In a gem of a game that will long be remembered for its ebbs and flows, the Westfield Bulldogs collected their first state championship since 2007 and their third since the school opened with a triple overtime 49-42 victory over the Oscar Smith Tigers.
Tied after regulation at 28-all, each team scored twice in overtime before Westfield took their final lead in the third extra session then made it stand up with a stop on fourth down forcing an incomplete pass.
SCORING SUMMARY
TEAM TIME SCORING PLAY GAME SCORE
WEST 6:26 (1) Beard 7 yards, PAT Delaney 7-0
WEST 3:35 (1) R. Johnson 45 yards, PAT Delaney 14-0
OS 10:03 (2) Mitchell to Perry 42 yards, PAT Luster 14-7
OS 3:45 (2) K. Johnson 2 yards, PAT Luster 14-14
WEST 0:41 (2) R. Johnson to Scanlon 30 yards, PAT Delaney 21-14
WEST 2:05 (3) R. Johnson 17 yards, PAT Delaney 28-14
OS 1:05 (3) Hood to Chapel 55 yards, PAT Luster 28-21
OS 10:34 (4) Perry 96 yard fumble recovery, PAT Luster 28-28
WEST OT1 Beard 10 yards, PAT Delaney 35-28
OS OT1 White 3 yards, PAT Luster 35-35
OS OT2 K. Johnson 2 yards, PAT Luster 42-35
WEST OT2 R. Johnson 2 yards, PAT Delaney 42-42
WEST OT3 Beard 10 yards, PAT Delaney 49-42
GAME FLOW
SUDDEN CHANGE POINTS
Opening their first possession on their own 20-yard line after a touchback on the kickoff, Oscar Smith quickly worked their way down field ripping off three big plays as quarterback Shon Mitchell found Larry Chapel twice and Josh Gray once moving the ball to the Bulldogs' 16-yard line in just three plays. However, on the next play, the Westfield defense made the first big play of the contest when linebacker Kevin Petrillo stepped in front of a Mitchell pass at the five-yard line and returned it to his own 40 where the Bulldogs offense took over.
Eight straight runs by Westfield moved the ball into the Oscar Smith red zone where they hit a play-action pass to Tyler Scanlon to the Oscar Smith seven-yard line setting up a touchdown run from Tim Beard and a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter as the game appeared to be setting up as a contest between Oscar Smith's speed in space and Westfield's methodical ground game.
Facing third and 15 from their own 48-yard line, Oscar Smith's Mitchell was sacked by Westfield defensive end Jonathan Aiello and the Bulldogs' senior standout stole the ball on the way down giving the NoVa power the ball back on the Oscar Smith 45-yard line. One play later, on a zone read keep, quarterback Rehman Johnson found room through the left side of the line and raced through the Tigers secondary for the Bulldogs' second touchdown of the game and a 14-0 lead less than nine minutes into the contest.
Two turnovers caused and two touchdowns out of those changes put Westfield in charge of the contest quickly.
PASSING GAME COMEBACK
Following a Tigers three-and-out series, Westfield once again drove deep into Oscar Smith territory using their ground game as Beard gashed the Smith defense for a 19-yard run to the Tigers'14, but the Smith defense held on third down and Westfield missed a 27-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
Backed up on their own 20, Oscar Smith got nothing on three plays and were forced to punt again. However, a roughing-the-punter call gave the Tigers new life and they took advantage quickly when Mitchell found Chapel and Gray on back-to-back plays to move the ball to midfield. On second and 14 from the Westfield 42, Mitchell found junior Khalik Perry on a crossing route and the speedster did the rest breaking two tackles and dancing his way into the end zone to cut the Bulldogs lead in half.
A defensive hold by Oscar Smith after Westfield advanced to midfield gave the ball back to the Tigers offense on their own 5-yard line after the Brian Delaney punt.
On the first play of the possession, Mitchell stood in the pocket and threw a 55-yard strike over the top of the Westfield secondary to Chapel quickly moving the Tigers into Bulldogs territory. Going up tempo on offense, Smith hit another pass to Gray, ran a reverse for a first down then got a scramble from Mitchell for 13 yards to the Westfield two-yard line setting up a Kourtney Johnson screwing run tying the game at 14 with less than four minutes to play in the half.
