G-Men upend Beavers
The Tazewell Varsity volleyball team opened the season by beating Bluefield in three sets.
Football
G-Men upend Beavers
Garrett Palmer’s 32-yard touchdown run and Lucas Nash’s ensuing extra point kick with 7:30 remaining put Graham ahead to stay as the G-Men outlasted Bluefield for a win in the 100th meeting on the gridiron between the rivals.
Graham walked away with a 40-33 victory
Graham trailed 20-7 late in the first half and 26-20 after three quarters.
“Our biggest key to win tonight was staying together throughout the game,” said Graham senior Gage Palmer.
Gage’s younger brother, Garrett, put on quite a display for Graham and was a force as the team’s quarterback.
Gate City shuts out Richlands
Kaden Houseright’s first catch of the season for the Gate City High School Blue Devils resulted in a 40-yard touchdown grab.
Meanwhile, his first pass attempt of the season went for a score that covered 33 yards.
As for his team’s initial game of the 2026 campaign?
Well, it was simply first rate.
Gate City thoroughly dominated on both sides of the ball on Thursday night at Legion Field in a 49-0 rocking of the Richlands Blue Tornado.
Due to a bit of bad luck, Gate City did not get the benefit of a preseason tune-up as the lone scrimmage for the Blue Devils – against Tennessee High in Bristol – was wiped out right before it began thanks to a thunderstorm.
The Blue Devils had endured almost infinite intrasquad activities since beginning practice on July 30 at midnight.
“We’ve been grinding forever it seemed like,” Houseright said.
So, it’s safe to say Gate City was amped even more than usual for the opening game of a new season.
“We were chomping at the bit to play against somebody that wasn’t our teammates,” said Gate City linebacker Eli Parson. “We wanted to come together and go against somebody that wasn’t us.”
Gate City responded as the Blue Devils raced out a 35-0 halftime lead and wound up with a 347-24 edge in total offense.
“To perform the way we did was pleasantly surprising to me,” said Gate City coach Jeremy Houseright. “I didn’t know what we were going to get. I am happy for these kids.”
Each team fumbled the ball away on their opening possessions, but Gate City got on the scoreboard when quarterback Zayne Reed hooked up with Kaden Houseright on a scoring strike with 7:11 remaining in the first quarter.
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Kaden Houseright – the coach’s son – was a force.
He finished with two catches for 60 yards, a tackle for loss and recovered a fumble.
There was also the play in the second quarter when he took a pitch from Reed, pulled up and threw a pass to Parker Jenkins that resulted in a touchdown.
Houseright is a former QB himself, but he didn't give himself any style points on this aerial.
“That was a pretty terrible ball,” Houseright said. “Parker made a good play coming back to catch it. I am not sure how he scored, but that was a great play by him. That’s something we’ve been working on, something cool.”
It’s not cool for opposing defensive coordinators to try to concoct a plan to contain both Houseright and the 6-foot-3, 185-pound Jenkins.
Jenkins had two catches for 40 yards, one carry for 12 yards, while also returning punts and kickoffs.
“They are studs,” said Richlands coach Bubba Edwards. “They looked good.”
Jerod Brown-Carter rushed for 91 yards and two scores on just five carries in the triumph.
Reed (36 rushing yards, 90 passing yards), Cash Jones and freshman backup quarterback Jackson Worley also scored TDs on the ground.
This Gate City team is fast.
Real fast.
“We’ve got some kids who made some plays tonight and we hope it carries over as the year goes on,” Jeremy Houseright said.
How many playmakers do the Blue Devils have?
“I’m not going to name ‘em because I’ll forget somebody,” Parson said. “But we are very explosive on offense, that’s for certain.”
The defense was dominant too, holding Richlands to one first down and racking up a dozen tackles that resulted in a loss of yardage.
The Blue Tornado crossed midfield just once and got most of their total yards early in the second quarter when Connor Hess threw a 20-yard pass to Ethan Cordle on a fake punt.
