Handley improves to 4-0 with win over Fauquier
Handley's Stephen Daley (6) chases down Fauquier quarterback J.T. Diehl during the fourth quarter of Saturday's game. Daley had two sacks as the Judges improved to 4-0 with a 35-21 victory.
Handley quarterback Malachi Imoh passes over the middle to Mason Smith (1) during Saturday's game against Fauquier. Smith caught it, then lateraled to Dayvon Newman who ran 33 yards for a touchdown during the Judges' 35-21 win.
And like he had earlier in the game, Mason Smith delivered.
Smith's 51-yard kickoff return helped the Judges score a touchdown late in the half and Handley maintained that seven-point cushion for the rest of the game in a 35-21 victory over the Falcons in the Class 4 Northwestern District opener for both teams at James R. Wilkins, Jr. Stadium.
Quarterback Malachi Imoh rushed for 190 yards and three scores, including a 20-yarder after Smith's kickoff return, as the Judges improved to 4-0 on the season.
Handley seemed to be cruising along against the Falcons (2-2), having built a 14-0 lead after scoring on its first two possessions.
But Imoh, flushed from the pocket, tried to thread the needle on a pass near midfield and was picked off by Herschel Rinker, who returned it inside the Handley 1 on the second play of the second quarter. Two plays later, J.T. Diehl scored on a quarterback sneak and the margin was cut to 14-7.
After Handley turned the ball over on downs, the scrappy Falcons drove 62 yards to tie it. On fourth-and-10 from the Handley 23, Diehl took advantage of a busted Handley coverage, hitting a wide-open Cameron Swift, who was more than five yards behind the Judges' secondary.
"We faced some adversity when we were down 14," Fauquier coach Karl Buckwalter said. "It's a testament to our kids. We could have folded, but we don't."
That squared the score with 2:44 left in the half and set the stage for Smith's key return. Taking a squib kick at the 18, Smith found a hole in the middle, then cut left and raced down the sidelines before he was caught at the Fauquier 31.
"I caught the ball and saw a hole opening," Smith said. "I just took it."
After a penalty nullified an Imoh TD run and set the Judges back, the quarterback connected with tight end Stephen Daley for a 20-yard gain on third-and-19. On the next play, Imoh took off up the middle, busted a tackle at the 10 and waltzed into the end zone with 1:10 left before halftime.
Everyone agreed that the score before the half allowed the Judges to regain the momentum that the Falcons had stolen.
"That was big momentum swing because we were down 14 and we stormed back," Buckwalter said.
"It was very important," Handley coach Dan Jones said. "It gave us a little bit of momentum and hopefully put a little bit of doubt in them."
"If we didn't get that, who knows where we would be in the fourth quarter," Judges linebacker Quinton Newman said.
The Judges carried the momentum out of the locker room and marched 56 yards on nine plays, even overcoming a penalty that negated another long TD run by Imoh. On fourth-and-2 from the 37, Noah Hendrickson ran over a defender for six yards. Two plays later, Hendrickson took a swing pass from Imoh and followed a block from Smith for a 24-yard gain to the 2. Imoh scored on the next play to make it 28-14.
That lead didn't last one play.
Rinker took Adam Pollak's kickoff at the 6, busted through a poor tackle and ran 94 yards for the TD to cut the margin back to 28-21.
After a failed Handley drive, Daley sacked Diehl on third down just outside of the end zone on Fauquier's next possession. After a punt, the Judges took over at the 44.
Imoh, who had left the previous series with a cramp, threw an incomplete pass then bolted 44 yards around the left side for his third TD.
But like they had all game, the Falcons wouldn't go away. They forced two fourth-quarter turnovers, the second of which gave them the ball at the Handley 42.
Fauquier advanced to the Handley 11 before the Judges stiffened. Three consecutive plays lost a yard to bring up fourth-and-13. Diehl rolled right, was smothered by Daley and heaved the ball sideways to the left that was caught, but it went for a four-yard loss.
"That was real crucial," Quinton Newman said. "That drive could have been the drive that helped win the game."
"That Fauquier team, they were whipped [physically] at the end, but they kept on coming," Jones said. "They were gassed but they know how to compete, even when they are tired."