Westfield responded with a scoring drive of their own to carry a 21-14 lead into halftime as Johnson hit Eckert for a big play and Beard busted off a 14-yard run pushing the ball into Oscar Smith territory. A fake punt on fourth-and-three from the Smith 36-yard line on a Scanlon run set up the Bulldogs' next score. On the next play, Johnson found Scanlon in a one-on-one situation from 30 yards out and the Westfield star won the ball in the air in the end zone to put Westfield back on top with less than a minute to go in the half.
WHO CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE?
Westfield opened the half with the ball but gave it back to Oscar Smith on the second play of their drive when the Tigers stripped the ball after a long Johnson run taking over possession on their own 37-yard line.
Oscar Smith's Mitchell hit back-to-back passes to Gray for a combined 36 yards, then found Chapel for 17 yards to the Westfield four-yard line as the Tigers looked to tie the contest. Following consecutive unsuccessful runs, the Westfield defense shut down the Oscar Smith drive as Cole Huling stepped in front of a slant pass in the end zone and returned the ball to midfield.
Riding the running game and, specifically, tailback Beard, Westfield pounded their way down to the Oscar Smith 21-yard line, but fumbled the ball again and Smith linebacker Thomas Woodhouse jumped on it at his own 21 giving the ball back to the offense.
Following three straight runs by Kourtney Johnson, Smith moved the ball out to their own 38, but the Westfield defense struck again when Petrillo picked off his second pass of the game taking away a seam route.
Westfield again used their ground game to move inside the Smith red zone and Johnson escaped through the left side of the line and rumbled 17 yards for a touchdown pushing the Westfield advantage to 28-14 with just over two minutes left in the quarter.
After moving the ball to midfield and calling a timeout, Oscar Smith hit a little bit of trickeration inserting back up quarterback Shelton Hood into the game, handing him the ball on a sweep, but the senior pulled up and threw to a streaking Larry Chapel down the Tigers' sideline for a 55-yard touchdown pass bringing them back to within one score with a minute left to play in the quarter.
In a quarter defined by mistakes, neither Westfield nor Oscar Smith were able to take too much advantage of the other's mistakes but each scored once. Westfield's came off a turnover and Smith's came as a response score.
MISTAKES (AND PLAYS) KEEP COMING
After back-to-back kickoffs out of bounds, Westfield took over at their own 44-yard line and quickly moved deep into Smith territory behind Beard's runs. A play-action pass from Johnson to Cockrill pushed the ball into the Smith red zone. A reverse to Huling moved it to the 10-yard line, but on the next play Khalik Perry stripped the ball from a Bulldogs runner and raced 96 yards the other way with a game-tying score just with ten minutes left in the contest.
Starting at their own 39, Westfield moved back into Smith territory, but were bit by the turnover bug again as Jahmeek Jones came untouched on a blitz and forced a fumble on the sack which was recovered by linebacker Keshon Artis on the Tigers' 48-yard line.
The Tigers failed to take advantage though as they moved the ball to the Westfield 33-yard line before the drive stalled on downs on three straight incomplete passes.
Starting at their own 33 with six minutes to play, Westfield drove into field goal territory again using their running game as Beard ripped off runs of 17, 13 and 7 yards to the Smith 26-yard line. On fourth-and-four, Brian Delaney was brought on for a field goal attempt from 43 yards out and it sailed wide right.
The Westfield defense held Oscar Smith for the final minute-and-a-half as the team's went into overtime tied at 28.
OVERTIME #1
Westfield got a ten-yard touchdown run from Beard on the first play of scrimmage in overtime as he found room right up the middle of the defense and bounced off one tackle as he crashed into the end zone. The point after by Delaney made it 35-28 Westfield.
Smith responded quickly at Mitchell hit Todd on a 7-yard route across the middle then White ran it in from three yards out and Luster tied it up with the extra point.
