Blog LIVE Blog - Highland Springs (5-0) at Colonial Forge (2-2)

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It's Monday Night Football. Besides the San Francisco 49ers hosting the Los Angeles Rams in an NFC West showdown in the NFL, the top-ranked team on VaPreps Class 5 - the Highland Springers (5-0) - visit the Colonial Forge Eagles (2-2) in a game that got pushed back from last Friday due to weather from Hurricane Ian.

Colonial Forge comes in at the .500 mark, but could certainly be 3-1 or 4-0 as their two losses were close ones to Tuscarora 20-14 in overtime in the season opener and by that same 20-14 margin to reigning two-time Class 5 State Champ Stone Bridge. John Brown's Eagles have notched wins over West Potomac by a 35-14 margin and Stafford by a 34-25 count.

As for Loren Johnson's Springers, they avenged a one-point loss to Chambers of North Carolina with a hard-fought 26-20 road win to open the 2022 campaign, overcoming a 14-point deficit in that contest. They have since won four games by decisive margins, including beating perennial Richmond contender Manchester and West Virginia power Martinsburg. For the season, this Springers team has outscored opponents by a total of 232-30, allowing no more than seven points in each of the past four victories.

This is the first game on the brand new synthetic turf field at Colonial Forge. It's a bit of a chilly night with the temps in the 50's and light rain falling in Fredericksburg.

Highland Springs leads the all-time series 3-1, which includes a 52-7 win just one season ago.

Kick-off is set for 6:30 PM EST.

For those that want to follow along, you can do so here + via Twitter @hatfieldsports.

 

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Colonial Forge has won the toss and elected to receive.

Some notable FBS commits for both squads...

Colonial Forge OT Nolan McConnell – North Carolina
Colonial Forge RB Donte Hawthorne – Virginia

Highland Springs DE Miles Greene – Virginia
Highland Springs ATH Takye Heath – Virginia Tech
Highland Springs DB Braylon Johnson – Virginia Tech

 

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Jerel Dent's kick goes out of bounds and Colonial Forge will start at their own 44. Donte Hawthorne, who missed last week's game for Forge, runs for no gain as Darius Taylor and Brennan Johnson stop him. His next carry goes for 2 yards to bring up 3rd & 8 from their own 46. Johnson, Ian Wynn and a host of others were in on the stop.

Eli Taylor's first pass of the night on 3rd & 8 is just for one yard to Hawthorne as senior Malik Morrow is there to clean him up right away.

Highland Springs will take over at their own 23 following the punt with 10:11 to go in the opening frame.

 

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The 5-9, 215 pound senior Aziz Foster-Powell gains 3 yards on a run on the first play from scrimmage for the night for the Springers. His next run sees him spin away from a couple of defenders to gain 6 and bring up 3rd & 1 from their own 32.

Foster-Powell weaves his way for a couple yards to the 34 with 8:49 left in the opening frame to move the sticks behind an interior Springers o-line that has come out ready to block and play.

 

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Colonial Forge's defense is not fooled by the misdirection and a screen pass to Jakyre Henley picks up only three yards. On the defensive line, senior William Bryson is making his presence felt and the DB's are holding their own.

A quick time-out before 2nd & 7 by the Springers from their own 37 with 7:54 to go in the opening period. Apparently, Coach Loren Johnson and company didn't like what they were seeing from the Colonial Forge defense, schemed up by Hall of Famer Bill Brown.

Foster-Powell gains just 2 out of the time-out as the aforementioned Bryson and junior linebacker Jaevyen Peterson do a good job to bottle him up to a short gain. But on 3rd & 5 from his own 39, talented junior QB Khristian Martin is able to make a play with his feet out of an empty set - four receivers to his left - as he runs right for a gain of 9 before Colby Kynard stops him.

 

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With 6:01 to go in the first period, the clock stops as a Highland Springs player is down with an injury and a holding brings back a 15-yard run from Aziz Foster-Powell. From their own 39, Foster-Powell gets some of the penalty yardage back on a run up the middle. A big completion of 20-yards down the left sideline to the Virginia Tech commit Takye Heath down to the Colonial Forge 35. Very nice and composed throw by Martin.

Out of the Pistol formation, the Springers cough it up, but are able to recover the fumble. Aziz Foster-Powell gains 2 as the clock is down to 3:35 in the first quarter with it being 2nd & 8 from the Eagles 33. From the left side of the d-line, Will Bryson keeps the Springers to a 1-yard gain on a run by Elijah Williams.

