Blog Game Blog: Graham 28, Union 27 - FINAL

[matthew328826]

Hey folks, staying in on this Thursday night, but providing a Live Game Blog from the NFHS Network feed of a huge Class 2, Region 2D tilt between the Union Bears and Graham G-Men, both entering 2-0 overall, at Mitchell Stadium in Southwest Virginia.

Probably won't be quite as detailed as some other Live Blogs since I am lacking full rosters for both teams, but we'll provide big play / scoring updates ... feel free to chime in if you like.

Before that, here's part of our mini write-up on the VIP Board from the Picks...

 

[matthew328826]

Union (2-0) at Graham (2-0) . . . Since this series started in 2012, these two have had six playoff meetings. Union leads the all-time series 5-2 and that included a 30-24 thriller in the Region 2D semis last spring when Johnny Satterfield, then a sophomore, scored on a 59-yard touchdown on the game's final play. It marked the third time these two schools have had a game decided by eight points or less, so it's a safe assumption to say it'll go down to the wire with these two squads.

Union handled Lee 56-8 and then J.I. Burton 50-20 to come into this one unblemished, while Graham shut out Richlands 35-0 a week ago to follow up their 34-6 rout of Tazewell. Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw is probably going to be the most electric player on the field as he found the end zone three times against Richlands, one of which came of the 68-yard variety. Blocking for him up front is a massive offensive tackle headed to UVA in Brody Meadows, plus there's a developing quarterback in Zack Blevins who continues to get better and better.

Union isn't lacking for star power with Zavier Lomax having rushed for 244 yards and 4 TD's in just two contests. Members of their state title winning basketball team - QB Bradley Bunch, Malachi Jenkins, Peyton Honeycutt to single out a few - play key roles as well. This one comes down to defense in my mind. Who can get those crucial third down stops and eliminate the big plays? The Graham defense is playing a pinch better to this point, and at home with revenge on their minds, look for some unsung heroes to emerge on that side of the ball in another great battle.

Matt Hatfield Says - Graham 28-20

 

[matthew328826]

Man, Turner-Bradshaw is something else. Good genes as papa Ahmad was a quite a player, in the NFL (NY Giants) and in college (UVA and Marshall).

 

[matthew328826]

Might be a roller-coaster type of shoot-out here.

 

[matthew328826]

Bears threatening to score.

 

[matthew328826]

Union is on the board in a game where it probably requires at least 21 points to win this, maybe 28-plus.

 

[matthew328826]

I don't quite understand this move. Malachi Jenkins is good enough to try that with and convert... but not inside your own 15.

 

[matthew328826]

Predictably, Graham capitalizes on the fake punt going bad.

 

[matthew328826]

Zavier Lomax is a heck of a ball carrier.



I mean, a really darn good ball carrier.

 

[matthew328826]

A mean stiff-arm moments ago from Zavier Lomax and really impressed with how well the Union offensive line is doing against a stout Graham defensive line that played outstanding the past few weeks.

 

[matthew328826]

Graham has to feel a bit concerned at just how Union moved the ball down the field methodically with strength and power out of I-Form. Bringing another defender in the box can be a risk because Union has the personnel to adjust and do damage with their passing game as well.

The G-Men are more of a quick-strike offense and we'll see Tony Palmer's group responds from that drive by the Bears.

Graham takes over at their own 29 after the ensuing kickoff return.

 

[matthew328826]

Sophomore Ty'Drez Clements takes advantage of a huge hole to run through, blowing past the first line of the defense for 15 yards as the G-Men near midfield. But Zavier Lomax makes a good stop on 1st & 10 for no gain, as the G-Men look at 2nd & 10 from their own 44.

A great job of bouncing out the run after being initially stuffed up the middle and Clements gets 21 yards to the Union 35.

 

[matthew328826]

Out of trips right, Graham throws to the opposite side with Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw, who tries to reverse his field, but the Union defense is ready. He gets dropped for a loss. They then take a shot down the field for Turner-Bradshaw and it's incomplete. However, their next shot down the middle of the field is hauled in to around the 8.

A couple plays later, Malachi Jenkins makes a stellar open field tackle at the 10. Penalty on the field and it's away from the field on the far sideline. Infraction is on Graham (chop block), so that'll back them up further and make it a tougher field goal try if they are unable to get in the end zone. That makes it 3rd & Goal from the 26 in fact with 6:45 to go in the 2nd period.

 

[matthew328826]

Not the best throw against double coverage as they tried to force that one in to Turner-Bradshaw. Union's DB's play it smart and it pays off with the takeaways.

