Hairston Runs Magna Vista To Title 47-21
By Jason Stamm
LYNCHBURG, Va.— A state record didn’t fall, but in the VHSL Class 3A state championship game Saturday, it came awfully close.
Senior running back Jacqez Hairston ran wild as Magna Vista used it offense to roll to a second straight state title. Hairston finished with 352 yards rushing and a pair of touchdown on 28 carries as the Warriors rolled to a 47-21 win over Lord Botetourt.
"It don't even hit you for a while," senior wide receiver Devin Johnston said. "It takes a month. It just feels like we won a regular game."
Hairston finished just short of the VHSL record for most yards in a state playoff game, 384 yards by Woodbridge’s Russell Davis in 1974. The Warriors’ offense put up 548 yards in total, compared to just 287 by the Cavaliers.
"Once I break one, it feels like when I get the ball again, I'm gonna break another one," Hairston said. "I've just got that feeling in my mind."
Senior quarterback Shoalin McGuire completed 12 of 15 passes for 192 yards and four touchdowns.
"Sometimes you're the windshield and sometimes you're the bug," Lord Botetourt coach Jamie Harless said. "Today, it felt like we were the bug."
Magna Vista didn’t waste too much time after winning the coin toss. On its first play from scrimmage, Hairston picked up 12 yards on a run up the middle. On the very next play, Hairston burst through the line and took off down the left sideline. He cut all the way across the field, but not before he was taken down after a 46-yard gain to the Lord Botetourt 22 yard-line. The drive stalled however and on fourth and six, Hairston took a pitch from and was stopped at the 20 yard-line.
On their ensuing drive, the Cavaliers converted a pair of fourth and one tries on their side of the field, but was still forced to punt. Hairston took off again on the Warriors’ next possession, getting 36 yards on a run up the middle, but it was McGuire who got them on the scoreboard. Poised in pocket, McGuire threw a 25-yard laser to Johnston at the goal line. He was tackled into the end zone for a touchdown to give Magna Vista a 7-0 lead with 57 seconds left in the opening quarter.
After another Lord Bortetourt punt, McGuire connected with senior receiver Malik Morris for a 24-yard pass over the middle. Four plays later, McGuire play actioned to his left and threw to his left, where he hit senior receiver D’Andra Hayden wide open streaking down the right side of the field for a 41-yard touchdown. McGuire was stopped short on a two-point conversion attempt, but the Warriors had a commanding 13-0 lead with 7:32 left in the second quarter.
Lord Botetourt would respond to stay in the game early. The Cavaliers converted a fourth and two thanks to a Magna Vista offsides penalty near midfield. Four plays after senior tailback Noah Fletcher picked up 13 yards, senior quarterback Ryan Fralin did his own play action to the right, stood tall in the pocket and launched a 22-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Garrison Mayo with 2:20 left in the first half. That got Lord Botetourt within 13-7.
That bit of momentum was short-lived, though. On the Warriors’ first play from scrimmage, Hairston took off down the right side like a slingshot. He weaved in and out of defenders before crossing across the field 80 yards for a touchdown to extend Magna Vista’s lead to 20-7, which it took into halftime.
Hairston’s numbers were a bit mind-blogging at intermission. He had 217 yards on just 13 carries. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers had just 115 yards of total offense.
After Lord Botetourt opened the third quarter with a punt, Hairston took off again. This time, he ripped a 60-yard run up the gut of the field for a touchdown with 7:33 left on the third quarter game clock.
Following another Cavaliers punt, the Warriors flexed their muscle a bit with a 10-play, 70-yard drive that included runs of 17 and eight yards by Hairston. The drive was capped when McGuire found senior receiver Traveon Redd on a slant pass. Redd juked a defender and made his way into the end zone for 20-yard touchdown. Magna Vista missed the extra point, but with 2:24 in the third quarter, had a one-sided 33-7 lead.
Lord Botetourt certainly wasn’t done, though, and proved it on its first play of the next drive. Fletcher got loose and took off down the left sideline for a 60-yard touchdown. The Cavaliers then attempted and recovered an onside kick at the Magna Vista 45 yard-line. On the very next play, Mayo took a hand-off off of a reverse and bolted straight up the middle, then cut to his right for a 45-yard touchdown haunt. After two touchdowns in 12 seconds, the Cavaliers trimmed their deficit to 33-21.
"We saw the momentum start to shift and we had to stop it right there," Redd said. "We had to get the ball back to the offense, let them run the clock out and score, get back on defense. We had to get the momentum back on our side."
But the Warriors sapped away the excitement that Lord Botetourt had created. Magna Vista used a 13-play, 51-yard drive that took 5:30 and included a 17-yard run by Hairston. The defining moment of the drive, though, was a 19-yard pass from McGuire to Hayden on fourth and 11 at the Cavaliers’ 29 yard-line. On yet another fourth down, this time with goal to go, McGuire scrambled to his right and got into the end zone with a seven-yard run. With 8:27 left in the game, the Warriors’ advantage grew to 40-21.
"We talked about the kick, but we decided to go for it," Magna Vista coach Joe Favero said. "Our offense, when you have 500-something yards of offense, you feel like fourth and 11 is not too dangerous to go for it. The kids made a great play."
Defensively, Magna Vista made sure it had the momentum as well. Redd intercepted a lame duck pass by Fralin and returned the ball to the Lord Botetourt 36 yard-line. After Hairston took off for a 17-yard run, McGuire tossed up a 30-yard to Hayden, who was wide open again, streaking down the right sideline for a touchdown. The Warriors had broken the lead back open, at 47-21 with 5:52 to play, a score that held up.
"I kinda wanna say it was sweeter last year," Redd said. "We were coming in and it was our very first week. We'd never been in a situation like this and we won. So I think last year felt better. This year, we had a little swagger like 'We've been here before. We can do this, we've got what it takes to do this.'"
Magna Vista finished the season 13-2, while Lord Botetourt falls to 13-2.
