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 game and was credited with keeping the pressure on Gretna quarterback, Rayshawn Logan.
"He's a good quarterback and he's playing defensive end as well. He's a tough kid," said Palmer, whose team is coming off of a 21-0 win over regional rival Union.
Dawyot is impressive, but Palmer does not expect his players to be intimidated.
"He's a big kid, man. He's like 6-5. But we've played against big quarterbacks before. This is not a first for us. We've played against several big quarterbacks."
Palmer pointed out that Lebanon junnior quarterback Michael Reece, for example, is 6-4 -- and also an exceptional football player.
"We've already faced that this year. In my opinion he's the best quarterback in our region. And we've played other good quarterbacks this year," he said.
Graham has had its share of marquee skill kids during Palmer's tenure at Graham, including quarterbacks. The strength of this year's team, however, has been its ability to make things happen from multiple positions on the field.
On offense, quarterback Dalton Roberts, Gage Palmer, Gabe Lilly and Jamel Floyd, Blake Graham and Chris Edwards have all pulled some rabbits out of their hats.
Omari Hill and Yubrenal Isabelle are rather conspicuous performers on the defensive side of the football, but causing opponents the most grief in the context of collective execution.
Expected to cause both teams some grief: the cold weather that is predicted for today.
"It's been pretty cold. No doubt about it. We've been practicing in it. Once the game gets going I'm sure the guys will block it out a little bit. " said Palmer, who said Graham's cold weather protocols are fairly simple.
"We just remind them to take care of their bodies. Drink plenty of fluids, take Vitamin C -- and try not to take showers and run outside wet."