A missed opportunity for Graham and we'll see if that comes back to bite them.

 

[matthew328826]

Amari Hill (6-0, 255), Cody Dolin and Brody Meadows (6-7, 285) are starting to assert themselves along the defensive front for Graham. A holding penalty on Union is declined to bring up 3rd & 13. Bradley Bunch with a roll-out right and tremendous completion to Reyshawn Anderson, a sophomore was also a member of that state title winning basketball team.

Anderson's reception is good for 49 yards down to the 34 of Graham. They went from I-form to a spread look and adapted well.

However, another 3rd down - looking like 3rd & 7 - for the Bears from the 31 of the G-Men that they'll need to convert after a time-out with 2:57 before half-time to keep this drive alive.

 

[matthew328826]

Play gets paused for a bit because of a water-main break. Looks like both coaches, along with a few administrators, meet on the field with officials. After discussion, they decide to resume play a bit later. Can't say I've seen that before at a game - live or on stream.

Although, the roof leak from Peach Jam in a game Boo Williams' team was playing in AAU basketball this past summer comes to mind as they had to change courts to finish up one of their contests.

 

[matthew328826]

Zavier Lomax shows some zig-zagging running as he gets by multiple defenders to put Union inside the 5. About a gain of 9.

They should give it right back to him to try to break the tie.

 

[matthew328826]

The Graham defense has to figure out a way to stop him, and the wild thing is they did their job for multiple stretches until third down plays burned them twice.

Got a hunch there will be more points scored in this game - probably even before the 4th quarter - than what the Washington Football Team and New York Giants combine for in their Week 2 matchup on NFL Network. Just a hunch.

Graham has one time-out left in the half and will start at their own 34 with the clock showing 1:49.

 

[matthew328826]

An athletic run for 27 yards by Graham QB Zack Blevins puts the G-Men in Union territory. They go to 4-wide and he rolls to the right and gains a few more on the run. Blevins keeps it after a fake to Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw and picks up 5 more on a run up the middle to move the chains with under 35 seconds left in the first half.

Three receivers to the right and Blevins' pass is tipped, nearly intercepted, as he tried to get it to Braden Watkins. Facing a 3rd & 15 from the 33 a couple plays later, it's Blevins using his mobility to once again hurt the Union defense.

Blevins got out of bounds, right at the 18, with 7 seconds left. But on the very next play, Graham runs out of time, rather than try for a shot in the end zone or field goal, and that clock management decision in my opinion cancels out the head-scratching fake punt by Union earlier in the half.

Bears take a 21-14 lead to the locker room at the break.

 

[matthew328826]

 

[matthew328826]

Union football to begin the 2nd half, at about their own 22. This series can set the tone for the whole 2nd half.

 

[matthew328826]

Penalties doom the Union opening drive to the 2nd half and the Bears are lining up to punt, facing 4th & 15 from their own 17. Don't think we'll see a fake here as another penalty will tack on 5 more yards before they can get the punt off...

 

[matthew328826]

That's exactly what Union did not want to happen. Turner-Bradshaw catches the punt in the middle of the field, he quickly veers to the right and uses his speed to out-run Bears players, tight-roping the sideline for about 8-10 of those yards and making sure he stayed in bounds on his trot to the end zone.

That is a momentum swing that can Graham can build off of the rest of the night potentially.

 

[matthew328826]

But wait, Union answers the special teams spark by Graham with a huge return of their own. Malachi Jenkins initially bobbles the kickoff, but darts down the right sideline before the kicker makes him turn inside and he gets tripped up at the Union 40 with 8:38 to go in the third period. That was a superb 50 yard kickoff return to respond from Turner-Bradshaw's big blow.

 

[matthew328826]

Back-to-back first down runs from Zavier Lomax has Union steadily marching towards pay-dirt, down to the Graham 18.

Coach Tony Palmer burns a time-out to avoid getting flagged for having 12 men on the field as they made a substitution late.

Lomax continues to bully through Graham defenders out of their T formation backfield. A carry by Johnny Satterfield has the G-Men inside the 5, down to about the 2, as the clock ticks under 6 minutes to go in the third period.

Union Head Coach Travis Turner has to love how much clock they are burning in an effort to wear the Graham defense down and keep the explosive G-Men offense on the sideline.

 

[matthew328826]

Be interested to see if that PAT being blocked turns out to be a critical moment in this game as it looked to me that UVA commit Brody Meadows blocked it for the G-Men.

The ball is kicked into the end zone for a touchback, meaning Graham starts at their own 20 with 4:09 left in the period, needing to go 80 yards to tie the game up.

