BLUES DEFENSE KEEPS OPPONENTS OFF SCOREBOARD
BY: BUCKY DENT, November 18, 2005, Bristol Herald Courier
Richlands coach Greg Mance captured the essence of southwest Virginia defense perfectly. "You’d better be physical or you’re not going to win football games," he said.
Mance’s team has done that better than anyone this year, going 10-0 and allowing just 26 points en route to the No. 1 ranking in Group AA entering tonight’s Region IV, Division 3 opener with Virginia High.
At the eye of this perfect storm has been the Blue Tornadoes’ defensive line. Rotating seven players in and out, including two sets of tackles, Richlands has stuffed the run and tormented most opposing passers with a mix of talent and schemes.
"Our front seven," Mance said, "is probably the best we’ve had."
Nose tackle Travis Payne was an All-Southwest District pick last year at defensive end. His 5-foot-10, 210-pound frame, though, is perfectly suited to the nose, where he can use his feet to beat offensive linemen to the point of attack and his strength to shrug off blockers.
Payne is quick enough that the Blues will also shift him around in order to cause confusion and create favorable matchups.
Tazewell coach Bobby Wyatt, whose team became the first to score on Richlands with a field goal on Sept. 30, tabs Payne as the line’s key performer.
"Right off the bat, you’re telling the guards and center to take care of him," Wyatt said. "You’re tying up three people because you don’t know which way he’s going.
"That opens it up for the other kids."
Twin 300-pounders Garrett Arms (6-4, 300) and Justin Taylor (6-3, 310) give Richlands NFL size at one tackle. Greg Reynolds (5-11, 235) and Chad Adams (6-0, 210) rotate at the "slant" tackle, supplying another dose of quickness.
Brandon Gayheart (6-4, 230), whose wingspan is as long as most offenses’ nights against the Blues, disrupts passing lanes and owns a team-high eight sacks.
Jarryd Harrison (5-11, 205), Gayheart’s running mate at end, has added seven sacks. His speed and intelligence permits him to rush the passer or even drop into pass coverage.
With those linemen fronting for linebackers Brad Lester and Brett Clayburne, both of whom will finish with more than 100 tackles, and a solid secondary, Richlands shut out its first five opponents.
In fact, the Blues didn’t permit a touchdown until the last minute of their ninth game. Until last week, when Lebanon rolled up nearly 400 total yards, Richlands hadn’t permitted more than 160 in any game.
"We don’t have superstars, but we have a bunch of hard-nosed players," Mance said. "You see a bunch of blue helmets around the tackles.
"When you have size and quickness and then throw in tenacity, you’ve got a good mix."
Richlands’ scheme helps, too. The 5-2 set used to be common in high school and college football 20 years ago, but the Blues are the exception to the rule of even-man and double-stack alignments now.
As more teams switch to 4-2-5 and 3-3-5 formations, Richlands’ scheme is tougher to grasp in a week’s time. Its constant slants often leave offenses in a guessing game they can’t win.
"The offensive line isn’t sure where to go when you slant," Mance said. "It makes you shorten your (line) splits. It’s hard to practice against because you don’t see it often.
"There are lots of advantages to it."
Gate City coach Nick Colobro, whose team was blanked 35-0 on Aug. 26 in Richlands, points at the coaching staff’s ability to move personnel around as a key.
"It’s a unique 50," he said. "They just do a lot of things that you can’t figure out where they’re coming from."
But in the end, according to Colobro, it comes down to players.
"They’re big enough and quick enough in the right places, plus they’re very aggressive," he said. "It seems like they’ve been that way all year."
Email: berry1974@adelphia.net