OVERTIME #2
Mitchell hit Chapel on an out route for eight yards to the Westfield two-yard line then followed that up with a Johnson run on the next play as the Tigers scored on two plays for the second possession in a row. Luster's point after made it 42-35 Smith.
Beard hit the first play of Westfield's second possession for five yards then a play-action pass was completed to Aiello at the two-yard line. Johnson snuck over from two yards out on the next play and Delaney sent the game into the third overtime with the point after.
OVERTIME #3
Westfield again hit quickly scoring on a ten-yard run from Beard on the first play and Delaney's point after gave the Bulldogs another seven-point advantage.
Westfield nearly came up with an interception on the first play of Smith's next drive, but the ball went in and out of a defender's hands. A screen pass to Johnson out of the backfield went for seven yards setting up third and goal at the three. Johnson carried two yards to the one-yard line and the game rested on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line for both teams. Trips right, sprint right, pass incomplete.
Westfield stormed the field in celebration.
Post-game audio with Oscar Smith head coach Rich Morgan and players
Post-game audio with Westfield head coach Kyle Simmons and players
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
TIMOTHY BEARD
Not a starter until late in the season, the Westfield running back turned in a huge performance rushing for 234 yard and three touchdowns to lead a strong Bulldogs ground attack that totaled 363 yards on 61 attempts in the game.
KEVIN PETRILLO
The junior linebacker began the game by ended Oscar Smith's first possession with an interception on his team's own two-yard line and ended the game by pressuring Tigers quarterback Shon Mitchell to throw earlier than he wanted on the last play leading to the incompletion that ended the contest. Additionally, in the third quarter, the Bulldogs standout picked off a second pass snuffing another Oscar Smith drive.
LARRY CHAPEL
In a game full of big numbers, Oscar Smith's senior wideout put up perhaps the biggest hauling in eight passes for 205 yards and one touchdown as he highlighted a Tigers passing attack that totaled 424 yards through the air connecting on 23 of 42 passes on the night.
Football Editor Rod Johnson is entering his second decade with www.VirginiaPreps.com having started with the site in 2003. To keep up with all the high school football news in Virginia, follow him on Twitter or find him on Facebook. He can also be contacted via e-mail at vaprepsrod@cox.net.
Tied after regulation at 28-all, each team scored twice in overtime before Westfield took their final lead in the third extra session then made it stand up with a stop on fourth down forcing an incomplete pass.
SCORING SUMMARY
TEAM TIME SCORING PLAY GAME SCORE
WEST 6:26 (1) Beard 7 yards, PAT Delaney 7-0
WEST 3:35 (1) R. Johnson 45 yards, PAT Delaney 14-0
OS 10:03 (2) Mitchell to Perry 42 yards, PAT Luster 14-7
OS 3:45 (2) K. Johnson 2 yards, PAT Luster 14-14
WEST 0:41 (2) R. Johnson to Scanlon 30 yards, PAT Delaney 21-14
WEST 2:05 (3) R. Johnson 17 yards, PAT Delaney 28-14
OS 1:05 (3) Hood to Chapel 55 yards, PAT Luster 28-21
OS 10:34 (4) Perry 96 yard fumble recovery, PAT Luster 28-28
WEST OT1 Beard 10 yards, PAT Delaney 35-28
OS OT1 White 3 yards, PAT Luster 35-35
OS OT2 K. Johnson 2 yards, PAT Luster 42-35
WEST OT2 R. Johnson 2 yards, PAT Delaney 42-42
WEST OT3 Beard 10 yards, PAT Delaney 49-42
GAME FLOW
SUDDEN CHANGE POINTS
Opening their first possession on their own 20-yard line after a touchback on the kickoff, Oscar Smith quickly worked their way down field ripping off three big plays as quarterback Shon Mitchell found Larry Chapel twice and Josh Gray once moving the ball to the Bulldogs' 16-yard line in just three plays. However, on the next play, the Westfield defense made the first big play of the contest when linebacker Kevin Petrillo stepped in front of a Mitchell pass at the five-yard line and returned it to his own 40 where the Bulldogs offense took over.