Hayden Rhoton intercepted a pass in the win as Gate City capitalized on four turnovers.
“We were flying around tonight,” Parson said.
Richlands (0-2) was playing without seven starters on offense.
That included quarterback Jamie Capshaw, who was injured in last week's 21-6 defeat at Virginia High.
“Listen, that is not an excuse – that’s football,” Edwards said. “You go through that and have to play next man up.”
The Blues are off next week before hosting Lee High on Sept. 11.
“Getting healthy would be the key for us right now,” Edwards said.
As for Gate City, the Blue Devils host Dobyns-Bennett on Sept. 4 in a game that will be televised locally on WCYB.
“They are a good program and it’s about to be packed in here,” Kaden Houseright said. “It’s going to be crazy and we look forward to competing with them.”
It marks the first time since 1970 that the D-B Indians have made the short trip from Kingsport, Tennessee, to Legion Field to face their neighbors in Southwest Virginia.
A big deal, indeed.
“That’s going to be insane,” Parson said. “That’s going to be the biggest crowd I’ll have probably ever played in front of. I can’t wait.”
Richlands 0 0 0 0—0
Gate City 14 21 7 7—49
Scoring Summary
GC – Houseright 40 pass from Reed (B. Smith kick)
GC – Brown-Carter 5 run (B. Smith kick)
GC – Jenkins 33 pass from Houseright (B. Smith kick)
GC – Reed 3 run (B. Smith kick)
GC – Ca. Jones 47 run (B. Smith kick)
GC – Brown-Carter 65 run (B. Smith kick)
GC – Worley 5 run (B. Smith kick)
Team Stats
First Downs: R 1, GC 12; Rushes-Yards: R 24-(-7), GC 23-224; Passing Yards: R 31, GC 123; Comp.-Att.-Int.: R 4-10-1, GC 6-10-0; Fumbles-Lost: R 3-3, GC 1-1; Penalties-Yards: R 4-25, GC 2-10; Punts-Average: R 6-25.2, GC 2-37.5
Volleyball
Holston takes down Tornado
Haleigh Dutton dished out 22 assists and also hustled her way to 18 digs as the Holston Cavaliers collected a 17-25, 25-16, 25-23, 25-20 win over Richlands.
Bailee Singleton added 12 kills, 10 digs and five aces for Holston (1-1), while Lydia Reid’s 12 digs and the nine kills delivered by Ella Evans were notable too.
Golf
Blues golfers at Raven Rock
Gunner Beaty led Richlands during a 10-team tournament at Raven Rock Golf Course in Jenkins, Kentucky.
Abingdon 279, Marion 304, John Battle 305, Chilhowie 309, Holston 315, Wise County Central 321, Union 328, Southern Gap 347, Richlands 357, Ridgeview 413
Individual Results
Abingdon – Natalie Lasley 67, Davis Cook 68, Ross Gibson 71, Lukas McGraw 73
Marion – Brady White 65, Cambell Sayers 66, Hayes Hall 83, Kingston Gates 90
John Battle – Christina Zochowski 66, John Taylor 76, Christian Reynolds 79, Cole Carmody 84
Chilhowie – Max Barnes 71, Lance Teaters 77, Spencer Williams 79, Connor Johnson 82
Holston – Easton Sweet 75, Brody Thomas 78, Carson Rouse 78, Garrett Steele 84
Wise County Central – Kaden Adkins 74, Colton Asbury 75, Carson Wilson 83, Addi Mason 89
Union – Roman Wagner 76, Erik Brooks 78, Kam Pfeiffer 84, Peyton Adams 90
Southern Gap – Ethan Deel 77, Braden Hopkins 86, Ben Mayhew 89, Mason Boyd 95
Richlands – Gunner Beaty 83, Wakely Boyd 86, Keegan McGee 87, D.J. Cline 101
Ridgeview – Trace Anderson 93, Trenton Cantrell 98, Kinsley Yates 109, Braxton Fleming 113
