G-Men arrest Galax, Beavers beat Richlands, Lord Bot holds off Princeton

Sep. 24—BLUEFIELD — It's not unthinkable that Galax might once again make it into this year's VHSL Class 1 state championship game at Salem City Stadium.

Their lone appearance at Mitchell Stadium this season, however, probably isn't something they'll want to think about much past Monday's team film review.

Stymied by Class 2 Graham's suffocating starting defensive unit, Maroon Wave (3-2) didn't score until finding the end zone twice against substitutes in the final three minutes of play and unbeaten G-Men picked up its fifth consecutive win of the 2022 season in a 28-14 romp past Galax.

In spite of the lopsided coreboard, both tradition-laden squads made sure their opponent was made aware of their respective presences throughout the contest.

"They're a good football team. I thought they were very physical," said Graham head coach Tony Palmer. "They had a good running back and they ran the ball hard. We bent ... but we didn't break."

Ty'Drez had a scoring run and scoring reception. Chris Edwards had two scores for the G-Men. Brayden Meadows had three TD passes.

Jamel Floyd and Gage Sawyers paced the uber-active Graham defense. The Maroon Tide's own defense was solid enough that the G-Men had to do a few things differently to make their offensive gains.

"We had to throw the ball a little bit more tonight. We thought that was to our advantage in this matchup," Palmer said. "Like I said, Galax was a good team. We took advantage of the breaks that we got."

Graham (5-0) faces George Wythe next week.

Bluefield 26, Richlands 10

RICHLANDS, Va. — Bluefield's quest for it's first win of the 2022 season is over.

Caleb Fuller passed for 127 yards of Bluefield's 329 yards total offense and the Beavers broke the drought with a convincing win over the Blue Tornado at Ernie Hicks Stadium.

Gerrard Wade got momentum going Bluefields' way with a 79-yard scoring run in the first quarter by running back Gerrard Wade.

Richlands answered with a 56-yard scoring drive capped by Isaiah Bandy's 26-yard field goal.

Fuller added a 7-yard scoring run just before the half to put Bluefield up 14-3 at the half after Fuller's successful 2-point conversion pass to Sencere Fields.

Bluefield's defense forced three turnovers in the third quarter, finally capitalizing on the third takeaway when Fuller hit RJ Hairston with a 90-yard touchdown toss. The conversion pass failed.

Ty'Quise Powell added a 10-yard scoring run for the 26-3 advantage.

Dylan Brown scored on a 3-yard touchdown run capped by Bandy's PAT kick near the end of the ballgame for the final margin.

Bluefield (1-4) travels to Independence next week. Richlands (1-4) travels to Clintwood, Va. to face Ridgeview.

Lord Botetourt 28, Princeton 27

DALEVILLE — The VHSL Class 3 Cavaliers salvaged their homecoming in the nick of time, staving off the Class AAA West Virginia fourth-ranked Tigers with a point to spare.

Dominic Collins returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and boosted Princeton's early lead with a scoring reception from Grant Cochran.

Lord Botetourt remains unbeaten. Princeton is open next week.

Hurley 20, Tug Valley 13

HURLEY, Va. — Alex Duty rushed for 185 yards and scored three touchdown runs and the Rebels picked up yet another win against the visiting Panthers.

Duty scored on runs of 4 yards and 9 yards, finally putting the game on ice with his 6-yard scoring run in the final quarter.

Duty's 6-yard scoring run in the final period sealed thte dal for the REble. (4-1).

Duty had six solo tackles and an assist for Hurley on defense.

The Rebels (4-1) play Betsy Lane, Ky. at home next Friday.

No. 25 and No. 10 scored for Tug Valley.

Van 42, River View 8

BRADSHAW — The River View Raiders trailed Class A No. 4 Van 6-0 at the half. Tailback Brady Green scored four touchdowns and passed for a fifth as Van outscored the Raiders 36-8 in an explosive second half comeback.

River View (0-4) travels to winless Wyoming East next week.