The Springers won tonight 47-20 over Varina
The win gives the Springers a 10-0 record for the first time since 2007. The win at Varina is the first on Varina's field since 1995. The win also marks the first time the Springers have won back-to-back games against Varina since 1992 and 1993. More importantly however, the win secures the top seed for the Springers in 5A-South.
The Springers came into the game 9-0 while Varina was 4-5 and with a win, Varina would have made the playoffs. In years past both teams have posted better records and been part of the Great American Rivalry Series, Varina's record wasn't what it has been but the Springers obviously were and once more, these two team were featured as one of the Great American Rivalry Series games
The game at times felt like the rivalry game that it was and at other times, it felt like a game between a winning team and a team with a 4-5 record. The 4-5 team however was the first to score but it was on their second possession of the night, not their first. Their first had ended badly when the ball was fumbled on second down and the Springers recovered it but just a few plays later, Highland Springs turned the ball over themselves and it came within the redzone where the Springers might have scored. Instead the Blue Devils went 87 yards in five plays scoring on an 11-yard touchdown by Corey Finney.
Up 6-0, the Springers were held scoreless up until 2:28 to go in the first quarter. The Varina defense played well early but as the game wore on, the defense could not keep the Springers from scoring, evident by the 47 points put up. The first touchdown of the night by Highland Springs came from Greg Dortch who had a rather big night. Dortch caught the pass from Juwan Carter for five yards but the Springers failed on the PAT just as Varina had and the two were tied early. That tie did not last long, the Springers would score again within four minutes on another touchdown pass to Dortch, this one from 16 yards out with three Varina defenders around him in the endzone. With another PAT, the Springers were up 12-6.
On the Varina possession Tim Minor ran the ball on 1st & 10 from the 50 but fumbled the ball and Highland Springs was there to recover the loose ball. The Springers scoring continued, run or pass, the Springers were able to move the ball at will whereas earlier in the game, the Varina defense had done well at containing the Springer offense. KC Hinton, Jr. became the second Springer to score on this night and ironically, his father had played about 25 years ago on this very field only for Varina. Now Hinton had just scored a touchdown against his father's former team, the touchdown came from 15 yards on 58-yard drive. This PAT however was good and with more than half of the second quarter to go, the Springers were up 19-6 and they weren't done yet.
Varina's ball handling woes would continue this time on the kickoff return and Highland Springs would jump on it. It was on this Springers possession that things got a little testy between the rivals as the Blue Devils tried to strip the ball even as the whistle was blowing the play did and the players got to pushing and shoving one another but the little scuffle was broken up before things got out of hand. Out of hand was what the score was becoming as well with Marcus Taylor scoring a touchdown on a 22-yard run and another PAT. The Springers now led 26-6 and there was still a little over seven minutes to go in the game.
Varina nearly had another turnover on their next possession. From the 40 the Blue devils finally had a good drive going, they were moving the ball well with Alishuwa Becoat running the ball as well as Tim Minor with a few quarterback keepers. The almost interception game came on 3rd & 9 from the 10 when Minor threw a pass into the endzone but in that endzone was Tre Heather who got his hand on the ball but could not complete the interception. Varina would turn over the ball on downs after a failed fourth down conversion. Highland Springs who had no trouble scoring now kept it up with a touchdown pass to Felton Davis shortly before halftime. At the half, the Blue Devils trailed 6-33.
Varina's offensive woes did not seem to improve early on in the third quarter. While Varina didn't turn the ball over, they were unable to get a first down but for the first time in a while, the Varina defense did not allow the Springers to score either. On the next possession Varina did score for the first time since the first quarter. A 50-yard drive was capped off when Minor scored from four yards out and he then hit Desmond with a two-point conversion touchdown pass. Still losing, the score was now 33-14 in favor of the Springers. The next three possessions, two for Highland Springs and another for Varina all ended in touchdowns. With 9:35 to go in the fourth quarter, it was not a matter of who would score next and when would it end? No one did however. Varina nearly did late in the fourth quarter after starting from their own 10 yards line, the Blue Devils marched down field behind the run game but the turnover bug struck the Blue Devils at the worst time. Minor faced a 2nd & 13 from the 16 and he put the ball in the air, to the endzone but Tank Scott was there and intercepted the ball in the endzone to kill the scoring threat of the Blue Devils and put a cap on the game. Highland Springs would take a knee and run out the clock. Victory would belong to the Springers for the first time in 19 years at Varina.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st QTR-
4:51- (Var)Corey Finney 11-yard touchdown run, PAT fails; Varina 6-0.
