HURRICANE RICHLANDS

BY: DAVE COX, October 10, 2006, Richlands News Press
RICHLANDS, Va.- Marion provided the competition for Homecoming 2006 and Richlands provided the thrills! The Blue Tornado ran its undefeated football record to 7-0 with a 47-8 non-district victory over the visiting Scarlet Hurricane last Friday night at Ernie Hicks Stadium. It was the 26th straight regular season victory for Richlands.
RHS running back Caleb Jennings raced for three touchdowns and returned a punt for another score. His three rushing touchdowns came in the first quarter of play. Jennings finished with 131 yards on just 11 carries. He only carried the ball three times in the third quarter and returned briefly to the field in the fourth frame when he ran a punt return 57 yards for his final score of the night.
"He does something every week that you just shake your head about," said Richlands head coach Greg Mance. "He's a tremendous football player. He did a great job of running the ball in the first half." Tornado quarterback Justin McCracken threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to C. J. Arms and ran in a 1-yard TD. McCracken completed 11-of-16 passes for 220 yards. Austin Fuller added a 56 yard run for a Richlands touchdown in the third period. The Blues had a pair of touchdowns nullified by penalties.
Nathaniel Creasy tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Martin in the fourth quarter for Marion's lone score of the game. Joseph Cornett ran for 128 yards for Marion. That's the first time this season that Richlands has allowed a runner to rush for over a hundred yards in any contest. Most of his yardage came against reserve Tornado players, including a 43-yard burst in the third quarter.
Marion managed 213 yards on the ground, by far the most allowed by RHS this season. Richlands ran for 178 yards and passed for 222.
The Blues stopped Marion (4-3, 1-1 Highlands District) on four plays to start the game and then went to work early. Richlands (7-0, 3-0 Southwest District) scored on its first five offensive possessions of the first half.
McCracken didn't waste any time finding his primary receiver. He tossed a 63-yard pass to Fuller on the Blues' second play from scrimmage after Jennings peeled off 11 yards on a run. Fuller waltzed into the end zone only to find a yellow flag falling against RHS for holding on the play.
The Blues didn't let the distraction deter them as McCracken hit Arms for a 20-yard pass on the next play to put the Tornado in business at the Marion 28. Four plays later, Jennings lit up the scoreboard on a 26-yard run with 8:53 remaining in the first period to give his team a 6-0 lead. The extra point kick was blocked.
Less than two minutes later, Jennings struck again on a 65-yard romp. Connor McCall added the PAT for a 13-0 Blues' lead with 6:54 left in the initial quarter. Jennings turned the hat trick with his third first period touchdown with 3:24 left in the frame. That run covered two yards. McCall booted the extra point and the Blues were cruising at 20-0.
McCracken bulled his way into the end zone from a yard away with 11:03 left in the second quarter to balloon the Blues' edge even more. McCall tacked on his third extra point and it was 27-0.
McCracken went to the air for the Blues' next tally. He found Arms, who finished with 75 receiving yards on three catches, on a nice 27-yard touchdown strike with 4:58 to play until halftime. McCall's kick was true for a 34-0 Blues' advantage.
Ashley Brown was crowned homecoming queen at halftime and Derek McKnight reigned as the homecoming king. The first RHS possession of the second half was halted at the Marion 15 where Richlands set up for a 32-yard field goal attempt. It just missed, leaving the score at 34-0.
The Blues' defense held, forcing a Marion punt. Jennings collected the football and returned it to the house 49 yards away, but the play didn't stand because of a holding penalty.
Cornett intercepted a McCracken pass three plays later, but after another Hurricane punt, Fuller came in at quarterback for the Blues and raced 56 yards for a score the first time he touched the football. The extra point kick failed to make it across the bar, but the home team was ahead 40-0 with 5:00 left in the third stanza.
Jennings, who had left the field in the third quarter, returned to take a punt 57 yards for the Blues’ final touchdown of the contest with 8:12 left to play. McCall drilled his fifth PAT to put his team ahead 47-0.
Richlands flooded the field with junior varsity defensive players and Marion kept its offensive starters in the game in hopes of scoring a touchdown. It took nine plays, but the visitors finally posted a score with just 2:46 left in the game. Creasy hit Martin on a 10-yard pass and Steven Akers added the 2-point conversion run to set the final score at 47-8. Fuller was the leading receiver in the game for RHS with 87 yards on four catches and he threw one pass while at quarterback. It was complete for two yards. Richlands takes this week off and will travel to Virginia High on October 20.
"We had a big night and did some good things," Mance said. "The open week is coming at a good time. We'll get some people healthy, add a new wrinkle or two and hopefully come out strong when we go to Virginia High."