We entered with five, we exit with two
After three rounds of the playoffs, two teams remain from the Richmond Region in the pursuit for a state title
How did we get to this point?
GAME OF THE WEEK
#4 LC Bird 28-7 over #3 Hermitage
LC Bird is headed to the state semifinals for a third straight year. It seems Bird's trips come in three this century with them doing so from 2003-2005 and now 2012-2014. The score was 28-7 but honestly the game was not even that close. The first half saw Bird dominate with their run game that saw Stephen Mines scored twice and on defense, the Panthers offense was stuffed time after time by the defense of Bird. Penalties helped neither team as they both committed penalty after penalty but none hurt the Skyhawks more than in the fourth quarter when Bird was hit with four pass interference calls that ultimately setup the lone Hermitage score of the night when Rashad Robinson hit Christian Harden with a touchdown. By the time the Panthers had scored, it was too little too late as Bird had built a 28-0 lead off of the two Stephen Mines touchdowns and an additional rushing touchdown from JB Wright and an Elliott to Wilkins touchdown pass. The Panthers were in hurry up with time winding down in the fourth quarter in an effort to score and pull off some improbable comeback or just make it look respectable but Rayshard Ashby who had a big game defensively came up with an interception just as teammate Daijuane Dorsey had the week before against Highland Springs to effectively end the game. You can read more on this game in detail here https://virginiapreps.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=2532&tid=176827182&mid=176827182&sid=914&style=2
UPSET OF THE WEEK
#3 Monacan over #2 Heritage-Newport News 16-14
The Monacan Chiefs will be playing in their first state semifinal in nearly 30 years next Saturday after defeating Heritage 16-14. The Chiefs fell behind early on and still trailed going into the third quarter 14-13 but the second half saw the Monacan defense clamp down on the Hurricanes to give them victory... In the first half Heritage scored a touchdown each in the first two quarters but Monacan responded each time Khalik Hamlin scoring from 6 yards out and Isaiah Fludd scoring from 1 yard out. The Chiefs on their second touchdown went for a two-point conversion but the attempt failed and instead of going up 15-14, the Chiefs trailed 14-13. In the second half, it was defense as Heritage QB DeLoatch was sacked three times by the Chiefs defense and was constantly scrambling as the defense came fast and furious. The lone score of the second half came in the third quarter when Luke Walls kicked a 19-yard field goal. No one knew then that the field goal would prove to be the deciding factor in this one as the defense of Monacan would do just enough to win this one. By doing enough that includes Khalik Hamlin, the very Chief who had scored the first touchdown of the night for Monacan knocking down a DeLoatch pass in the endzone that had the Hurricane receiver caught the ball, it would have been game over for Monacan as the pass was thrown as time expired. The Chiefs however survived that final Hurricane attempt but in the end, it's Monacan moving on to face a Lake Taylor team that ended Dinwiddie's season this year and ended Hanover's last year. Can Monacan shock the state and knock off the Titans or will they become just the latest Richmond Region team to fall to the Titans in playoff action?
ROUND THE REGION
#1 Ocean Lakes 49-7 over #8 James River
The Rapids best season in the programs history came to an end to the nationally ranked Ocean Lakes Dolphins as the Dolphins proved too much to handle. The Rapids defense which had played so well this season and come playoff time stopped the Dolphins early on but that would be the only time the Rapids seemed to be able to stop them. On their second possession the Dolphins scored when Tremaine Griffin broke off a 48-yard touchdown run and from there on it was all Ocean Lakes. Two touchdowns in the first quarter kept the Rapids within reach but a five-touchdown second quarter just put the game out of reach early on. The Dolphins led 49-0 at the half as Ocean Lakes kept scoring at will. While the Dolphins were excelling on offense, the Rapids were struggling. In the first half the Rapids had just 15 yards of total offense and all total at nights end, they finished with just 93 yards of offense. The lone score of the night for the Rapids was in the third quarter when Quintreil Chung hit Justice Peebles with a 9-yard touchdown pass. Turnovers appeared to do in the Rapids as much as the offense of Ocean Lakes. James River fumbled once and had four interceptions thrown. One of the four interceptions was returned for a 45-yard touchdown in the second quarter by Anthony Womack. While Ocean Lakes proved to be too much for the Rapids, Coach Defrancesco and the returning starters from this season will have something to build on for next season. The Rapids who missed the playoffs last season at 6-4 made the best of their first appearance in 13 years and surprised many in doing so. Was this a one-hit wonder for the Rapids or is this the start of something more at James River? Find out next fall when the 2015 Rapids take the field.
