In partnership with the Newsplex, we’re bringing you the second annual edition of the Scrimmage Play Six, a series that highlights six of the area’s top prep quarterbacks. We continue with Madison’s James Graves.
For the Newsplex’s segment on James Graves, click here.
Last year was supposed to be senior Dustin Farmer’s third year at starting quarterback but a broken arm right out of the gate derailed those plans for Madison County. Sometimes bad luck gets coupled with good luck and what the Mountaineers found out in 2012 as they got back into the playoffs for the third time in for years is that they had a solid foundation at quarterback for the 2013 season with James Graves.
While the Mountaineers are often labeled as a run-first team using Stuart Dean’s split-back system, over the last three years the playbook has been more balanced than outsiders tend to think. Sure Madison’s had no trouble churning out its share of decorated running backs, from Logan Terrell to Ralph Yates to Logan Carpenter, but so much of the Mountaineers’ success recently has come from the big play threat, a willingness to lull opponents to sleep and catch them in the process.
As a sophomore in 2012, Graves dropped back 157 times in 11 games and finished just shy of the 1,000-yard mark at 982 while connecting for five touchdowns. He also added 100 yards on the ground. Coming into the 2013 campaign Graves knows where he wants to improve and knows what he’s comfortable with after stepping up to the plate in a big way in 2012.
“I have to be quicker off the ball and make sure it gets where it needs to go,” Graves said. “I like throwing the out (routes) or the slant. I’m just going to keep working on everything else.”
With a big frame and a strong arm, Graves is a tough guy to bring down and capable of uncorking a strike down the field. And his return paired with the return of three of the teams top four receivers including Ashton Weakley, Sam Taylor and Joe Gentry, the Mountaineers have the players needed to get back to the kind of circus they put together in 2010 when they ran the ball for over 2,000 yards and threw for over 1,800.
“I’m thinking all we have to do is stay together and play some good football to keep the stands full,” Graves said.
While there’s never any shortage of replacements at running back for Madison from year-to-year, the big turnover on the roster is up front with the graduation of stalwarts Josh Lillard and J.P. Utz. But Graves went on the recruiting trail before camp to enlist as many big bodies as he knew to help fill the void and give himself the time he needs to get his job done.
“We’ve got a few linemen back but I was able to convince a couple people we need to come out and play,” Graves said. “We should be alright. I think we’re going to have nice balance between the run and the pass.”
And as recent history has shown, when the Mountaineers are able to do both, it’s not hard for them to find a way into postseason.