2:28- (HS)Greg Dortch 5-yard touchdown pass from Juwan Carter, PAT fails; 6-6 all.
2nd QTR-
11:07- (HS)Greg Dortch 16-yard touchdown pass from Juwan Carter, PAT fails; Highland Springs 12-6.
8:50- (HS)KC Hinton, Jr. 15-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Highland Springs 19-6.
7:18- (HS)Marcus Taylor 22-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Highland Springs 26-6.
:34.9- (HS)Felton Davis 18-yard touchdown pass from Juwan Carter, PAT good; Highland Springs 33-6.
3rd QTR-
5:05- (Var)Tim Minor 4-yard touchdown run, 2-point conversion good; 33-14 Highland Springs.
- (HS)Marcus Taylor 1-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Highland Springs 40-14.
4th QTR-
9:51- (Var)Alishuwa Becoat 6-yard touchdown run, 2-point conversion fails; Highland Springs 40-20.
9:35- (HS)Marcus Taylor 75-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Highland springs 47-20.
AFTERTHOUGHTS
Springers will be tough for anyone to play now that we enter the playoffs. Yes Varina did score 20 on the Springers but their offense is as good as advertised. Taylor, Davis, Hinton, Dortch and Carter; defenses will find it difficult to contain all of them at one time.
Varina misses the playoffs and it will be interesting to see how they develop going into next season. In speaking with some players this past offseason, there was a lot of optimism for the season. While injuries did hurt this team this season, even when players were healthy, they had a hard time matching punch for punch with the likes of a Hermitage or Highland Springs.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Varina Offense- Alishuwa Becoat; nearly 200 yard rushing on roughly 17 carries with one touchdown.
Varina Defense- Nadriq Crooks; Roughly about eight tackles on the night.
Highland Sprngs Offense- Juwan Carter, 195 yards passing and three touchdowns thrown.
Highland Springs Defense- Tank Scott, involved in several tackles all night long came away with a big interception in the endzone to give the Springers the game.
EXTRA POINTS
Largest margin of victory over Varina in series since 1993.
First back-to-back wins over Varina since 1992 and 1993 season.
First win at Varina for Highland Springs since 1995.
47-points is most Highland Springs has ever scored against Varina.
Last losing season for Varina was 1986 when they finished 3-7.
The Springers came into the game 9-0 while Varina was 4-5 and with a win, Varina would have made the playoffs. In years past both teams have posted better records and been part of the Great American Rivalry Series, Varina's record wasn't what it has been but the Springers obviously were and once more, these two team were featured as one of the Great American Rivalry Series games
The game at times felt like the rivalry game that it was and at other times, it felt like a game between a winning team and a team with a 4-5 record. The 4-5 team however was the first to score but it was on their second possession of the night, not their first. Their first had ended badly when the ball was fumbled on second down and the Springers recovered it but just a few plays later, Highland Springs turned the ball over themselves and it came within the redzone where the Springers might have scored. Instead the Blue Devils went 87 yards in five plays scoring on an 11-yard touchdown by Corey Finney.
Up 6-0, the Springers were held scoreless up until 2:28 to go in the first quarter. The Varina defense played well early but as the game wore on, the defense could not keep the Springers from scoring, evident by the 47 points put up. The first touchdown of the night by Highland Springs came from Greg Dortch who had a rather big night. Dortch caught the pass from Juwan Carter for five yards but the Springers failed on the PAT just as Varina had and the two were tied early. That tie did not last long, the Springers would score again within four minutes on another touchdown pass to Dortch, this one from 16 yards out with three Varina defenders around him in the endzone. With another PAT, the Springers were up 12-6.
On the Varina possession Tim Minor ran the ball on 1st & 10 from the 50 but fumbled the ball and Highland Springs was there to recover the loose ball. The Springers scoring continued, run or pass, the Springers were able to move the ball at will whereas earlier in the game, the Varina defense had done well at containing the Springer offense. KC Hinton, Jr. became the second Springer to score on this night and ironically, his father had played about 25 years ago on this very field only for Varina. Now Hinton had just scored a touchdown against his father's former team, the touchdown came from 15 yards on 58-yard drive. This PAT however was good and with more than half of the second quarter to go, the Springers were up 19-6 and they weren't done yet.
