One team had won 11 games in a row. The other had won 12 straight. Something had to give. Playing in Class 2 state semifinal game the Graham G-men exploded in the first half en route to a very convincing 57-13 win over the Radford Bobcats. It was Graham’s 13 straight win and was Radford’s first loss since August 31st.
Graham quarterback and Purdue University commit Cameron Allen was more dominant as he threw for four touchdowns and rushed for two more. He had 104 rushing yards and threw for 187 for a game total of 291 all-purpose yards. He also intercepted a pass. Graham finished with 366 total yards and their defense held Radford to 56 yards total in the first half and gave up only 153 total for the contest.
Radford ( 12-2) committed five turnovers in the first half and Graham scored on all five of them. Radford finished with 28 yards passing and 125 rushing on 25 carries.
Graham( 13-1) scored on an Allen 12 yard run with 6:11 in the first quarter. They would score again after a Radford turnover at the 2:19 mark as Allen hit Jazaire Reed on a 54-yard pass and run for a 14-0 lead. The fourth quarter was a complete disaster for Radford as they committed more turnovers with Graham scoring five touchdowns. Allen scored on an 11-yard run. Next possession saw him hit Joey Dales for a 34-yard score. Next possession saw Devin Lester catch a 38-yard strike and it was now 34-0 after the point after was blocked. They would score again as Chris Shinault caught a 13-yard pass from Allen to make it 41-0. The scoring wasn’t over as they would score one more time with 1:10 before halftime as Peyton Kiser intercepted a Bobcat pass and returned it 25 yards for a 48-0 halftime lead.
They would make it 51-0 as Dales would hit a 22 -yard field goal with 11:16 in the third quarter and Graham would then but in their second string.
Radford would finally get on the scoreboard with 8:56 left in the game on a P J Prioleau 45 yard run and Connor Lytton kick had it 51-7. They would score again with 7:04 left after a Graham fumble. Prioleau this time scooting in from 10 yards out but the two-point conversion pass failed.
Graham would light up the scoreboard one more time as Xayvion Turner scored from 14 yards, as the kick was blocked to end the scoring, with 2:00 minutes to go.
” They very explosive team and very, very good team,” said Radford head coach Matthew Saunders. “You can’t turn the ball over five times and expect to win, especially against a team as good as they are. Things just snowballed on us. They tackle well in open space and they block really well, also.” Coach then added,” Allen is a terrific athlete and he put us on our heels and they deserved to win. The loss is on me. Kids win games and coaches lose them. Things snowballed as I said and they are extremely talented. ”
What a turn around for Radford this season as they won two games and didn’t make the playoffs last year. They won 12 and made it all the way to the state semifinals and won 11 consecutive games. Their motto this year was , ” We not knocking on the door, we busting it down.” That they surely did.
Graham 14 34 0 9 – 57
Radford 0 0 0 13- 13
Rushing – Graham – Allen 10- 104, Jaz. Reed 10-23, Booker 11-26, Lester 1-4, Dolin 1 -(-16), Hearn 2-12, Juv. Reed 4-26
– Radford – Prioleau 10-77, Rupe 6-50, Marshall 6-( -2) , Johnson 2 – (-6) , Tanner 1-6
Passing – Graham – Allen – 9-13 – 0 Ints.- 4 Tds.- 187 yds., Radford – Rupe – 5-13 – 3 Ints.- 0 Tds. – 28 yds.
Receiving – Graham – Justice 2-25, Lester 3-51, Reed 1-54, Shinault 2-23, Dales 1-34 , Radford – Prioleau 3-17, Shepherd 1-2, Taylor 1-9
Fumbles/ Lost – Graham 2-1 , Radford 3-2
Penalties – Graham – 6-47 yds., Radford – 4-42 yds.
First Downs – Graham – 20, Radford 5