Graham overwhelms Warriors 41-13 in 2D playoff opener

Nov. 11—BLUEFIELD — Wise Central running back Alec Gent stunned the crowd at Mitchell Stadium on Thursday night when he inaugurated scoring at 7:14 in the first quarter with a 52-yard touchdown run against host Graham.

Neither he, nor any other Warriors saw the end zone again until 5:45 in the final quarter when Gent took it across from the 18-yard line to trim the G-Men lead to 41-13 to mark the final margin.

The Graham defense swarmed the Wise Central offense while recuperated quarterback Brayden Meadows kept his talented skill personnel moving forward en route to a lopsided victory in a VHSL Region 2D playoff opener, on Thursday night.

The unbeaten G-Men (11-0) will play the winner of Saturday's first round playoff game between Gate City and Union.

Ty'drez Clements had 17 carries for 115 yards and a touchdown, more than enough of a contribution considering all of the G-Men cylinders clicking around him. Meadows, who rushd for 25 net yards on four carries, passed for 75 yards. This included touchdown passes to Braden Watkins and Jamel Floyd.

Placekicker Dylan Nash who also handles tee-kicking duties for the G-Men, went 5-for-6 on extra point kick attempts.

After Gent's surprising debut score at Mitchell Stadium, capped by a Ricky Onate kick, Graham quickly went to work turning the tables on the Warriors.

A 23-yard scramble by Chris Edwards on the jet sweep put the G-Men on the Warriors 5-yard line. Ty'drez Clements took it from there and put it in the end zone. Nash hit the PAT to lock the game up at 7 with 6:07 showing on the first quarter clock.

A Floyd interception set up Graham's next score, setting up a 8-play, 48-yard drive capped by Floyd's own spectacular one-handed grab of a Meadows 18-yard pass for the score. Nash's PAT kick failed, however, confining Graham's edge to 13-7 with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter.

The Graham placekicker got a quick opportunity for redemption when the G-Men punt return unit took advantage of a shaky long snap and Gage Sawyers got to it and blocked it. Watkins scooped it up and trundled it 38 yards for a touchdown. Nash's kick put the G-Men up 20-7 with 9:37 remaining in the second quarter.

The Graham offense milked the waning seconds of the first half, capping it with Meadows' 29-yard touchdown pass to Watkins with :07 on the clock remaing in the half. After a dead ball reset flag, Nash split the uprights to put Graham up 27-7 at intermission.

Freshman Daniel Jennings picked off where Clements left off in the first half, rushing for 82 yards on seven carries, scoriong on touchdown runs of 1 and 41 yards.

Gent absorbed the brunt of Graham's defense like a champ, churning out 170 yards on 28 carries. It was the most yardage gained on the G-Men defense by any running back thus far this season. The Warriors ended their season at 4-7 overall.

Graham 41, Wise Central 13

At Mitchell Stadium

Wise Central.......7 0 0 6 — 13

Graham............13 14 7 7 — 41

First Quarter

WC — Alec Gent 52 run (Ricky Onate kick)

Gr — Ty'drez Clements 5 run (Dylan Nash kick)

Gr— Jamel Floyd 18 pass from Brayden Meadows (kick failed)

Second Quarter

Gr — Braden Watkins 38 return of Gage Sawyers punt block (Nash kick)

Gr— Watkins 29 pass from Meadows (Nash kick)

Third Quarter

Gr— Daniel Jennings 1 run (Nash kick)

Fourth Quarter

Gr— Daniel Jennings 41 run (Nash kick)

WC— Gent 18 run (run failed)