Varina's ball handling woes would continue this time on the kickoff return and Highland Springs would jump on it. It was on this Springers possession that things got a little testy between the rivals as the Blue Devils tried to strip the ball even as the whistle was blowing the play did and the players got to pushing and shoving one another but the little scuffle was broken up before things got out of hand. Out of hand was what the score was becoming as well with Marcus Taylor scoring a touchdown on a 22-yard run and another PAT. The Springers now led 26-6 and there was still a little over seven minutes to go in the game.
Varina nearly had another turnover on their next possession. From the 40 the Blue devils finally had a good drive going, they were moving the ball well with Alishuwa Becoat running the ball as well as Tim Minor with a few quarterback keepers. The almost interception game came on 3rd & 9 from the 10 when Minor threw a pass into the endzone but in that endzone was Tre Heather who got his hand on the ball but could not complete the interception. Varina would turn over the ball on downs after a failed fourth down conversion. Highland Springs who had no trouble scoring now kept it up with a touchdown pass to Felton Davis shortly before halftime. At the half, the Blue Devils trailed 6-33.
Varina's offensive woes did not seem to improve early on in the third quarter. While Varina didn't turn the ball over, they were unable to get a first down but for the first time in a while, the Varina defense did not allow the Springers to score either. On the next possession Varina did score for the first time since the first quarter. A 50-yard drive was capped off when Minor scored from four yards out and he then hit Desmond with a two-point conversion touchdown pass. Still losing, the score was now 33-14 in favor of the Springers. The next three possessions, two for Highland Springs and another for Varina all ended in touchdowns. With 9:35 to go in the fourth quarter, it was not a matter of who would score next and when would it end? No one did however. Varina nearly did late in the fourth quarter after starting from their own 10 yards line, the Blue Devils marched down field behind the run game but the turnover bug struck the Blue Devils at the worst time. Minor faced a 2nd & 13 from the 16 and he put the ball in the air, to the endzone but Tank Scott was there and intercepted the ball in the endzone to kill the scoring threat of the Blue Devils and put a cap on the game. Highland Springs would take a knee and run out the clock. Victory would belong to the Springers for the first time in 19 years at Varina.
SCORING SUMMARY
1st QTR-
4:51- (Var)Corey Finney 11-yard touchdown run, PAT fails; Varina 6-0.
2:28- (HS)Greg Dortch 5-yard touchdown pass from Juwan Carter, PAT fails; 6-6 all.
2nd QTR-
11:07- (HS)Greg Dortch 16-yard touchdown pass from Juwan Carter, PAT fails; Highland Springs 12-6.
8:50- (HS)KC Hinton, Jr. 15-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Highland Springs 19-6.
7:18- (HS)Marcus Taylor 22-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Highland Springs 26-6.
:34.9- (HS)Felton Davis 18-yard touchdown pass from Juwan Carter, PAT good; Highland Springs 33-6.
3rd QTR-
5:05- (Var)Tim Minor 4-yard touchdown run, 2-point conversion good; 33-14 Highland Springs.
- (HS)Marcus Taylor 1-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Highland Springs 40-14.
4th QTR-
9:51- (Var)Alishuwa Becoat 6-yard touchdown run, 2-point conversion fails; Highland Springs 40-20.
9:35- (HS)Marcus Taylor 75-yard touchdown run, PAT good; Highland springs 47-20.
AFTERTHOUGHTS
Springers will be tough for anyone to play now that we enter the playoffs. Yes Varina did score 20 on the Springers but their offense is as good as advertised. Taylor, Davis, Hinton, Dortch and Carter; defenses will find it difficult to contain all of them at one time.
Varina misses the playoffs and it will be interesting to see how they develop going into next season. In speaking with some players this past offseason, there was a lot of optimism for the season. While injuries did hurt this team this season, even when players were healthy, they had a hard time matching punch for punch with the likes of a Hermitage or Highland Springs.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Varina Offense- Alishuwa Becoat; nearly 200 yard rushing on roughly 17 carries with one touchdown.
Varina Defense- Nadriq Crooks; Roughly about eight tackles on the night.
Highland Sprngs Offense- Juwan Carter, 195 yards passing and three touchdowns thrown.
Highland Springs Defense- Tank Scott, involved in several tackles all night long came away with a big interception in the endzone to give the Springers the game.
EXTRA POINTS
Largest margin of victory over Varina in series since 1993.
First back-to-back wins over Varina since 1992 and 1993 season.
First win at Varina for Highland Springs since 1995.
47-points is most Highland Springs has ever scored against Varina.
Last losing season for Varina was 1986 when they finished 3-7.