From their own 32 on 3rd & 7, Martin is able to keep it out of the option and he sees plenty of green grass - or turf in this case to be more proper - and is knocked down after a pick up of 23. The Springers are inside the 10 on this lengthy drive.

 

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Colonial Forge senior DB Emmanuel Patterson stops Takye Heath on a quick screen to the far side that gains nothing and then Springers QB Khristian Martin sees his first incomplete pass of the night. On 3rd & Goal from the 9, they hand it off to Elijah Williams and he gets 5. Big decision coming for Coach Loren Johnson to either go for it or try a field goal from the 4-yard line.

Williams is stuffed by a host of Eagles, so Colonial Forge with a huge defensive stand as they take over at their own 4 with 35 seconds to go in the first quarter.

 

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Colonial Forge begins the second quarter with 2nd & 10 from their own 4. Donte Hawthorne bounces off a defender for a gain of 6. Then the Eagles move the sticks for the first time of the night as Eli Taylor completes a quick pass to Colby Kynard to get 4. Then the run play is stopped and a 2nd & 9 is incomplete.

Taylor's 3rd & 9 pass is tipped and nearly picked off by sophomore stud linebacker Brennan Johnson, one of two sons on this defense for Coach Loren Johnson. So after picking up one first down, the Eagles are now punting near their own end zone with 9:59 to go in the second quarter.

Highland Springs will start their second series at the Colonial Forge 37 after Jakyre Henley returns it about 15 yards with 9:48 till half-time.

 

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Aziz Foster-Powell breaks tackles and gains 14 yards down to the 23 of Colonial Forge as he quickly knifed his way to the third level of the defense. Down to the 17 he goes after a gain of 6, which requires a third Eagles defender to stop him. He's already up to 53 yards on nine attempts, proving to be the workhorse this evening.

On 2nd & 4 from the 17, the pass intended for Noah Jenkins by QB Khristian Martin is incomplete as the Forge secondary plays very solid coverage on the inside slant.

Martin wills his way to the 10 on 3rd & 4 to get a fresh set of downs as his legs have come in handy on these third down plays. Highland Springs is certainly dominating the Time of Possession in this first half, but still looking for their first points to show for all that work.

Then the Springers used their speed with Jakyre Henley to get to the outside and find the pylon.

 

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The PAT is good by sophomore Harvey Anderson after the TD run by Henley.

With the passing game held to 3 of 5 for 23 yards, the ground attack has been on point for Highland Springs 17 rushes for 105 yards from four different rushers.

 

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Emmanuel Patterson with an impressive kickoff return of about 30 yards into Highland Springs territory following the Springers TD... but a penalty - a hold - will back the Eagles up to their own 28 and wipe away a great return.

That was the first penalty of the night on Colonial Forge. Highland Springs has been flagged just once.

A false start doesn't help matters for the Eagles, who want to use the running game with Donte Hawthorne to set up their play-action passing attack. They fake the handoff on 1st & 15 and the pass is incomplete, nearly picked off by the Hokies commit Takye Heath.

As the rain picks up, it might serve the Eagles best to go back to the ground game and chew some clock. Hawthorne shows that is a good idea as he gets outside to gain 12 yards to the 35-yard line with 6:44 left in the first half.

 

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Sophomore Josiah Bryson gets behind a large Colonial Forge o-line and is able to push the pile forward on 3rd & 3 from their own 35 down to the 44 for a gain of 9. Frank Coleman brings Bryson down after the run, but not till he gains about 5 more to get them right near midfield. Bryson gets 9 on the next run as he's provided a nice change-of-pace to complement the Massaponax transfer and UVA pledge in Hawthorne.

The Springers need their defensive lineman to do a better job of shedding these blocks in the run game. Junior Jaevyen Peterson gets his first carry of the night for a couple yards. On 2nd & 8, Eli Taylor completes a pass to Hawthorne for just 4 as Ian Wynn comes up with a terrific open field tackle.

Now facing 3rd & 4 from the Springers 36, this could be two down territory.

 

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Ian Wynn and Brennan Johnson keep Bryson in check and he gains nothing, maybe even loses a yard.

On 4th & 5 from the Springers 37, Colonial Forge will let the play clock tick down in an attempt to make them jump offsides. Instead, they get called for delay of game and senior punter Josh Hand will punt it away with 2:56 left in the first half.

Hand's punt is downed at the Springers 6-yard line with 2:47 till intermission and Highland Springs clinging to a 7-0 lead.