#1 Lafayette 49-8 over #12 Petersburg
Well luckily for the Richmond Region, there are no more teams alive in 3A. Luckily I say because Lafayette is now 3-0 against teams from the region with big wins over Huguenot, Hopewell and now Petersburg. If you want to go deeper, the Rams also beat Highland Springs way back in 1973 in the AAA State Semifinals. The Rams had another big win behind a dominant defense and overwhelming offense. Gemonta Jackson who had been sensational in the playoffs thus far was held to just 43 yards of offense the entire game! The defense served notice early they would make it tough for the Crimson Wave when they forced a fumble with Daquan Smith carrying the ball on the second play from scrimmage. The Rams took that turnover and translated it into points. Matt Hummel who had a big game against Hopewell last week had another as he was just a part of stifling defense that kept Jackson in check the entire game. While the defense was doing their job, the offense was certainly doing theirs with Lafayette scoring in all four quarters racing to a 42-0 lead before Petersburg finally got on the board in the fourth quarter when Jackson finally connected with a receiver on a 33-yard touchdown pass with a little over six minutes to go. Less than five minutes later, the Rams scored yet again. Much of the offense for Lafayette in this one could be contribute to Brendan McGinty who scored three touchdowns on the ground and two more in the air. The Wave had no answer on offense or defense and the Wave's season came to a halt at a team that is looking like the team to beat in 3A.
EXTRA POINTS
3-1 and should have been 4-0, I went with what I thought instead of my gut on the Hermitage-Bird game. This brings my total for the season to 161-34.
Bird's 28-7 win was the largest margin of victory in the series.
The 21 point loss to Bird was Hermitage's largest margin of defeat in their playoff history.
49 points given up by James River was the most since giving up 52 to Midlothian in 2011.
339 points this season for the Rapids is the second most points the Rapids have scored in a season second only to 351 scored by the 2000 team.
316 scored by Petersburg this season is the most for the Wave since the 1976 season! The 418 points allowed is the most allowed by Petersburg team in the history of the program.
Monacan has won three playoff games in one season for the first time in the programs history.
If Monacan wins this coming week, they will go to their first state final.
Two Dominion District teams have advanced to the state semifinals for the first time ever.
GAME OF THE WEEK
#4 LC Bird 28-7 over #3 Hermitage
LC Bird is headed to the state semifinals for a third straight year. It seems Bird's trips come in three this century with them doing so from 2003-2005 and now 2012-2014. The score was 28-7 but honestly the game was not even that close. The first half saw Bird dominate with their run game that saw Stephen Mines scored twice and on defense, the Panthers offense was stuffed time after time by the defense of Bird. Penalties helped neither team as they both committed penalty after penalty but none hurt the Skyhawks more than in the fourth quarter when Bird was hit with four pass interference calls that ultimately setup the lone Hermitage score of the night when Rashad Robinson hit Christian Harden with a touchdown. By the time the Panthers had scored, it was too little too late as Bird had built a 28-0 lead off of the two Stephen Mines touchdowns and an additional rushing touchdown from JB Wright and an Elliott to Wilkins touchdown pass. The Panthers were in hurry up with time winding down in the fourth quarter in an effort to score and pull off some improbable comeback or just make it look respectable but Rayshard Ashby who had a big game defensively came up with an interception just as teammate Daijuane Dorsey had the week before against Highland Springs to effectively end the game. You can read more on this game in detail here https://virginiapreps.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=2532&tid=176827182&mid=176827182&sid=914&style=2
UPSET OF THE WEEK
#3 Monacan over #2 Heritage-Newport News 16-14
The Monacan Chiefs will be playing in their first state semifinal in nearly 30 years next Saturday after defeating Heritage 16-14. The Chiefs fell behind early on and still trailed going into the third quarter 14-13 but the second half saw the Monacan defense clamp down on the Hurricanes to give them victory... In the first half Heritage scored a touchdown each in the first two quarters but Monacan responded each time Khalik Hamlin scoring from 6 yards out and Isaiah Fludd scoring from 1 yard out. The Chiefs on their second touchdown went for a two-point conversion but the attempt failed and instead of going up 15-14, the Chiefs trailed 14-13. In the second half, it was defense as Heritage QB DeLoatch was sacked three times by the Chiefs defense and was constantly scrambling as the defense came fast and furious. The lone score of the second half came in the third quarter when Luke Walls kicked a 19-yard field goal. No one knew then that the field goal would prove to be the deciding factor in this one as the defense of Monacan would do just enough to win this one. By doing enough that includes Khalik Hamlin, the very Chief who had scored the first touchdown of the night for Monacan knocking down a DeLoatch pass in the endzone that had the Hurricane receiver caught the ball, it would have been game over for Monacan as the pass was thrown as time expired. The Chiefs however survived that final Hurricane attempt but in the end, it's Monacan moving on to face a Lake Taylor team that ended Dinwiddie's season this year and ended Hanover's last year. Can Monacan shock the state and knock off the Titans or will they become just the latest Richmond Region team to fall to the Titans in playoff action?