Eight straight runs by Westfield moved the ball into the Oscar Smith red zone where they hit a play-action pass to Tyler Scanlon to the Oscar Smith seven-yard line setting up a touchdown run from Tim Beard and a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter as the game appeared to be setting up as a contest between Oscar Smith's speed in space and Westfield's methodical ground game.
Facing third and 15 from their own 48-yard line, Oscar Smith's Mitchell was sacked by Westfield defensive end Jonathan Aiello and the Bulldogs' senior standout stole the ball on the way down giving the NoVa power the ball back on the Oscar Smith 45-yard line. One play later, on a zone read keep, quarterback Rehman Johnson found room through the left side of the line and raced through the Tigers secondary for the Bulldogs' second touchdown of the game and a 14-0 lead less than nine minutes into the contest.
Two turnovers caused and two touchdowns out of those changes put Westfield in charge of the contest quickly.
PASSING GAME COMEBACK
Following a Tigers three-and-out series, Westfield once again drove deep into Oscar Smith territory using their ground game as Beard gashed the Smith defense for a 19-yard run to the Tigers'14, but the Smith defense held on third down and Westfield missed a 27-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
Backed up on their own 20, Oscar Smith got nothing on three plays and were forced to punt again. However, a roughing-the-punter call gave the Tigers new life and they took advantage quickly when Mitchell found Chapel and Gray on back-to-back plays to move the ball to midfield. On second and 14 from the Westfield 42, Mitchell found junior Khalik Perry on a crossing route and the speedster did the rest breaking two tackles and dancing his way into the end zone to cut the Bulldogs lead in half.
A defensive hold by Oscar Smith after Westfield advanced to midfield gave the ball back to the Tigers offense on their own 5-yard line after the Brian Delaney punt.
On the first play of the possession, Mitchell stood in the pocket and threw a 55-yard strike over the top of the Westfield secondary to Chapel quickly moving the Tigers into Bulldogs territory. Going up tempo on offense, Smith hit another pass to Gray, ran a reverse for a first down then got a scramble from Mitchell for 13 yards to the Westfield two-yard line setting up a Kourtney Johnson screwing run tying the game at 14 with less than four minutes to play in the half.
Westfield responded with a scoring drive of their own to carry a 21-14 lead into halftime as Johnson hit Eckert for a big play and Beard busted off a 14-yard run pushing the ball into Oscar Smith territory. A fake punt on fourth-and-three from the Smith 36-yard line on a Scanlon run set up the Bulldogs' next score. On the next play, Johnson found Scanlon in a one-on-one situation from 30 yards out and the Westfield star won the ball in the air in the end zone to put Westfield back on top with less than a minute to go in the half.
WHO CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE?
Westfield opened the half with the ball but gave it back to Oscar Smith on the second play of their drive when the Tigers stripped the ball after a long Johnson run taking over possession on their own 37-yard line.
Oscar Smith's Mitchell hit back-to-back passes to Gray for a combined 36 yards, then found Chapel for 17 yards to the Westfield four-yard line as the Tigers looked to tie the contest. Following consecutive unsuccessful runs, the Westfield defense shut down the Oscar Smith drive as Cole Huling stepped in front of a slant pass in the end zone and returned the ball to midfield.
Riding the running game and, specifically, tailback Beard, Westfield pounded their way down to the Oscar Smith 21-yard line, but fumbled the ball again and Smith linebacker Thomas Woodhouse jumped on it at his own 21 giving the ball back to the offense.
Following three straight runs by Kourtney Johnson, Smith moved the ball out to their own 38, but the Westfield defense struck again when Petrillo picked off his second pass of the game taking away a seam route.
Westfield again used their ground game to move inside the Smith red zone and Johnson escaped through the left side of the line and rumbled 17 yards for a touchdown pushing the Westfield advantage to 28-14 with just over two minutes left in the quarter.
After moving the ball to midfield and calling a timeout, Oscar Smith hit a little bit of trickeration inserting back up quarterback Shelton Hood into the game, handing him the ball on a sweep, but the senior pulled up and threw to a streaking Larry Chapel down the Tigers' sideline for a 55-yard touchdown pass bringing them back to within one score with a minute left to play in the quarter.
