Beaver/Graham game recap from the BDT:

[Bluefield_Rules 46]

http://www.bdtonline.com/localsports/local_story_237012205.html?keyword=topstory

 

Fireworks

Bluefield claims rivalry

 

By TOM BONE

Bluefield Daily Telegraph

 

BLUEFIELD  The victory huddle of the Bluefield Beavers, and the smiling face of head coach Fred Simon, were illuminated by fireworks Friday night at Mitchell Stadium.

 

The Beavers had provided their own fireworks, and a few fizzles, in beating the Graham G-Men 26-12 in Game No. 81 of the Beaver-Graham series.

 

Simon said the game always involves “a lot of emotion. Both teams usually make a few mistakes, and you figure out a way to overcome them, and that’s the way it goes.â€Â

 

Speed took its toll on Graham, with Shaun Brooks coming up with touchdown runs of 48 and 17 yards. He finished the night with 95 rushing yards; fullback Jake Lilly added 74.

 

Graham head coach Doug Marrs said, “They’ve got speed. You can’t coach speed, you can’t teach speed, and they’ve got it. It’s a great plus for them. They’re a good football team. When you’ve got that type of speed, it makes it hard when you lack the speed like we have. But  our kids fought.

 

“We’ve got to get better, and we will. We played hard. We’ll get better.â€Â

 

As expected, Graham tried to establish a power running game on offense, but managed just 51 net yards in the first half and 112 in the game.

 

Simon said he knew Bluefield would have to confront Graham’s power. He said, “I thought we did a good job, early. We let down some, but overall I think we did a good job.

 

“I was concerned about our players, how physical we could be, because I knew they (Graham) would be. And I thought we did a pretty good job of being physical.â€Â

 

Marrs said, “We just didn’t do a good job up front of controlling the line of scrimmage.â€Â

 

Simon said, “Their backs run hard. (Tyler) Barreras runs hard, the (Ronnie) Scott kid runs hard, (Jonathan) Brewster runs hard. I thought David Marrs did a nice job as far as starting in a big game like this at quarterback.â€Â

 

The G-Men fumbled the ball three times in the first half, losing it twice. On their first offensive play, Tyler Barreras fumbled and Eric McClanahan recovered for Bluefield.

 

The Beavers wasted no time, using four plays to get the game’s first score. Shaun Brooks broke off a dazzling open-field run that covered 48 yards for the first touchdown.

 

Brooks said, “It was just on my line. I told my linemen that if you can get the running backs into the secondary, we’re going to break it, and that’s what we did. ... It was a good feeling.â€Â

 

The next score came at the end a nine-play Bluefield drive when Marcus Patterson swept to the left side and crossed the goal line untouched from nine yards out.

 

Bluefield scored again with 48 seconds left before intermission when Will Cole passed across the middle to Cody Wassum for a seven-yard touchdown. Asher Sexton’s kick made it 20-0 at halftime.

 

The third quarter was scoreless, but Graham sustained a couple of encouraging drives. One foray ended when quarterback Marrs threw under intense pressure and Bluefield defensive back Ansel Ponder jumped high for the game’s only interception.

 

Ponder said, “I just read the quarterback’s eyes and saw he was throwing ... and just grabbed the ball out of the air.â€Â

 

Three Bluefield penalties opened the door again for the G-Men, who went 35 yards in six plays for their first score. Scott ran the ball three straight times to cover the final 17 yards and narrow the gap to 20-6.

 

Bluefield responded. An illegal block penalty pushed them back to their own 6, and Will Cole used passes primarily to power a 94-yard scoring drive. Brooks brought cheers from the BHS side with a weaving touchdown run, slashing to the pylon on the right corner of the end zone for his team’s final points.

 

Simon said, “We went 95 yards, and we scored, and I was really impressed with that.â€Â

 

The G-Men traveled 64 yards in only eight snaps, with Barreras ripping off a 36-yard gain on a pass play from David Marrs. The quarterback sneaked the ball over from the 1 to end the scoring.

 

Ponder was practically shut down on offense until the fourth quarter. Simon said, “Graham did a nice job of doubling Ansel, but we have other weapons that we can go with. And teams will find that out. ... We’re going to do whatever it takes.â€Â

 

Ponder said, “It turned out the way I thought from start to finish. We just came in all week and worked real hard, and then we came out with the victory like we suspected.â€Â

 

He said, “It was fun going out there helping out the team. They were focusing on me and that was opening it up for the rest of the team members. They executed.

 

“It’s real good to know that I can depend on my team and they can depend on me and that they can come through in tight situations.â€Â

 

Brooks said, “We had some beautiful plays.â€Â

 

Lilly said, “I wasn’t expecting to get the ball, but when I did I just tried to run as hard as I could and try to get the team first downs, to move the ball downfield.â€Â

 

Simon was bothered by Bluefield’s 140 yards in penalties. He said, “We made quite a few, and hopefully we can cut down on them as the year goes by because they hurt you. Offensive penalties, we’ve got to eliminate.â€Â

 

Brooks said, “It was a big game for us, because we’ve got a lot of seniors and stuff, and we wanted to win this game real bad. And it’s our field, because it’s Bluefield. We had to prove that this was our field. We had to hold this field down.â€Â

 

That field at Mitchell Stadium was re-named to honor June O. Shott, who gave the funds to install the synthetic turf. In a pregame ceremony, Bluefield mayor Linda Whalen said that Shott “made this new field not just a dream, but a reality.â€Â

 

Whalen said, “From a community that prides itself on our football programs ... we believe we have been given the best, for the best, by the best.â€Â

 

The Beavers travel to Princeton Friday for the first varsity game on the new turf at Hunnicutt Stadium. Graham will host Christiansburg on Friday.

 

 Contact Tom Bone at

 

tbone@bdtonline.com

 

 

 

At Mitchell Stadium

 

Graham (0-1).......................0 0 0 12  12

 

Bluefield (1-0).....................7 13 0 6  26

 

First Quarter

 

BLUâ€â€Shaun Brooks 48 run (Asher Sexton kick), 8:27

 

Second Quarter

 

BLUâ€â€Marcus Patterson 9 run (kick wide), 8:51

 

BLUâ€â€Cody Wassum 7 pass from Will Cole (Sexton kick), 0:48

 

Fourth Quarter

 

GRAâ€â€Ronnie Scott 6 run (pass failed), 11:14

 

BLUâ€â€Brooks 17 run (kick blocked), 3:17

 

GRAâ€â€David Marrs 1 run (run failed), 1:04

 

â€â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€

 

Individual Statistics

 

RUSHING  Graham, Tyler Barreras 13-26, Jonathan Brewster 8-35, Dominique Lane 1-2, J.K. Goins 1-2, David Marrs 7-14, Ronnie Scott 5-33. Bluefield, Will Cole 3-(–16), Shaun Brooks 11-95, Jake Lilly 11-74, Marcus Patterson 4-8, Ansel Ponder 2-(–5), Chase Joyner 2-9, Aaron Bowes 1-5, Team 2-0.

 

PASSING  Graham, Marrs 4-9-95 yd.-1 intc-0 TD. Bluefield, Cole 11-20-118 yd.-0 intc.-1 TD.

 

RECEIVING  Graham, Goins 1-35, Brewster 2-24, Barreras 1-36. Bluefield, Ponder 5-55, Joyner 3-47, Brooks 2-9, Wassum 1-7-1 TD.