

Bland County (32-22 win over Holston) — Isaiah Boyd, 10-113, 2 td (54 rush, 86 kick return); Mason Christian, 18-120, 1 td (36), 3-8-59 yards, 1 td (47); Dylan Jackson, 16-78, 1 td (17); Thomas Hicks, 12 tackles.

Bluefield (51-28 win over Gate City) — D.J. Stewart, 18-110, 2 td (3, 54); Corey Coppola, 11-112, 1 td (55), R.J. Bourne, 3-7-128 yards, 2 td (49, 51), 10-91 rush, 2 td (52, 8); Carlos Reed, 6-62, 1 td (35), 3-128, 2 td receiving (49, 51).

Giles (62-7 win over Narrows) — Brett Whitlow, 6-91, 2 td rush (38, 40), 75 kick return for td; Joseph Beidleman, 6-39 3 td rush (4, 4 23); Brian Mann 4-50, 1 td rush (3); Anthony Meadows, 4-66 1 1d rush (53).

Graham (40-6 win over Grundy) — Dylan Cook, 12-129, 1 td (25), 1 2 pt. conversion, 14 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 interception; Ben Meade, 5-7, 146, 2 td (53, 40), 1 2-point conversion pass, rushed for 30 yards; Israel Harris, 108 yards receiving, 2 td (53, 40), 79 yards rushing, 2 td (3, 70).

Grundy (40-6 loss to Graham) — Jacob McNutt, 21-77 rush; Daleton Anglin, 10-50, 1 td (7).

Honaker (27-20 win over Central-Wise): Austin Smith, 36-181, 3 td (2, 3, 12); Casey Dye, 33 yard td run, 2 interceptions on defense.

James Monroe (57-13 win over PikeView)—Reed McNeer, 183 yards passing, 3 td (20, 13, 80); Grant Mohler, 100 yards rushing, 3 td (2,1, 15); Logan Hunnicutt, 100 yards rushing; Josh Dransfield, 4-97 receiving 1 td(80); Landon Shires, interception, fumble recovery; Devin Johnson (blocked punt, fumble recovery).

Narrows (62-7 loss to Giles): Jackson Blankenship, 6-9, 71 yards pass, 1 td 26); Kyle Hall, 5-31 receiving; Landon Neal (4-17 receiving).

PikeView (57-13 loss to James Monroe)—Daniel Brown, 14-117, 1 td 65); Justin Hopper, 4-11-75 yards, 1 td (55).

Princeton (28-7 loss to Hurricane)—Christian Shafer, 77 yards rushing, 1 td (8); Zach Standifur, 66 yards rushing.

Richlands (21-14 win over Lord Botetourt) — River Michaels, 7-18, 112 passing, 2 td (31,48), 23-41 rush, 1 td (5); Zeke Vance, 4-109, 2 td receiving (31, 48).

River View (38-35 loss to Man) — Michael Price, 11-21, 1 td rushing; 15-22, 318 4 td, 1 int; Tyree Baker, 6 catches, 55 yards.

Summers County (35-0 loss to Wyoming East) — Caleb Harris, 5-10, 87 yards passing; Dillon Smith, 15-54 rush.

Tazewell (40-32 win over Chilhowie) — Nick Blankenship, 218 yards rushing, 3 td (58, 10, 52); Malik Davis, 66 rushing, 1 td (5), 120 passing

Twin Valley (54-26 loss to Northwood) — Austin Shortridge, 182 yard rushing, 2 td (35, 68); Jake Kowalski, 80 yards, 1 td rush (23); Drake Presley, 36 field goal.

Wyoming East (35-0 win over Summers County): Nik Walker 18-211, 2 td rush(3, 71); Hunter Hall 8-55, 1 td rush (8);

2014 Winners

Week 1: Corey Coppola, Bluefield

Week 2: Malik Davis, Tazewell

Week 3: Nick Blankenship, Tazewell

Week 4: Cody Howie, River View