Smith made a pair of big plays in the Judges' first two scoring drives.
His 33-yard catch on a slant, set up Hendrickson's two-yard TD on the next play on the Judges' first possession.
Then he was part of some trickery on the Judges' next TD. He grabbed a 10-yard hook pass and then lateraled it to the trailing Dayvon Newman, who rumbled 33 yards down the left sideline for the touchdown.
"We just started practicing that a couple of days ago," Smith said with a chuckle. "In practice, we kept messing it up. We got it perfect one or two times. But we knew in a game, it was going to work because they all bailed to the right. That left Dayvon all open and he took it to the house."
Although he had just those two catches, Smith impacted the game in several ways.
"Mason is the kind of kid that I can line up anywhere and tell him one time and he knows what to do," Jones said. "His football IQ is very high. He's one of those kids that every team would love to have because it doesn't matter where you line him up that he will succeed."
Smith certainly has earned the respect of his teammates.
"He's always working so hard in practice," Imoh said. "He knows the playbook and know his assignments. He plays just hard all of the time and he's a really good all-around player."
"I have 100 percent faith in him," Newman said. "He's a great athlete."
Smith, a senior, is just happy to contribute. "Last year, I tried to do as much as I could," he said. "... It feels real good to be a part of the team and part of something big."
Imoh amassed his rushing total on 20 carries. He completed 7 of 18 for 115 yards.
Diehl completed 8 of 11 for 74 yards. He was belted all game and was sacked five times, including twice by Daley.
"He kept getting back up so that's a pretty tough kid," said Newman, who helped the Judges hold the Falcons to four yards on 30 carries. "I give it to him."
While it wasn't always pretty, Jones is happy to be 4-0 heading into Friday's game at Culpeper.
"It feels great any time you win a game," Jones said. "Winning today makes our kids feel good and makes this week a little easier. The first district win is huge for us. ... It's one of those I'm happy to win, but we still have a lot of things we have to work on."
Newman said the Judges won't get big heads. "It's an amazing feeling, but I try not to get too complacent, thinking that 'we're all that.' We have to continue working."
- By WALT MOODY The Winchester Star
- Sep 28, 2019
Handley's Stephen Daley (6) chases down Fauquier quarterback J.T. Diehl during the fourth quarter of Saturday's game. Daley had two sacks as the Judges improved to 4-0 with a 35-21 victory.
- WALT MOODY/The Winchester Star
Handley quarterback Malachi Imoh passes over the middle to Mason Smith (1) during Saturday's game against Fauquier. Smith caught it, then lateraled to Dayvon Newman who ran 33 yards for a touchdown during the Judges' 35-21 win.
- WALT MOODY/The Winchester Star
And like he had earlier in the game, Mason Smith delivered.
Smith's 51-yard kickoff return helped the Judges score a touchdown late in the half and Handley maintained that seven-point cushion for the rest of the game in a 35-21 victory over the Falcons in the Class 4 Northwestern District opener for both teams at James R. Wilkins, Jr. Stadium.
Quarterback Malachi Imoh rushed for 190 yards and three scores, including a 20-yarder after Smith's kickoff return, as the Judges improved to 4-0 on the season.
Handley seemed to be cruising along against the Falcons (2-2), having built a 14-0 lead after scoring on its first two possessions.
But Imoh, flushed from the pocket, tried to thread the needle on a pass near midfield and was picked off by Herschel Rinker, who returned it inside the Handley 1 on the second play of the second quarter. Two plays later, J.T. Diehl scored on a quarterback sneak and the margin was cut to 14-7.
After Handley turned the ball over on downs, the scrappy Falcons drove 62 yards to tie it. On fourth-and-10 from the Handley 23, Diehl took advantage of a busted Handley coverage, hitting a wide-open Cameron Swift, who was more than five yards behind the Judges' secondary.
"We faced some adversity when we were down 14," Fauquier coach Karl Buckwalter said. "It's a testament to our kids. We could have folded, but we don't."
That squared the score with 2:44 left in the half and set the stage for Smith's key return. Taking a squib kick at the 18, Smith found a hole in the middle, then cut left and raced down the sidelines before he was caught at the Fauquier 31.
"I caught the ball and saw a hole opening," Smith said. "I just took it."