 

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On 2nd & 8 from his own 8, Highland Springs QB Khristian Martin rolls to his left and finds 5'7" senior wideout Caron Ferguson on a crossing pattern that picks up 42 yards to the 50. A block in the back will push them back 10 yards to the 40. With 1:52 to go in the half and two time-outs, they have plenty of time to get in field goal range. They gain 5 more and a couple more on a run by Martin before burning their second time-out.

Now facing 3rd & 4 from their own 46, the Springers would love to get another score before the half. Since the Springers get the ball first to start the third period, it's imperative that the Forge defense steps up here.

 

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Jakyre Henley comes up with the clutch 14-yard reception on 3rd & 4 down to the Colonial Forge 40 before the Eagles pass rush emerges to get after Martin and force an incomplete. Back to Henley they go and he gains 8 more yards as Loren Johnson burns the last time-out with 42 seconds left in the first half. Real crisp tackling from the Forge secondary with Jonathan Barnett and company.

After a 4-yard completion to Hokies commit Takye Heath, it's QB Khristian Martin making a wonderful play by escaping pressure, rolling left and finding junior Jakyre Henley get open at the last moment to sling a TD to him from 28 yards out.

 

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The Class of 2024 combo has been quite effective tonight. Henley has both TD's for the Springers - one on a run and another on a reception.

A special teams breakdown for Colonial Forge as the Eagles are unable to retrieve the squib kick and it's recovered by Highland Springs. They have it at the Forge 38 with 11.6 seconds to go in the half, thinking about adding to this lead.

 

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A quick pass near the sideline on an out pattern to junior Noah Jenkins gains 6 yards with 5.3 seconds to go in the half. That gives Khristian Martin and company one more pass to heave into the end zone on 2nd & 4 from the 32 of Colonial Forge.

Martin shows unreal footwork in the pocket and his pass in the back of the end zone is on the money to Virginia Tech commit Takye Heath.

Talk about a potential back-breaker there. Colonial Forge's defense gives up two scores in a span of 15 seconds.

 

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Some half-time numbers coming shortly...

 

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Stats at the Half:

Highland Springs 21:
Khristian Martin - 11-14 for 152Yds. 2-0 TD/Int. ratio; 5Car. 39Yds.
Aziz Foster-Powell - 10Car. 56Yds.
Takye Heath - 4Rec. 56Yds. TD
Jakyre Henley - 4Rec. 53Yds. TD; 1Car. 7Yds. TD
Caron Ferguson - 1Rec. 42Yds.
Brennan Johnson - 5 Tackles, TFL
Ian Wynn - 4 Tackles, TFL

Springers - 33 plays for 260 total yards (11 of 14 for 152 yards passing, 2 TD's; 19 rushes for 108 yards); 0 turnovers; 2 penalties for 20 yards


Colonial Forge 0:
Donte Hawthorne - 6Car. 21Yds; 2Rec. 5Yds.
Josiah Bryson - 4Car. 22Yds.
Eli Taylor - 2-5 for 5Yds.
Will Bryson - 4 Tackles

Eagles - 16 plays for 50 total yards (2-5 for 5 yards passing; 12 rushes for 45 yards, 1 lost fumble); 1 turnover; 3 penalties for 20 yards

 

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While the Highland Springs offense gets the attention and the headlines, understandably so, the defense deserves a lot of credit for keeping Colonial Forge out of the end zone. Their secondary is always one of the best around, but they have seen several make a play when needed - whether it's Malik Morrow, Chris Taylor, Ian Wynn, Brennan Johnson or somebody else - in that front seven.

Highland Springs gets the football to begin the 2nd half and Colonial Forge really is in need of a takeaway to turn momentum in their favor with the rain stating to fall heavier in Fredericksburg.

 

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Takye Heath's return to begin the 2nd half goes to their own 26, although a holding will push them back inside their own 20. They actually begin at their own 9 and QB Khristian Martin rushes for about 6 yards. Both teams know that ball security is paramount in these elements. Earlier this season, Stone Bridge ran for over 400 yards on the Eagles, but several fumbles kept the game competitive.

Aziz Foster-Powell runs for 5 yards to their own 20. Foster-Powell, out of a fake quick screen pass, takes the draw and goes 54 yards down to the Colonial Forge 26. That obviously is his longest of the night. Seniors Will Bryson and Omar Baidoo make the stop as Foster-Powell picks up just 1 after his incredible scamper.

Khristian Martin keeps it and goes 24 yards down to the Forge 1 as he continues to showcase his dual-threat skills. A penalty will push the Springers back to the 6 of the Eagles with 9:18 to go in the third quarter.

 

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Three straight scoring drives for Highland Springs and that one was a 6-play, 91-yard drive in 2:34.

