By Jim Workman
RICHWOOD — There is no doubt that the success of the Lumberjacks varsity football team has had a major impact on the town of Richwood.
“Big time,” said Melanie Howard, co-owner along with her husband Milton of Chachi’s Pizza and Wings in Richwood. “The last several years, no one put in much effort because the team wasn’t doing that great. But it seems like the team itself has brought the community together.”
It hasn’t always been that way. Richwood has experienced 10 consecutive losing seasons until this year’s turnaround.
The Lumberjacks are 8-0 and rated No. 2 in the state among Class A schools this week.
“Everybody is really involved now,” Howard added. “Before, you wouldn’t see anyone wearing ‘Lumberjacks’ (clothing) unless it’s the day of the game. Now you see it everywhere, on everyone — the kids, the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, even people from out of town are coming in and buying it. It’s not just Friday nights anymore. It’s every day of the week.
“It’s a very special time here.”
Even the mayor has noticed the mood shift in the Nicholas County town of about 1,800, thanks to an undefeated and No. 2 rated high school football team.
“It’s the talk of the town,” said Mayor John McClung. “We’re very excited. Richwood has gone through some very difficult times with the recession. We’ve experienced a steep decline in population and had a lot of job losses. What the football team has provided is nothing short of miraculous.”
School pride is giving Richwood a much needed boost, one that would be difficult to duplicate otherwise, McClung said.
“It’s bringing people together,” McClung pointed out. “When kids are achieving things like that, it just does something that money can’t buy. We’ll build on it. Obviously the season is not over yet. We’re hoping that it is a championship season. My hope is that this carries over into the coming school years and continues to build community spirit.
“We’re working hard to improve the town. We haven’t been viewed upon favorably recently but that’s changing. People are pulling together.”
On any given Friday night, Chachi’s, which is located in a shopping center beside the football stadium, is cranking out the pizzas. But they’re also receiving updates from the games.
“We have people in the stands texting me the scores,” said Howard. “They know that I can’t get out.”
“It’s been amazing,” she continued. “It’s great. I love the attention that it brings the community because it just lifts everyone’s spirits. Richwood is a tiny little town. It’s nice to be back on the map. We used to be big. Back in the 1980s, Richwood was booming. But everyone seemed to move away. It seems like that spirit is coming back, but we still don’t have a teen center, a bowling alley, a movie theater — we had all of that. We needed this.”
“Our crowds have been wonderful,” said Richwood head coach Jason Rogers. “We had a lot of people going to our away games. We even had 100 people at a tailgate (gathering) at one of our away games. We have a good following. This town has been wanting a football team for a long time. These seniors have brought it to them.”
Howard stated that despite the enormous amount of praise, the players have maintained a healthy humility.
“We’re so proud of those football players,” she said. “They put their heart and soul into every game. I know a lot of them because they’re friends with our children. All of this hasn’t gone to their head. I love that, in itself.”
Richwood will host Summers County (2-6, Class AA) this Friday and close out the regular season by hosting Gilmer County (3-5) Nov. 6.
An undefeated regular season would match a feat accomplished by the 1953 Richwood squad that went 10-0 and finished ranked No. 4 in the state. Only two teams made the playoffs in each class however.
The only playoff game hosted in Richwood was in 1997 against Greenbrier West. The Lumberjacks won but fell at Grafton in the second round. The Lumberjacks had a home game in 1993, but played the contest against Lincoln at Summersville instead. After disposing of Lincoln, Richwood lost at East Bank in the second round.
— E-mail: jworkman@
register-herald.com