After a penalty nullified an Imoh TD run and set the Judges back, the quarterback connected with tight end Stephen Daley for a 20-yard gain on third-and-19. On the next play, Imoh took off up the middle, busted a tackle at the 10 and waltzed into the end zone with 1:10 left before halftime.
Everyone agreed that the score before the half allowed the Judges to regain the momentum that the Falcons had stolen.
"That was big momentum swing because we were down 14 and we stormed back," Buckwalter said.
"It was very important," Handley coach Dan Jones said. "It gave us a little bit of momentum and hopefully put a little bit of doubt in them."
"If we didn't get that, who knows where we would be in the fourth quarter," Judges linebacker Quinton Newman said.
The Judges carried the momentum out of the locker room and marched 56 yards on nine plays, even overcoming a penalty that negated another long TD run by Imoh. On fourth-and-2 from the 37, Noah Hendrickson ran over a defender for six yards. Two plays later, Hendrickson took a swing pass from Imoh and followed a block from Smith for a 24-yard gain to the 2. Imoh scored on the next play to make it 28-14.
That lead didn't last one play.
Rinker took Adam Pollak's kickoff at the 6, busted through a poor tackle and ran 94 yards for the TD to cut the margin back to 28-21.
After a failed Handley drive, Daley sacked Diehl on third down just outside of the end zone on Fauquier's next possession. After a punt, the Judges took over at the 44.
Imoh, who had left the previous series with a cramp, threw an incomplete pass then bolted 44 yards around the left side for his third TD.
But like they had all game, the Falcons wouldn't go away. They forced two fourth-quarter turnovers, the second of which gave them the ball at the Handley 42.
Fauquier advanced to the Handley 11 before the Judges stiffened. Three consecutive plays lost a yard to bring up fourth-and-13. Diehl rolled right, was smothered by Daley and heaved the ball sideways to the left that was caught, but it went for a four-yard loss.
"That was real crucial," Quinton Newman said. "That drive could have been the drive that helped win the game."
"That Fauquier team, they were whipped [physically] at the end, but they kept on coming," Jones said. "They were gassed but they know how to compete, even when they are tired."
Smith made a pair of big plays in the Judges' first two scoring drives.
His 33-yard catch on a slant, set up Hendrickson's two-yard TD on the next play on the Judges' first possession.
Then he was part of some trickery on the Judges' next TD. He grabbed a 10-yard hook pass and then lateraled it to the trailing Dayvon Newman, who rumbled 33 yards down the left sideline for the touchdown.
"We just started practicing that a couple of days ago," Smith said with a chuckle. "In practice, we kept messing it up. We got it perfect one or two times. But we knew in a game, it was going to work because they all bailed to the right. That left Dayvon all open and he took it to the house."
Although he had just those two catches, Smith impacted the game in several ways.
"Mason is the kind of kid that I can line up anywhere and tell him one time and he knows what to do," Jones said. "His football IQ is very high. He's one of those kids that every team would love to have because it doesn't matter where you line him up that he will succeed."
Smith certainly has earned the respect of his teammates.
"He's always working so hard in practice," Imoh said. "He knows the playbook and know his assignments. He plays just hard all of the time and he's a really good all-around player."
"I have 100 percent faith in him," Newman said. "He's a great athlete."
Smith, a senior, is just happy to contribute. "Last year, I tried to do as much as I could," he said. "... It feels real good to be a part of the team and part of something big."
Imoh amassed his rushing total on 20 carries. He completed 7 of 18 for 115 yards.
Diehl completed 8 of 11 for 74 yards. He was belted all game and was sacked five times, including twice by Daley.
"He kept getting back up so that's a pretty tough kid," said Newman, who helped the Judges hold the Falcons to four yards on 30 carries. "I give it to him."
While it wasn't always pretty, Jones is happy to be 4-0 heading into Friday's game at Culpeper.
"It feels great any time you win a game," Jones said. "Winning today makes our kids feel good and makes this week a little easier. The first district win is huge for us. ... It's one of those I'm happy to win, but we still have a lot of things we have to work on."
Newman said the Judges won't get big heads. "It's an amazing feeling, but I try not to get too complacent, thinking that 'we're all that.' We have to continue working."