 

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At this point, Colonial Forge may want to run the ball, eventually mix some subs in and not get key contributors injured because it's highly doubtful a comeback is in the cards. In fact, another Springers touchdown with a two-point conversion would make this a running clock margin.

Incredibly, the last time the Eagles had the ball, they were down 7-0 and threatening.

From their own 37, Eli Taylor's pass is incomplete, intended for Hiro Carr, one of the better two-way playmakers in the Commonwealth District. The next pass is complete, but D'Kai Logan quickly makes a tackle to keep them from gaining a yard. Darius Taylor, the senior linebacker for the Springers, comes up with a firm hit to bring up 4th & 8.

Punting time for Forge.

 

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Heath reversed field from right to left and then he was gone. Nobody had the speed to catch that guy.

 

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Brian Harris returns the ensuing kickoff for Colonial Forge 15 yards to their own 40 before senior Brandon Thomas tackles him. At their own 40 with 7:13 left in the third period, QB Eli Taylor almost has his pass intercepted by junior Tomondrey Braxton. Donte Hawthorne only gains a yard as the Springers defense is now starting to find its stride.

On 3rd & 9 and Taylor overthrows the speedster Colby Kynard to bring out the punting unit. Just not enough production out of the passing game for the Eagles tonight -- 4 of 10 for 7 yards as the Springers secondary is giving very little separation to a respectable Forge receiving core.

 

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The Colonial Forge punt lands at the Highland Springs 27 with 5:30 to go in the third quarter as this game was literally 7-0 in favor of the Springers with under a minute to go in the first half has become a total rout. Highland Springs leads 35-0.

Check that, a half the distance to the goal penalty puts them at their own 14. Colonial Forge declines a Springers penalty as Jakyre Henley - now playing QB - is unable to gain a yard on a run. Christian Forrest gains a couple on a jet sweep to bring up 3rd & 8. Henley runs and is short by just a couple of yards from a first down. So Highland Springs is set to punt it away for the first time on the night with a little over two minutes to go in the third quarter.

 

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Well, Highland Springs doesn't punt as it turns out to be a fake - whether it was by design or not - and Jerel Dent moves the sticks to their own 25. Jakyre Henley then races 46 yards to the Eagles 29. Tyler Rivers makes the touchdown-saving tackle for Forge. Elijah Williams rushes for a couple yards as the time is about to expire in the third quarter.

On the final play of the period - 2nd & 8 from the 27 of Forge - results in a bad snap, where Henley loses 6.

 

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On 3rd & 14 from the Colonial Forge 33 is where the Springers will start the 4th period.

 

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Amazing how quickly Highland Springs can turn it on and erupt offensively. The depth of the Springers receiving core has been on display with five different players making a reception. That includes four of them with a catch of 25 yards or longer on the night.

Explosive.

 

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Freshman Ethan Lynch is now in the backfield carrying the rock for Colonial Forge with a pair of rushes for 7 yards, but on 3rd & 3, the Springers defense teams to drop him for a loss. That means the Eagles will be punting it away.

This Highland Springs team is on a mission to bring home their first State Championship since 2018, which capped their amazing four-peat. So the seniors on this squad have never won a state title. They definitely want to go out with a ring on their finger and bring Coach Loren Johnson his fifth at the helm.

The Springers take over at their own 37 with 9:25 to play, leading 42-0 in a game that was 7-0 late in the second quarter.

 

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So after scoring just 7 points in 23 minutes, the Springers have put up 42 points in just under 17 minutes. Unreal.

 

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Colonial Forge had maybe its best shot a score on the night as backup senior QB Khyri Hawkins lofted a nice pass to Darius Harris, but he's unable to haul it in... tough break for the Eagles. Obviously, it wouldn't have mattered for the outcome, but he more than likely goes 77 yards to the house to break up the shutout.

Colonial Forge punts it away on 4th & 15 and it just crosses midfield to the 48 of the Springers with 5:13 to go.

 

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Astonishing dominance from the last minute of the second quarter on by the Springers on a Colonial Forge team that had given up just 79 points in their previous four games.

 

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For those wondering, this Colonial Forge team is no pushover. Their two losses prior came by identical 20-14 margins to Tuscarora (in OT) and Stone Bridge.

The Eagles had given up just 79 total points in four games coming into this matchup.

 

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Colonial Forges goes 3 & out and punts it away. Younger brother of Aziz Foster-Powell - Alim Foster-Powell - makes the pass breakup on 3rd & 15.

With 1:44 to go, the punt is downed at their own 46.

 

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More to come later...