 

[matthew328826]

On 3rd & 4 from the 36, Graham runs a stop route and the quick completion by Zack Blevins gains about 7 to move the chains. A near fumble results in a loss of 1, but not the football, for the G-Men.

Facing 3rd & 9 from their own 44, Graham goes to a 4-receiver set and Blevins escapes trouble, but ends up losing three yards on the run. Graham punts it away and Malachi Jenkins returns it to their own 21.

That was just the type of stand they were looking for as they'll likely run the ball to close out the period with 48 seconds left in the third quarter.

 

[matthew328826]

Zavier Lomax pulls away from two would be tacklers and powers ahead for a gain of about 17 yards to the 42. Then the Bears go to the double screen and Reyshawn Anderson makes a defender miss before he's knocked out at the 50.

Bradley Bunch picks up around 8 to move the chains for the Bears, who are really controlling Time of Possession since falling behind 14-7 earlier in this contest.

 

[matthew328826]

Another outstanding run from Zavier Lomax, breaking out of multiple tackles, puts Union inside the 10. However, a penalty on the play will back the Bears up to the 32 of Graham. This is where the G-Men must come up with a stop and get the ball back to have a chance in this one as the clock is starting to tick down and really stand on Union's side.

Bradley Bunch bobbles a snap and he gets a gain of two, where Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw stops him on the run. Union is looking at 3rd & 8 from the 30 with 8:20 to go in the contest. This might be two-down territory for Coach Turner's crew.

 

[matthew328826]

Corbyn Jenkins picks up a couple on the short pass that'll bring up a 4th & 6 from the 28 with no need to hurry whatsoever for Union. This would be a 40-plus yard field goal and tough to make. If they were able 10 yards closer, then Travis Turner would be tempted even more to try for a kick that would give him a chance at a two-possession lead.

For now, he'll let the clock bleed down to 7:20 and burn a time-out before 4th down, where my guess is they will go for it and maybe put it in the belly of Zavier Lomax to lower the shoulder.

 

[matthew328826]

All Union has to do is take care of the football and they should be able to hold on in this one.

 

[matthew328826]

Not the way Graham needs to start a winning or tying drive as an illegal procedure backs them up inside their own 10. While the G-Men move the chains once, a dead-ball personal foul penalty dooms the series and they are forced to punt it away with 3:31 remaining.

In their season-opening win over Tazewell, Graham was flagged 24 times. Penalties reared their ugly head at the wrong time again for the G-Men. Now, if they are unable to tackle Zavier Lomax, it's hard to imagine they get the football back this evening.

 

[matthew328826]

Well, with 2:03 to play, it appears Union might be getting the football. Union punts it away on 4th & 3 from their own 39. They get it off, despite a low snap from the center and it'll be out of bounds at the 40. That gives Graham plenty of time to try to put something together.

 

[matthew328826]

Pocket collapses on Graham QB Zack Blevins, who is dumped for a loss of 1. On 2nd & 11, he scrambles for 6 and a time-out is called with 1:17 remaining.

Clearly the guy they are trying to get it to is Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw. Union might try to double / bracket him on this 3rd & 5.

 

[matthew328826]

Another brilliant play from Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw as he turns a simple hitch into a gain of 19 along the sideline to stop the clock with 1:07 left. A Union player is able to walk off under his own power. Graham has it at the 39 of Union now.

Will someone be left open with all the attention on XTB?

 

[matthew328826]

What a ballgame this has been. Just when everyone is focused on Turner-Bradshaw, it's Watkins stepping up and Zack Blevins makes a terrific throw.

Kick goes out of bounds and Union accepts the penalty, giving them the ball at their own 35 with 1:01 to play. That's enough time to get in field goal range if they use the sideline properly and their time-outs.

 

[matthew328826]

Bradley Bunch is stopped for just a gain of 1 as it looked to be Connor Roberts in on the stop for Graham's defense. On 2nd & 9 from the 36, Bunch throws it a mile and it's incomplete, intended for Malachi Jenkins.

Jenkins hauls in the next pass from Bunch to move the chains at about their own 46.

 

[matthew328826]

Have yourself a night, Mr. Watkins. The junior WR/DB had the Game of his Life in a hard-fought battle between two teams that could surely see each other again in the playoffs. After all, these two quality programs have only met six times in the postseason since 2012.

 

[matthew328826]

That one was worth every minute of my time to watch and a real pleasure. Hope folks in SWVA enjoy watching these two the rest of the way. They'll likely meet again in November.