Prep football

Confidence paying off for ’Jacks

By Jim Workman

It’s been a magical season for the Richwood football team so far.

The Lumberjacks are 12-0 and one win away from a championship game berth.

Who could have predicted this?

After all, the Lumberjacks went 2-8 in 2007 and 4-6 in 2008.

The Richwood seniors, that’s who.

“I know that everyone’s goal is to play for a championship,” Richwood coach Jason Rogers said. “But one of our goals was to be playing (this week). One of our seniors made a comment in the preseason that he’d like to still be practicing on Thanksgiving.

“We started out the season with a lot of confidence. “

The Lumberjacks won four of their last five games last season, but only after starting out 0-5, missing the 16-team playoff field.

Success hadn’t really translated on the football field — enough to give the 12 seniors the confidence that 2009 would be dramatically different.

Where did the new-found bravado come from? The weight room, Rogers said.

“I always tell the players, you don’t only develop strength in the weight room,” he added. “You also develop attitude.”

The seniors are the difference-makers, Rogers claims.

“Of our 12 seniors, about nine of them have started since they were sophomores,” he said. “They’ve shown a lot of leadership. They’re putting people in place before the coaches do. They’ve been a lot of help.

“When they step on the field now, they expect to win. The last two years, when we got down we would kind of lay down. We haven’t done that this year. They don’t quit fighting.”

No. 3 Richwood (12-0) will visit No. 2 Man (11-1) Saturday night in a Class A semifinal contest at George A. Queen Memorial Field.

The winner earns a berth in the Super Six Football Championship in Wheeling. The Class A state title game will be played at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5.

Last week, Richwood junior quarterback Sam Tindal established a new Class A preliminary round single-game rushing record with 358 yards against Wirt County. He also scored three touchdowns covering 18, 59 and 33 yards.

The record was held by R. Lester of Gilbert, who ran for 325 yards vs. St. Francis, according to the official WVSSAC playoff program.

Senior running back Dustin Brown added 206 yards and three TDs for good measure in a Class A playoff team rushing record performance of 594 yards.

The team single-game rushing mark was set by Van in 2001, when the Bulldogs rushed for 487 yards in a playoff game against Meadow Bridge.

Man has a quarterback with the ability to run as well. Ryan Crum tallied 118 yards on just 12 carries with two touchdowns in last week’s quarterfinal victory over Fayetteville.

“Crum is a good runner,” Rogers pointed out. “They also have a running back by committee. They are all hard runners.”

Hillbillies running back Brandon Plymale posted 125 yards in 15 tries against the Pirates last week.

The Lumberjacks’ plan on defense? Simple.

“We have to stop the run to beat them,” Rogers said. “They play smash-mouth football and run right at you. They don’t go down easy. We’ll have to gang tackle them.

“Our kids have a contest to see who can get to the ball the quickest. We try to get 11 hats to the football on every play.”

The Lumberjacks played their final three regular-season games at home and hosted two playoff games. This week’s road trip to Man will be the first time the players have had to leave Richwood in more than five weeks.

“We’re looking forward to it,” Rogers promised. “It’s going to be a hostile environment there. It will be loud, but it will be fun.”

The Lumberjacks are not ready for the clock to strike midnight on their Cinderella run, either.

“The kids are loving it,” Rogers said. “They’re getting fed dinners every week. They don’t want it to end. They want to keep on playing.”

— E-mail:

jworkman@register-herald.com