Blog LIVE Blog of Class 4 State Finals: Woodgrove 38, Lake Taylor 33 - FINAL

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On 2nd & 8 from the 15-yard line of Lake Taylor, Wolverines QB Graham Walker throws it in the end zone for Price Williams, who converges on the ball at the same time as Dominique Daniels. That was good effort on both sides.

Facing 3rd & 8, Woodgrove goes back to the air as Walker rolls right, his pass for Ben Castellano is incomplete, but Pierre Royster got too physical with the Richmond commit and that put them half the distance to the goal.

Without Javon Harvey on the field defensively, Lake Taylor's pass coverage has some feast or famine moments. The pressure up front can sometimes allow the secondary players to cash in, but against these tall and versatile receivers - targets that are 6'4" and 6'6" with Castellano and Lockhart - it's far from an easy chore.

 

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A 13-yard pass by Jeff Foster to Malik Newton, then an 11-yard run from Foster, has Lake Taylor on the move. A 9-yard run from Dominique McNair, forces Woodgrove to burn a time-out with 8:55 remaining. Woodgrove leads it 38-27 with 8:55 to play.

Looking at 2nd & 1 from the 33-yard line, the Titans decide to throw it and it's incomplete with K.J. Lewis contributing a solid play on defense for Woodgrove.

 

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Malik Newton pushes forward for a gain of 3 on 3rd & 1 as Lake Taylor has to not only score, but try to leave themselves enough time on the clock to try to get the ball back. The Woodgrove defense collapses the running the lane on QB Jeff Foster, but a poor time to get a penalty and the Wolverines are called for face-mask. That puts the ball at the 15-yard line, giving Lake Taylor a fresh set of downs with 8:09 to go as the clock continues to tick.

Newton doesn't look the same this half and you wonder if it's fatigue, injury, a combination of the two... either way, Woodgrove's defense has to applauded for getting plenty of white jerseys in his vision. No gain for Newton on first down.

A wonderful pass breakup by Malachi Haynes, the junior DB who rises to the occasion when the Woodgrove secondary needs someone to step up today. This is a big 3rd & 10 coming for the Titans.

 

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While Lake Taylor is known for their overpowering ground game out of the Twin-Veer - they have just 29 yards rushing in the 2nd half after piling up 179 yards on the ground on just 10 carries before intermission.

There's no quit in this Lake Taylor group, though. They have an awful lot of pride, resiliency and determination. It's going to be tested like never before on this next series as Woodgrove can essentially put this one away and capture their first state title by putting together one more scoring drive.

The Wolverines have it at their own 26 with 6:56 remaining. In Walker, they trust.

 

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An over-the-shoulder catch by Nick Lockhart - the #Hokies baseball commit - from QB Graham Walker covers 30 yards for Woodgrove as they move into Lake Taylor territory.

Looking at 3rd & 9, Woodgrove is gifted 5 yards with Lake Taylor jumping offsides AGAIN. They've done it about 5 times today. Now 3rd & 8, the Wolverines go to the stop route, but Raylyn Manley makes a huge pass breakup for the Titans.

 

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Lake Taylor jumps offsides. Ouch.

 

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A 3rd & 3 coming up for Woodgrove at the 26-yard line for Lake Taylor following Graham Walker's 3-yard run on his 30th carry of the evening. They go to a five-wide look, too.

Then guess what happens?



Unreal.

 

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What do you do here? This is why Mike Skinner gets paid the big bucks. Looks like they are going for it ...

 

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We have late-game drama at Liberty...

 

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The Woodgrove defense sent the all-out blitz and Jeff Foster's pass is incomplete. That brings up 2nd & 10 from their own 13 with 2:24 to play. Pass is incomplete. Thought for a second there the defender might've been face-guarding. 3rd & 10 now...

Foster rolls right and his pass is incomplete. Boy, the Titans miss WR Javon Harvey in this situation. He was the hero and MVP of last week's thrilling comeback against Eastern View.

 

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And Woodgrove will talk it over with a time-out.

 

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Woodgrove can smell their first State Championship in program history. What a season for the school that opened in 2010 and began this year 1-2 overall before reeling off nine wins. They are closing in on the Class 4 crown in their final year before moving up to Class 5.