ROUND THE REGION
#1 Ocean Lakes 49-7 over #8 James River
The Rapids best season in the programs history came to an end to the nationally ranked Ocean Lakes Dolphins as the Dolphins proved too much to handle. The Rapids defense which had played so well this season and come playoff time stopped the Dolphins early on but that would be the only time the Rapids seemed to be able to stop them. On their second possession the Dolphins scored when Tremaine Griffin broke off a 48-yard touchdown run and from there on it was all Ocean Lakes. Two touchdowns in the first quarter kept the Rapids within reach but a five-touchdown second quarter just put the game out of reach early on. The Dolphins led 49-0 at the half as Ocean Lakes kept scoring at will. While the Dolphins were excelling on offense, the Rapids were struggling. In the first half the Rapids had just 15 yards of total offense and all total at nights end, they finished with just 93 yards of offense. The lone score of the night for the Rapids was in the third quarter when Quintreil Chung hit Justice Peebles with a 9-yard touchdown pass. Turnovers appeared to do in the Rapids as much as the offense of Ocean Lakes. James River fumbled once and had four interceptions thrown. One of the four interceptions was returned for a 45-yard touchdown in the second quarter by Anthony Womack. While Ocean Lakes proved to be too much for the Rapids, Coach Defrancesco and the returning starters from this season will have something to build on for next season. The Rapids who missed the playoffs last season at 6-4 made the best of their first appearance in 13 years and surprised many in doing so. Was this a one-hit wonder for the Rapids or is this the start of something more at James River? Find out next fall when the 2015 Rapids take the field.
#1 Lafayette 49-8 over #12 Petersburg
Well luckily for the Richmond Region, there are no more teams alive in 3A. Luckily I say because Lafayette is now 3-0 against teams from the region with big wins over Huguenot, Hopewell and now Petersburg. If you want to go deeper, the Rams also beat Highland Springs way back in 1973 in the AAA State Semifinals. The Rams had another big win behind a dominant defense and overwhelming offense. Gemonta Jackson who had been sensational in the playoffs thus far was held to just 43 yards of offense the entire game! The defense served notice early they would make it tough for the Crimson Wave when they forced a fumble with Daquan Smith carrying the ball on the second play from scrimmage. The Rams took that turnover and translated it into points. Matt Hummel who had a big game against Hopewell last week had another as he was just a part of stifling defense that kept Jackson in check the entire game. While the defense was doing their job, the offense was certainly doing theirs with Lafayette scoring in all four quarters racing to a 42-0 lead before Petersburg finally got on the board in the fourth quarter when Jackson finally connected with a receiver on a 33-yard touchdown pass with a little over six minutes to go. Less than five minutes later, the Rams scored yet again. Much of the offense for Lafayette in this one could be contribute to Brendan McGinty who scored three touchdowns on the ground and two more in the air. The Wave had no answer on offense or defense and the Wave's season came to a halt at a team that is looking like the team to beat in 3A.
EXTRA POINTS
3-1 and should have been 4-0, I went with what I thought instead of my gut on the Hermitage-Bird game. This brings my total for the season to 161-34.
Bird's 28-7 win was the largest margin of victory in the series.
The 21 point loss to Bird was Hermitage's largest margin of defeat in their playoff history.
49 points given up by James River was the most since giving up 52 to Midlothian in 2011.
339 points this season for the Rapids is the second most points the Rapids have scored in a season second only to 351 scored by the 2000 team.
316 scored by Petersburg this season is the most for the Wave since the 1976 season! The 418 points allowed is the most allowed by Petersburg team in the history of the program.
Monacan has won three playoff games in one season for the first time in the programs history.
If Monacan wins this coming week, they will go to their first state final.
Two Dominion District teams have advanced to the state semifinals for the first time ever.
