Tennessee High's Elijah Plumbar celebrates with teammates in the end zone after his touchdown against Sullivan East earlier this season.
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
PREP FOOTBALL
The Graham G-Men and Rye Cove Eagles are the only unbeaten football squads still standing in far Southwest Virginia, while three teams are still looking for their first victory.
Graham pulled away late and got an inspired defensive effort led by the 6-foot-1, 265-pound Omarri Hill in prevailing 27-14 over the Lebanon Pioneers in a game between Southwest District unbeatens on Friday.
Chris Edwards had a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and Jamel Floyd returned an interception for a score in the second half.
Graham rushed for 190 yards as a team, as Gabe Lilly (93 yards) set the pace.
"We take pride in being able to run the ball," Graham coach Tony Palmer said. "But we've not put four quarters together all season. The penalties were like 8-1 against us at one point, and we've got to clean that up.
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"At halftime, we just talked about execution and playing our game. Our guys in the secondary are better than what they showed. If we're going to send pressure on teams, our defensive backs have to cover the back end."
While Graham and Rye Cove are 7-0, Richlands, Marion and John Battle are each 0-7.
Richlands suffered a 48-12 loss at Virginia High on Friday in what was the 19th straight loss for the Blue Tornado.
"These kids work hard every day in practice, they are there every day, and I just want so much to see them celebrate," first-year Richlands boss Ronnie Davis said. "We've got to get started with one victory first and go to the next one. I hate it for the seniors with the record right now, but they'll be there Monday to work hard and get ready for Galax."
Galax (0-6) hasn't won since freshman Yandel Vera kicked a 42-yard field goal that caromed off the crossbar and bounced over with 12 seconds remaining to give the Maroon Tide the 2023 VHSL Class 1 state title with a 7-6 win over Essex.
What approach is Davis taking and what does he tell his team this late in the season?
"It's nothing I say or the coaches say - they do want to get better," Davis said. "We do everything we can to help them get better and they're a good group of kids that work hard like I said, but something happens between what we do in practice and when we get to the game. There are things [mistakes] that happen in the game that we don't do in practice."
Meanwhile, Grundy is the first team from the area to clinch a league championship as the Golden Wave have already wrapped up the title in the three-team Black Diamond District.
George Wythe continued an impressive streak on Friday with a blowout of J.I. Burton that clinched a winning record for the Maroons. GW has not had a sub-.500 season since 1996.
The following is a brief look at last week's games:
MONDAY
Twin Valley 20, Bland County 8: Isaac Maness had a strong game on the ground as Twin Valley got its first triumph of the season.
TUESDAY
Thomas Walker 40, Unaka 24: Running backs Dylan McCurry (21 carries, 225 yards) and Lincoln Munsey (14 carries, 106 yards) piled up the rushing yards for the Pioneers.
Seymour 37, Sullivan East 0: The Seymour Eagles snapped a 23-game losing streak with the win in Bluff City.
THURSDAY
Holston 42, Northwood 0: Hayden Sinclair rushed for 176 yards and three touchdowns for the Cavaliers in the resounding victory.
FRIDAY
Grundy 27, Hurley 0: Logan Lester rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown, while passing for 97 yards and TD tosses to Trey Taylor and Jackson Deel.
Union 54, Wise County Central 7: On a night when Phil Robbins Field was christened at Bullitt Park, Carlos Anderson, Kam Bostic, Camden Wharton were among the standouts for a Union defense that limited Central to 76 yards of total offense.
George Wythe 40, J.I. Burton 13: Trey Rainey rushed for 257 yard and two touchdowns as the George Wythe Maroons won their fifth straight game.
Ridgeview 55, J.I. Burton 0: Ridgeview quarterbacks Ryan O'Quinn and Braxton Deel combined to go 8-for-8 for 205 yards and four touchdowns.
Gate City 42, Lee High 39: Lee High quarterback Brynnen Pendergraft threw five of his six touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and finished with 456 yards through the air, but it wasn't enough as a valiant comeback attempt for the Generals fell short. Lee trailed 42-13 after three quarters.
