MERCER COUNTY, WV & TAZEWELL COUNTY, VIRGINIA (WOAY) – Bluefield Beavers are gearing up to play the Graham G-Men in their annual rivalry football game Friday, August 29, 2025, at 7:30 pm.
For decades, it’s been a rite of passage for our football players and cheerleaders.
The weekend of the game has a major impact on the local economy.
“Everybody comes home for it,” said Bluefield, VA Corner Stone Gift Shop Manager Vicki Mahood. “The stores are packed for that weekend, which is when the schools will have their reunions, so they can celebrate this great rivalry. It’s really phenomenal for towns this small to have this many people packed into a football stadium.”
The Bluefield Graham football game is a highly anticipated event that everyone looks forward to each year. Shane Thompson’s son plays for the Bluefield Beavers.
“Every year, you get people coming from all around, from both Virginia and West Virginia, supporting the local community. Our restaurants are packed out, you’ve got family that comes in,” Bluefield, West Virginia, Cole Chevrolet GMC Internet Sales Manager Thompson said. “We have friends coming in from southern North Carolina. It’s a good time for everyone to see each other — like a big reunion, really, because everyone here knows everybody.”
The Corner Stone plans for the big game with their memorabilia, and nostalgia plays a part in it.
“In our store, we have a lot of local items that we carry, so when these people come back home to celebrate, they can take a little bit of Bluefield back with them to wherever they live now,” said Mahood.
Both bluefields are ready for the high-stakes showdown, and so is Thompson.
“We have people who are coming from out of town who used to live here or have loved ones here. You do get a lot more traffic,” Thompson said. “You get people coming in wanting to stop by and see certain equipment they may not have in their hometowns. Not only that, we have some wonderful restaurants in our area, so everyone gets to have a good time and congregate, and it helps everybody.”
