Dec. 7—BLUEFIELD, Va. — Considering Glenvar’s perennial prominence in Region C athletics through the decades, it seems surprising that the Highlanders and Graham have apparently never before played one another for record on a football field.
“We’ve scrimmaged them in the past but we’ve never played them before … I don’t think,” said Palmer, whose team made state semifinal appearances in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Call it a series of near-misses. Glenvar head coach Kevin Clifford’s Highlanders had lost four consecutive Region C championships prior to defeating Gretna 30-8 in last week’s regional title showdown.
It will be be a greatly anticipated introductory meeting between two well-known Virginia high school football programs when the VHSL Class 2 state semifinal game between the G-Men (13-0) and the Highlanders (12-1) kicks off in Mitchell Stadium today at 2 p.m.
“I think they’re a good football team. They’re well-coached and their kids play hard,” said Palmer, whose team will be playing its fourth consecutive playoff game on home turf since the playoffs began.
“Glenvar is a good football team that has lost only one game. Coach Clifford is one of the best coaches around. They’ve won [a state title] with him before. They deserve to be exactly where they are. We just have to play and try to execute our game plan and see what happens.”
The Highlanders have to be a solid football team all-around to still be playing. The talk of the town up there all season, however, has been 6-foot-5, 210-pound quarterback Brody Dawyot, to whom 70-percent of Glenvar’s offense against Gretna last week was attributed.
Dawyot, who initiated scoring for the Highlanders, completed 10 of 17 passing attempts for 116 yards. He also rushed 14 times for 78 yards and three touchdowns. In addition, he played defensive end the entire…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/graham-face-2c-champion-glenvar-124700063.html
Author : Bluefield Daily Telegraph, W.Va.
Publish date : 2024-12-07 12:47:00
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