Lawson-to-Lester gives Richlands OT win over Tazewell in Backyard Brawl (copy)
T.J. Lawson of Richlands carries the ball around the Tazewell defense.
T.J Lawson of Richlands goes to the quarterback as Tazewell's Liam Harris blocks.
Landon Absher of Richlands leaps up for a catch around Tazewell's Ellis Day.
Richlands' Bryan Hay carries the ball through the Tazewell defense.
Tazewell's Robbie Galloway throws a pass downfield Friday night at Richlands.
RICHLANDS, Va. – Richlands Blue Tornado football fans do believe in miracles.
T.J. Lawson connected on a 40-yard touchdown pass with Xavier Lester on 4th-and-Goal in overtime for the winning score as the Blues topped Tazewell 14-7 on Friday night in a Southwest District thriller.
The score was tied at seven points apiece at the end of regulation and Richlands received the ball first in the extra session.
Starting from the Tazewell 10, Richlands (1-7, 1-2) went backward on three plays on a fumble that resulted in a 19-yard loss, an incomplete pass and an 11-yard loss on a rush attempt.
Then the Lawson-to-Lester connection happened.
Richlands head coach Bubba Edwards credited assistant Eric Phipps with making the call on the play.
“That was all Eric,” Edwards said. “I was going to throw a screen. I didn’t want to throw it deep and he was like, ‘No, let’s run four [verticals]. We took a timeout and we threw it deep and Xavier made a heck of a play.”
Lawson, who had taken a hard hit on the previous play, told Edwards he just wanted to get a little room to make the throw.
In his first start at quarterback, Lawson stood in the pocket and threw it perfectly to Lester.
Lester gave the Richlands contingent a scare when he stumbled a bit but recovered to reach the end zone.
“I caught my feet and just kept running,” Lester said.
Lawson finished 7-of-10 for 104 yards.
Tazewell (4-4, 2-1) still got a shot, but a fourth-down interception by Patrick Spencer clinched the win for Richlands and led to a celebration for the Blue Tornado.
“Man, what a heck of a job by these kids,” Edwards said. “These kids did an excellent job. They played in our system. We asked people to do things they had not done before and they rose up. That just shows you the adversity they had to overcome. I am so proud of them.”
The Tornado moved some linemen around and put Lawson at quarterback during its bye week. Absher, Spencer and Ethan Cordle intercepted passes.
Richlands ran the ball more than it had in the past and operated at a slower pace as well.
The annual Backyard Brawl lived up to its name as both teams played with intensity and there were lots of hard hits exchanged.
Richlands missed a field goal in regulation, while Tazewell drove the ball deep into Richlands territory on the final drive of regulation before running out of time.
Robbie Galloway scored the only Tazewell touchdown on a four-yard run in the second quarter. Landon Absher put Richlands on board in the fourth quarter as he scored on a lateral from Lawson.
That set up the dramatic overtime scene.
Tazewell struggled on offense and missed several opportunities to score.
Jayson Hancock had 92 rushing yards for the Bulldogs.
“We just didn’t execute. We had the ball deep in their territory three or four times and didn’t score. Give Richlands credit,” said Tazewell coach J’me Harris. “Bubba had a good gameplan and they carried it out.”
Edwards gave all the credit to the players.
“I wanted it for them,” he said. “They have overcome so much adversity. I am just so happy for them.”
The win snapped a nine-game losing streak that dated back to the end of last season for the Blue Tornado. Richlands hosts Marion next week before closing the season on the road against Graham.
Tazewell faces SWD powerhouse Graham on Oct. 29 and closes the season against Lebanon.
The game was stopped for awhile after Brayden Davis of Richlands took a hard hit and was taken to the hospital.
Tazewell 0 7 0 0 0—7
Richlands 0 0 0 7 7—14
Scoring Summary
T – Galloway 4 run (Galloway kick)
R – Absher 14 run after lateral from Lawson (Onate kick)
R – Lester 40 pass from Lawson (Onate kick)
Team Stats
First Downs: T 16, R 13; Rushes-Yards: T 26-125, R 31-105; Passing Yards: T 151, R 104; Comp.-Att.-Int.: T 14-29-3, R 7-11-2; Fumbles-Lost: T 0-0, R 3-2; Penalties-Yards: T 11-92, R 6-55; Punts-Average: T 1-35, R 1-30.