 

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On 2nd & Goal from the Lake Taylor 10 - the Wolverines keep it on the ground with QB Graham Walker for a gain of 3. Lake Taylor just used its final time-outs after first down, so the clock will roll under a minute most likely before they snap it on 3rd & Goal from the 7.

Walker gets about 3 more with a couple of Lake Taylor defenders dragging him down, including Jayshaun Brown-Houston.

 

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Congratulations Woodgrove!!

 

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Don't get why Woodgrove didn't take a knee.

 

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Quick completion to Malik Newton and he gets tackled down. A great ballgame here and Woodgrove wins it 38-33.

 

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What a job by Mike Skinner's Wolverines. I'll be the first to admit - I thought with Lake Taylor's Championship experience and big-game mettle that they would win this game by a couple of scores. A rough day for the '757' area code with both the Titans and Phoebus falling. That means Tidewater goes four straight years without a State Champ (last crowns were in 2014 with Lake Taylor and Ocean Lakes).

Even though Javon Harvey was absent for the 2nd half and Malik Newton clearly at less than 100% - a big congrats to Woodgrove, Coach Skinner, his staff and players. What a performance by QB Graham Walker too with 477 yards accounted for and 5TD's.

More to come later...

 

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FINAL IN VHSL CLASS 4 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP - WOODGROVE 38, LAKE TAYLOR 33

Let's go through the numbers ...

Final Stats:

Woodgrove Wolverines 38: (11-2 Overall)
Graham Walker - 14-33 for 343Yds. 4-0TD/Int. ratio; 37Car. 134Yds. TD
K.J. Lewis - 11Car. 34Yds. TD
Nick Lockhart - 6Rec. 116Yds. TD
Krzyz Miller - 2Rec. 101Yds. TD
Ben Castellano - 3Rec. 49Yds.
Price Williams - 2Rec. 24Yds. 2TD's
Theo Wilson - 7 Tackles (3 Solo), 2.5TFL, Sack
Malachi Haynes - 7 Tackles (3 Solo), TFL, 1PBU, 1FF
Trae Ballinger - 7 Tackles (3 Solo)

Wolverines - 86 plays for 511 total yards (53 rushes for 168 yards; 14-33 for 343 pass yards, 0 intercepts); 0 turnovers; 4 penalties for 30 yards; 6 of 15 on 3rd downs; 4 of 7 on 4th downs; 30 first downs; 1 punts for average of 35; Time of Possession of 35:19


Lake Taylor Titans 33: (13-2 Overall)
Jeff Foster - 8-18 for 176Yds. 2-0TD/Int. ratio; 7Car. 59Yds. TD
Malik Newton - 7Car. 132Yds. 2TD's (3Car. 3Yds. in 2nd Half); 3Rec. 14Yds.
Ikeem Wright - 4Rec. 156Yds. 2TD's; 8 Tackles (5 Solo)
Corey Holloway - 14 Tackles (10 Solo)
Tavion Copeland - 9 Tackles (4 Solo)
Keonte Welch - 8 Tackles (5 Solo)
Tyrique Tucker - 8 Tackles (4 Solo), TFL

Titans - 38 plays for 381 total yards (20 rushes for 205 yards; 8-18 for 176 pass yards, 0 intercepts); 1 turnover on lost fumble; 12 penalties for 96 yards; 4 of 7 on 3rd downs; 0 of 2 on 4th downs; 11 first downs; 2 punts for average of 33.5; Time of Possession of 12:41.

 

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Press Conference with the Woodgrove Wolverines:



Woodgrove Press Conference after their 38-33 win over Lake Taylor in the VHSL Class 4 State Football Championship held at Liberty University in Lynchburg on Saturday, December 8, 2018. Speaking from left to right are Nick Lockhart (#5), Graham Walker (#6) and Head Coach Mike Skinner. Woodgrove finished 12-2 overall and won their first state title in program history.

 

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Press Conference with the Lake Taylor Titans:



Lake Taylor's Press Conference after their 38-33 loss to Woodgrove in the VHSL Class 4 State Football Championship at Liberty University in Lynchburg on Saturday, December 8, 2018. Speaking from left to right - Coach Hank Sawyer, QB Jeff Foster and RB Malik Newton. The Titans finished 13-2 overall and are now 2-2 in State Championship games since 2012.