CLINTWOOD, Va. ? Eye-popping numbers are not a rarity at Ralph Cummins Stadium this season.
Clintwood running back Chris Robinson has recorded a Lonesome Pine District-leading 1,354 rushing yards, 25 rushing touchdowns and 192 points scored.
The Greenwave also boasted the district's leading passer in Heath Counts (927 yards, 12 touchdowns), three receivers with double-digit receptions and an offense that averaged more than 43 points per game during the 2008 regular season.
But as Clintwood faces off with Holston at 1 p.m. today at Cummins Stadium in the Virginia High School League Division 1 state semifinals, consider the Greenwave defense.
Consider the 26 forced turnovers and 25 quarterback sacks.
Consider the fact that only one team ? Gate City in its 28-27 win over Clintwood on Oct. 19 ? has scored more than 20 points against the Greenwave.
Consider that two 1,000-yard rushers, J. I. Burton's Martinez Miles and Jaycob Coleman, were held to a combined 25 yards rushing in the teams' regular season match up.
Consider Clintwood's own version of the superhero Flash: Greenwave outside linebacker Alec Osborne.
During the Clintwood's 10-game regular season, the lightning-quick linebacker spent a great deal of time in his opponents' backfields.
Taking advantage of a series of stunts and blitzes designed especially for him, Osborne racked up 23 tackles for loss and eight sacks. He also accounted for seven turnovers (three interceptions, while being a part of four fumbles) and scored two defensive touchdowns.
Osborne was also the Greenwave's leading tackler with 78 takedowns (28 more than the team's second-leading defender).
"Alec has always been real good at stunting and finding his way through cracks and little seams and getting into the backfield to make plays,"? Greenwave head coach Rick Mullins said. "His instincts just take over for him sometimes."?
In 2007, Clintwood's defensive coordinator installed a number of new, aggressive packages that had Osborne stunting from a number of angles this year.
Osborne initially thought his way through plays instead of simply playing, though. His early results were mixed, as was the Greenwave's.
During the first eight games of 2007, Clintwood was both spectacular (allowing only 13 points in its first two games) and dreadful (allowing a combined 70 points to Lebanon and Volunteer).
But the Greenwave pitched shutouts in three of its last six games, including a 27-0 thumping of Bath County in the state semifinals.
After a year of growth, the Clintwood defense was neither dreadful nor sporadic in any game this season.
"We're as big as everybody else, but we're faster than most teams think we are,"? Osborne said. "They don't really give us credit for how fast we are, so we like to prove it."?
Osborne and his defensive cohorts will have to prove it again today.
Holston, the Region C champs, employs a veer offense that uses quick-hit runs, quick pitches, and counters to trap fast defenses like Clintwood's in aggressive overpursuit.
"We can't have people trying to play other people's positions,"? Mullins said. "We've got to have everybody doing their job and not helping their buddies too much."?
As for Osborne?
He's learned the Greenwave's defensive system and he's playing fast and loose within its borders ? even if he pushes them to the edge sometimes.
"Whenever I see the ball snapped, I just go after it,"? Osborne said. "That's all I do."?
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Holston at Clintwood
It's hard to pick against the crowd-favorite Holston Cavaliers. It's their first appearance in the state semifinals and they have a 1,500-yard tailback who's one of the most talented runners in Southwest Virginia. But Clintwood has shown it matches up well with quick, running-based offenses in its two victories over J.I. Burton. The Greenwave defense is just too big and too fast for the Cavaliers' offense to overcome.
Prediction: Clintwood 28, Holston 13
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