mville/graham story (mville bulletin)

[mhsalum 31]

Graham 18, Martinsville 0

By JOHNNY BUCK

Bulletin Sports Writer

 

 

Martinsville Spread Offense, meet the blitzing Graham defense.

 

Game 1 in the Spread Era began with a Bulldog-ish bark but ended with a puppy-like whimper as Graham improved to 2-0 this season by the score of 18-0.

 

It was a game full of turnovers, as the two teams combined for 10.

 

"We're always blitzing," Graham head coach Doug Marrs said after the game. "We're bringing somebody from somewhere all the time. We bring eight if we can. If we can't -- if they've got a formation (that's spread out) -- we'll bring six. We're going to bring whatever we can bring."

 

After the game's first few minutes, the final score would've been hard to predict. Victor "Snoop" Hairston had just one man to beat on the opening kickoff, but was brought down by the G-Men's last line of defense at the Martinsville 39 after colliding with his own blocker in the open field. On the very next play, quarterback Quan Beamer connected on a 25-yard pass to Freddie Riley. The speedy Bulldogs wideout caught the throw in stride down the right sideline and appeared to have nothing but greenery in front of him before a defensive back's diving shoestring tackle halted the receiver at Graham's 36.

 

 

On the next play, the crowd roared when Beamer complete a 13-yard strike to "Snoop" Hairston at the 12. However, a holding call on the Bulldogs negated the play.

 

Still, the offense appeared to be hitting on all cylinders. Even when running back Tracy Hairston turned the ball over with a fumble three plays later, the atmosphere in Dan Greene Memorial Stadium was electric.

 

The stadium's voltage increased considerably after Graham's first play -- a Tyler Barreras run -- resulted in another fumble that gave possession back to Martinsville.

 

"They scared us to death. They really did," Marrs said.

 

But four plays later, the Bulldogs failed to convert a fourth-and-one pass on a 10-yard pattern.

 

That's when the G-Men's offensive line made their presence known.

The trenches filled by three juniors and two seniors, Graham dominated the line of scrimmage, calling 10 consecutive running plays that netted 49 yards to the Martinsville 31.

 

But in the initial sign of a trend to come, the G-Men turned the ball over in the red zone. Quarterback Ronnie Workman threw a third-down interception to Tracy Hairston, who was tackled at the 11 yard line.

 

It was the first of three Graham turnovers inside the opponent's 20, and the second of seven G-Men turnovers on night, not counting failed fourth-down conversions.

 

Without the turnovers, it seemed forgone that Graham's offense would've made this game a blowout. The G-Men piled up more than 200 yards rushing on the night, while also converting several long third-down plays through the air.

 

For whatever reason, the Bulldogs couldn't convert on all the G-Men miscues, as effective Graham blitzes, an inordinate amount of muscle-cramping and the stress of defending a dominant ground-control offense took its toll on a Martinsville team that featured seven different players starting on both sides of the ball.

 

Poor execution also bothered the 'Dogs. On the game's next second-quarter play, Beamer took the snap and pitched the ball to no one. When the Bulldogs QB picked up the pigskin in his own endzone, he was promptly met by a bevy of G-Men who tackled him for a safety.

 

It was the first of two safeties given up by Martinsville; a low shotgun snap in the second half also gave Graham two points and possession of the pigskin.

 

Graham went into halftime with 9-0 lead after Workman connected with T.J. Carper for a 56-yard touchdown on a third-and-6 play.

 

In the second half, injuries and fatigue took their toll on Martinsville. Graham had knocked out Beamer in the first half on a big hit in the backfield, while the humid weather took care of several other Bulldogs. After the contest, head coach Taylor Edwards said he'd never seen so many players suffer from cramps in one game.

 

"We talked about hydration. We've been talking about it all summer during the fall camp," he said. "We've given them Gatorade. We gave them Gatorade tonight but they were still cramping like crazy. ... We've got to do something. I didn't notice them having a cramp, but we were dropping like flies."

 

Conversely, Marrs credited offseason conditioning for his team's health. Not a single Graham player experienced a cramp.

 

"Well, we have worked real hard," Marrs said. "I mean, we have worked these kids extremely hard, and I think maybe the running game is there because of conditioning. We have sold conditioning all year. We have forced them to hydrate. We made them drink a gallon of water last night. We knew it was going to be hot."

 

Graham's final score came with five minutes remaining in the game on a Barreras 5-yard run.

 

Unfortunately for the 'Dogs, the game's final score was not the worst aspect of the night. Injuries to senior leaders Beamer (shoulder), starting linebacker Alan Shelton (shoulder) and receiver/punter Jervis Wimbush (leg) put an already thin roster on even thinner ice.