Bluefield – There’s no place like home, a truth Bluefield wholeheartedly believed.
In their first playoff game at Mitchell Stadium since 2020 the No. 2 Beavers dominated from the opening kick rolling to 54-7 win over No. 15 Oak Glen Saturday afternoon at Mitchell Stadium.
The Beavers advance to the Class AA quarterfinals for the second straight year where they’ll host No. 7 Midland Trail next week at a time and date to be decided upon Sunday.
Bluefield comfortably put the game away in the first half, leading 47-0 at the break to enact a rolling clock with shortened quarters. That lead was built on the strength of efficient execution on both sides of the ball as the hosts out-gained the Golden Bears 496-13 in yards from scrimmage in the first half alone.”
“That’s amazing,” Bluefield head coach Fred Simon said. “I’m glad we had the effort. It’s nice to start out in the first round being able to do that because it’s hard to get beat when you hold them to 13 yards with the offense we’ve got.”
The dominant defensive effort saw the Golden Bears notch just one first down in the first half and complete just one pass attempt. Bluefield meanwhile scored touchdowns on eight of its nine drives with the lone empty possession halting due to halftime.
The effort was balanced with 212 of its first half yards coming on the ground and 284 coming through the air.
“We changed up a little bit with our offense some,” Simon said. “We done a nice job of getting ready for it and you know my son (offensive coordinator) Frtiz (Simon) is watching film to try and find a weakness up there in that pressbox. He’s done s super job as the offensive coordinator and he dialed it up and took care of business.”
It didn’t take long for Beaver offense to get rolling. On the third play from scrimmage quarterback Max Simpson hit receiver Jordan Hess over the middle and Hess did the rest, slicing 45 yards to the end zone for a 6-0 lead. The Golden Bears were met with a stone wall in their effort to answer.
Jaleel Jones made three straight tackles, two for a loss, on the opening drive setting the tone on defense. After a punt, the Beavers dug deep in the playbook, scoring when Simpson lateraled a ball to Pax Calhoun who drop a 36-yard touchdown pass into the mitts of Tylee Simon for a 12-0 lead.
It was rinse and repeat with an Oak Glen three-and-out followed by a 62-yard touchdown run from Jaleel’s older brother Jeremiah. Jones broke numerous tackles on the run, delivering an emphatic stiff arm on the highlight reel score.
“First I seen the hole and then everyone started closing in and I had to figure out something to do,” Jeremiah Jones said. “The first thing I thought of was a stiff arm and I broke out of it. Then I kept running and almost tripped like three times. And then I trucked that cornerback and kept running. It was probably the best run I ever had in my life.”
A 27-yard touchdown strike from Simpson to Jones accounted for the fourth Beaver score of the first quarter, effectively ending the contest.
The Golden Bears found some success on offense in the second half, mostly against reserves, accumulating 99 yards of offense with 86 of it coming through the air on two plays.
The focus for the Beavers now shifts to a Trail team that improved to 10-1 following a 27-12 win over Petersburg Friday night.
“I haven’t (had a chance to look at them),” Simon said. “I will start tomorrow, maybe tonight a little bit. I’m sure they’ll be tough. They beat James Monroe and they had a 9-1 record so we know they’ll be tough coming down.”
Jeremiah Jones rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns on five carries while Jurrian Tabb rushed for 110 yards on seven carries. Max Simposn completed 16 of 21 passing attempts for 249 yards and three touchdowns, bringing his season total to 30 passing touchdowns, four away from tying the single-season record of 34 set by Carson Deeb in 2019.
Nine different receivers hauled in a pass for the Beaver sin the win.
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