In a quarter defined by mistakes, neither Westfield nor Oscar Smith were able to take too much advantage of the other's mistakes but each scored once. Westfield's came off a turnover and Smith's came as a response score.
MISTAKES (AND PLAYS) KEEP COMING
After back-to-back kickoffs out of bounds, Westfield took over at their own 44-yard line and quickly moved deep into Smith territory behind Beard's runs. A play-action pass from Johnson to Cockrill pushed the ball into the Smith red zone. A reverse to Huling moved it to the 10-yard line, but on the next play Khalik Perry stripped the ball from a Bulldogs runner and raced 96 yards the other way with a game-tying score just with ten minutes left in the contest.
Starting at their own 39, Westfield moved back into Smith territory, but were bit by the turnover bug again as Jahmeek Jones came untouched on a blitz and forced a fumble on the sack which was recovered by linebacker Keshon Artis on the Tigers' 48-yard line.
The Tigers failed to take advantage though as they moved the ball to the Westfield 33-yard line before the drive stalled on downs on three straight incomplete passes.
Starting at their own 33 with six minutes to play, Westfield drove into field goal territory again using their running game as Beard ripped off runs of 17, 13 and 7 yards to the Smith 26-yard line. On fourth-and-four, Brian Delaney was brought on for a field goal attempt from 43 yards out and it sailed wide right.
The Westfield defense held Oscar Smith for the final minute-and-a-half as the team's went into overtime tied at 28.
OVERTIME #1
Westfield got a ten-yard touchdown run from Beard on the first play of scrimmage in overtime as he found room right up the middle of the defense and bounced off one tackle as he crashed into the end zone. The point after by Delaney made it 35-28 Westfield.
Smith responded quickly at Mitchell hit Todd on a 7-yard route across the middle then White ran it in from three yards out and Luster tied it up with the extra point.
OVERTIME #2
Mitchell hit Chapel on an out route for eight yards to the Westfield two-yard line then followed that up with a Johnson run on the next play as the Tigers scored on two plays for the second possession in a row. Luster's point after made it 42-35 Smith.
Beard hit the first play of Westfield's second possession for five yards then a play-action pass was completed to Aiello at the two-yard line. Johnson snuck over from two yards out on the next play and Delaney sent the game into the third overtime with the point after.
OVERTIME #3
Westfield again hit quickly scoring on a ten-yard run from Beard on the first play and Delaney's point after gave the Bulldogs another seven-point advantage.
Westfield nearly came up with an interception on the first play of Smith's next drive, but the ball went in and out of a defender's hands. A screen pass to Johnson out of the backfield went for seven yards setting up third and goal at the three. Johnson carried two yards to the one-yard line and the game rested on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line for both teams. Trips right, sprint right, pass incomplete.
Westfield stormed the field in celebration.
Post-game audio with Oscar Smith head coach Rich Morgan and players
Post-game audio with Westfield head coach Kyle Simmons and players
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
TIMOTHY BEARD
Not a starter until late in the season, the Westfield running back turned in a huge performance rushing for 234 yard and three touchdowns to lead a strong Bulldogs ground attack that totaled 363 yards on 61 attempts in the game.
KEVIN PETRILLO
The junior linebacker began the game by ended Oscar Smith's first possession with an interception on his team's own two-yard line and ended the game by pressuring Tigers quarterback Shon Mitchell to throw earlier than he wanted on the last play leading to the incompletion that ended the contest. Additionally, in the third quarter, the Bulldogs standout picked off a second pass snuffing another Oscar Smith drive.
LARRY CHAPEL
In a game full of big numbers, Oscar Smith's senior wideout put up perhaps the biggest hauling in eight passes for 205 yards and one touchdown as he highlighted a Tigers passing attack that totaled 424 yards through the air connecting on 23 of 42 passes on the night.
Football Editor Rod Johnson is entering his second decade with www.VirginiaPreps.com having started with the site in 2003. To keep up with all the high school football news in Virginia, follow him on Twitter or find him on Facebook. He can also be contacted via e-mail at vaprepsrod@cox.net.
Last edited:
