Coach Richardson, who going forward becomes Paul’s Son-in-Law took the time to introduce me to one of the Proud Parents that I write this material for. It was a pleasure meeting Mr. Smoot last night and my only regret was missing out on Photo of the Day moment.

Anyone with information about the Dance 💃 Team Senior Class – PLEASE let me know 🙏

Isiah Easter scored 21 points in leading the way for the JV’s final home game of the season but the team couldn’t overcome a brief dry spell in the third quarter in falling to the Bruins 52-41.

Carroll County scored the first three points of the second half to pull within 26-24 and was in possession of the ball with a chance to pull even.

That would be as close as the team would get to a comeback victory as the Bruins went on a 14-4 run to put the game out of reach at 40-28. Give the unit credit for playing hard until the end of the game as they have all season. Easter converted a old fashion 3-point play to pull the Cavaliers to within 46-39 but the Bruins would go 6 for 11 from the free throw line to keep the Cavs at arms length for the balance of the game.

The JV will close out its season Thursday night when they travel over to Galax.

CCHS (41)

Isiah Easter 21

Dane Leonard 4

Jay Burnette 4

Paul Marshall 3

Trace Reavis 2

Blake Reed 2

Hayden Jackson 2

Landon Puckett 2

Caden Dalton 1

Having teams go on runs in a Basketball game is not uncommon but last night the Cavaliers defeated the Blacksburg Bruins 67-60 in large part because they got the last word.

Coach Barnes altered his starting lineup for the Senior Night festivities and it allowed the Bruins to go on the first run, 10-5. Once sparkplug Bryce Smoot entered the game the Cavaliers immediately went on a 17-2 run.

The explosion had plenty of highlights including a trio of 3-pointers from Davis Reitzel and one from Smoot but the showstopper was a Showtime Lakers fast break which ended with Senior Mario Meza Campbell finishing the play at the rim.

Fellow Senior Elijah Cox made a pair of Free Throws to push the lead out to 22-12 and everything seemed right in Cavalier Land.

Just as quickly the visitors closed out the first half on another run, this time outscoring CCHS 15-6 the remaining 5:30 of the first half.

16 minutes played and the score was 28-27 Cavaliers. Fortunately the third quarter went the way of the Cavaliers 23-17 with the highlight being a Reitzel dunk to push the lead back to seven. CCHS connected on five of their 12 3-pointers in the third with four different players hitting from downtown.

Blacksburg opened the final period on a 9-0 run to take the lead at 53. -51. Bryce answered with a mini-run of his own by connecting on 3-pointers separated by 36 seconds. Just like a high scoring football game when you here the announcer say whichever team gets the ball last will win.

Leading 57-56 the Cavaliers went on one final run of 9-0 which included four plays worth mentioning. Bryce opened the run 🏃‍♂️ by drilling his third Trifecta in just over two minutes and Cox followed it with a strong post move and bank shot. Bryce then steals the ball seconds later and hits Reitzel finished the great and finally Reitzel fires a Lazar pass to Cox for a Bunny 🐰.

Pretty sure that Blacksburg would have answered with one more run but their efforts were stopped at 2 points by the sound of the final horn.

The Cavaliers will remain hopeful of landing one more Home game on the Hill when the Regional match ups are announced later this week. But if it was the final home game for Elijah Cox, Mario Meza Campbell and Nathan Redd then the trio went out in style.

One thing we know for sure is the JV and the Varsity Boys will both play at Galax on Thursday night in a Non-District contest.

CCHS (67) – Davis Reitzel 20, Bryce Smoot 18, Elijah Cox 12, Ethan Richardson 10, Jabin Talley 5, Mario Meza Campbell 2

Carroll County doesn’t draw attention on most State Maps but we have two signs at our main intersection of US-58 & I-77. One is a billboard that reads – Thank You for Visiting Hillsville followed by “You’re Family Now”.

On the opposite side of US-58 there is a sign attached to a chain link fence that reads – Welcome to Coach Frank Beamer Country.

Tonight was a grand evening at the High School on the Hill, known to most as Carroll County High School. Legendary Virginia Tech Head Football Coach Frank Beamer was being inducted into the CCHS Wall of Fame.

Beamer grew up in Fancy Gap, located to the South of Hillsville a few miles down US-52. The actual birth place for Coach reads Mt. Airy, North Carolina which sits at the bottom of Groundhog Mountain because that’s the nearest Hospital.

Beamer in his athletic prime was a three sports star at the now defunct Hillsville High School. His high school years included earning 11 Letters while playing the Big 3 sports of Football, Basketball and Baseball.

Beamer excelled in every season but it was his efforts on the gridiron under the guidance of another Legendary Coach, Tommy Thompson that booked his ticket out of town. Beamer tossed 41 Touchdown passes in just two seasons which at the time was Patrick Mahomes type numbers.

When Beamer wasn’t throwing passes he was trying hard to defend them. It was his effort on the defensive side of the ball that earned him a football scholarship to Blacksburg to play for Virginia Tech University.

Beamer graduated and left town in the Summer of 1965 and headed up the Highway roughly 60 miles to Va Tech. His playing days included two trips to the Liberty Bowl and when he picked up his degree in the Summer of 1969 Beamer once again packed up his belongings and went in search of a job coaching football.

Like any football lifer Beamer paid his dues and followed the path of opportunities. There were a number of stops along the way and each had one thing in common, success on the football field.

The path made a full circle when Beamer was offered the top spot at the school where his journey began. From High School All-American to putting on the pads for the Hokies and now Beamer would be become the Head Hokie.

Beamer didn’t just succeed at his job he first became the face of Virginia Tech, both on and off the field. Beamer Ball became a household phrase among football fans far and wide. Beamer and his long-time assistant Bud Foster helped lead the school from the Big East to the Atlantic Coast Conference where he and Florida State University Head Coach Bobby Bowden teamed up to let the Nation know that the ACC played football too.

Beamer didn’t just Coach football in Blacksburg he also was a leader and voice of reason in the days and weeks after the tragic shooting that rocked the Campus years ago. The football team peaked at the turn of the century when they played in the Sugar Bowl for the National Championship.

The Sugar Bowl was part of an unprecedented 23 straight Bowl games that the Hokies played in. Before retirement from the game Beamer had firmly planted himself on the short list of the All-Time winningest coaches in the history of the game.

Beamer also captured so many Coach of the Year Awards over his career that the introduction phase of the Ceremony lasted quite some time. All of this was accomplished by a man known to oh so many as Fancy Gap Frank.

Tying together the Family aspect of this Feel Great story is the man standing next to Beamer throughout the evening was Principal Chuck Thompson, the Son of the man that taught a young Beamer about the game of Football many a moon ago.

The Fire Marshall might have been looking the other way last night as there was a building full of people that wanted to pay their respects to the man that edges out even Andy Griffith on the list of People that People Love to Love.

The actual Ceremony followed the Senior Night festivities for the Boys Basketball, Dance team and Cheerleaders in between the Junior Varsity and the Varsity games. After the Ceremony both Mr. Thompson and Coach set in one corner of the gym and remained there until the conclusion of the contest.

This allowed every person in the building to stop by a show their respect and sit for a photo next to the accomplished so much as Fancy Gap Frank.

Before the Coach arrived I asked Mr. Thompson a question about anything he knew about Beamer that would help me create a better story?

Principal Thompson shared a thought that Beamer had shared when he was about to take over the program in Blacksburg a lifetime ago. The quote that Coach offered up that day ?

“I’m going to make Carroll County proud.”

Before tonight I knew Coach Beamer as a true Legend of our generation. I was aware of the numbers – 23 consecutive Bowl Games, more Wins than almost everyone that has coached the game.

Tonight I was blessed with a few minutes with Fancy Gap Frank and its something I will treasure for quite sometime.

Proud, he wanted to make us Proud.

Coach, you had me at Hello !

Before ending my time with Coach I mentioned to him that I refer to him as Shane’s Beamers Father and asked him for his blessings – his answer came in the way of a nod and a smile from a Man that along with Bobby Bowden at Florida State did the unthinkable in proving that the ACC plays football too.