Tazewell 31, Marion 7: Carter Creasy had 155 passing yards and 88 rushing yards in Tazewell's triumph.
Rural Retreat 19, Chilhowie 14: Chaz Penwright rushed for 71 yards and passed for 51 more as the Rural Retreat Indians held off Chilhowie.
Honaker 40, Narrows 35: Peyton Musick had quite a night for the Honaker Tigers as he was 26-of-39 through the air for 359 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 71 yards on 11 carries and a score and on defense snagged a game-clinching INT.
Thomas Walker 34, Twin Valley 6: Dylan McCurry rushed for 171 yards and surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season in Thomas Walker's thumping of TV.
Eastside 51, Twin Springs 14: Freshman quarterback Landon Pannell completed 5-of-6 passes for 125 yards and three touchdowns as the Spartans prevailed.
West Ridge 58, West Greene 0: Cayden Duke led the way for the West Ridge Wolves in the shutout with seven tackles, three of which resulted in a loss of yardage.
Cherokee 45, Sullivan East 7: Blue Proffitt scored Sullivan East's only touchdown as the Patriots fell to 1-8.
Tennessee High 48, Cocke County 6: Elijah Plumbar rushed for 116 yards as the Tennessee High Vikings won their fourth straight game by double digits.
Virginia High 48, Richlands 12: Jarae Bryant returned an interception 73 yards for a touchdown and Alijah Burks rushed for 245 yards as VHS was victorious on homecoming.
Graham 27, Lebanon 14: The Graham G-Men sacked Lebanon quarterback Mike Reece 11 times to remain unbeaten.
Now, for a look at the games on this week's schedule:
THURSDAY
Rural Retreat (4-3) at Northwood (3-4): Northwood is playing its third straight Thursday night game.
Pulaski County (1-6) at Graham (7-0): Graham is 3-0 all time against the Cougars of Pulaski County.
FRIDAY
Marion (0-7) at Grundy (34): Marion posted a 21-16 victory over Grundy last season as the winning score came with 32 seconds left.
Hurley (1-6) at Tolsia, W.Va. (5-2): This is Hurley's fourth opponent of 2024 from West Virginia.
River View, W.Va. (5-2) at Twin Valley (1-6): Isaac Manes and Ian Manes of Twin Valley are transfers from River View.
J.I. Burton (1-6) at Castlewood (1-6): J.I. Burton's only win of 2023 came against Castlewood.
Eastside (6-1) at Thomas Walker (5-2): This could possibly be a preview of a playoff matchup.
Chilhowie (3-4) at Rye Cove (7-0): The Cove is 25-5 since the 2022 season began.
Twin Springs (3-4) at Hancock County (0-7): Twin Springs is 2-0 against Northeast Tennessee teams this season with previous victories over Unaka and Cumberland Gap.
Johnson County (8-0) at Holston (6-1): This will be Johnson County's first visit to Damascus for a football game since 1987.
Patrick Henry (3-4) at Honaker (4-3): Honaker beat Patrick Henry twice last season.
West Ridge (4-4) at Tennessee High (6-2): A field goal with six seconds left gave Tennessee High a 17-14 win over the West Ridge Wolves last season.
Fort Chiswell (1-6) at George Wythe (6-2): GW running back Trey Rainey is making a case for VHSL Class 1 state player of the year honors with the way he has performed this season.
John Battle (0-7) at Gate City (4-3): Gate City has a 39-5 all-time record against the John Battle Trojans.
Wise County Central (2-5) at Lee High (3-4): Lee High's Konner Early is one of the most dynamic playmakers in Southwest Virginia.
Ridgeview (7-1) at Abingdon (6-1): If Abingdon wins the Mountain 7 District title outright the Falcons will have certainly earned it as to do so they must beat Ridgeview and Union in consecutive weeks.
Galax (0-6) at Richlands (07): One of these teams will get to celebrate win No. 1 of 2024.
Tazewell (4-3) at Giles (15): Tazewell won a 60-33 shootout with the Giles Spartans last season.
SATURDAY
Lebanon (7-1) at Virginia High (4-3): Prime VHSL playoff power points will go to the winner of his Saturday afternoon showdown.
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