Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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September 3, 2010

Honaker faces tall order after opening loss

By MIKE DAVIS Bluefield Daily Telegraph

RICHLANDS, Va. — The Blue Tornado waited until the second half to deteriorate the Gate City defense last week in the season opener with their high-powered offense.

In the final two quarters, Richlands exploded with nearly 300 all-purpose yards and 28 unanswered points for a decisive 31-0 non-district win.

This week, the Blues are looking to get untracked much earlier when they host Honaker in their second non-district fray in as many weeks.

Meanwhile, the Tigers are coming off a 20-7 loss to Lebanon in their season opener and look to redeem themselves this week at Richlands.

“We didn’t execute very well and Lebanon did a good job against us,” Honaker head coach Doug Hubbard said. “I was disappointed in the way we played— we’re a better football team than that.

“They know we’re coming in to play a good football team. But if we play to our potential and we can keep settled down, we can play competitive.”

Coming out of the backfield for the Tigers will be junior tailback, Jared Honaker, who was responsible for some impressive runs in the preseason. Tyler Bailey also will compliment the Tiger offensive surge at fullback and will see time in the defensive backfield across the ball.

“In the preseason Jared Honaker rushed for 170 yards against Clintwood, then, had 48 against Lebanon,” Hubbard said. “”We have to find out what went wrong in a hurry.”

The Tigers return eight starters on defense and six on offense, including quarterback with Chaz Miller beginning his second year at the helm.

“Chaz Miller is very athletic and he can run the ball,” Richlands head coach Greg Mance said. “He can pass on the run when he scrambles and it’s going to be a challenge to contain him and No. 5, (Jared Honaker) presents a double threat in the backfield.

“He’s big and strong and they have a strong line blocking for him. He ran back a 70-yard kickoff return against Clintwood.”

Honaker was able to defeat both Chilhowie and Clintwood in preseason scrimmages, and those clubs are picked to their respective districts.

“Honaker has a very good team this year,” Mance said. “They’re very athletic and physical and they’re typically big, but this year they’re very quick. Defensively, they have four or five helmets flying to the ball and that’s what impresses me, they’re playing like a team...

“Honaker beat both Chilhowie and Clintwood in the preseason and Chilhowie is predicted to win the Hogoheegee and Clintwood the Lonesome Pine District.”

Looking at the Tornado lineup, most of the bangs and bruises encountered in the preseason has healed and Richlands looks to have nearly their full lineup ready for the Tigers.

Running back Devon Johnson has recovered from cramps a week ago that kept him sidelined for over half the game against Gate City.

“Devon has had his best week of practice yet,” Mance said. “He was a little sore from the cramps, but he’s come out this week and went full speed and we’re expecting big things Friday night from him.

“He has to get the ball at least 20 times.”

Despite getting limited duty, Johnson led the Blues in rushing with 74 yards on eight totes followed by Cody Thomas, who carried the ball eight times for 73 yards.

The Tornado has a unique situation at quarterback with two capable athletes that did positive things for the team last week on the road. Cody Lockhart opened the show and had a touchdown called back in the first half after a holding penalty paused the celebration. Lockhart finished his time on the field completing 7-of-15 passes for 75 yards and an interception.

Then, Reece Strong came into the game into the game in the second half and threw two touchdowns and completed 5-of-6 passes sparking a dominating offensive surge down the stretch.

“We don’t have a problem at quarterback,” Mance said. “Cody started for us past week and he played well and we had some dropped balls. Then, Reece came in and did a good job, he knows our offense and knows where to throw the ball....

“We went back and looked for the intangibles we look for in a quarterback and Cody made some good decisions, he just made one mistake and those things are going to happen.”

Defensively, the Tornado had a stellar effort last week and held the Blue Devils to 66 yards on the ground and the secondary allowed just 27 yards passing. This week, they look to continue their effort and challenge the Honaker offense to the task at hand.

“Anytime you hold a Gate City team to less than 100 yards at Legion Field, you’ve accomplished something,” Mance said. “I’m please with our defense and I like the energy they played with, but we lost technique a little (late in the game) and we need to get our pads lower.

But I love the energy we’re playing with.”

Mance had good things to say about several of his players, all of whom play keys roles in the Tornado’s season-opening win.

“Jeremy McGlothlin, Hunter Brown, Chandler Blankenship, Nick Wolfe, Will Lowe, Cody Thomas all played a great game,” Mance said. “Bradley Strong, Albert Fajardo, Sean Overton, Todd Smith and Jack Vance in the secondary are really doing a great job for us.”

Honaker comes into Richlands tonight having lost five straight to Richlands, including a trio of shutouts. The Tornado won 45-7 last year.

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