Blog Updates: Highland Springs 29, Varina 0 - FINAL

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VirginiaPreps.com's Danny Lewis is on hand at Varina High School and we'll post some in-game updates / tweets / notes from this one as it goes along. Danny will be back later with a Recap.

You can also listen to the game online with Gary Hess & Gary Criswell on News Radio WRVA 1140 AM and 96.1 FM Here.

 

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Not a good start for Varina as a special teams turnover gives Highland Springs great field position at the 32 of the Blue Devils.

 

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Varina's first offensive possession following the Highland Springs touchdown results in a 3 & out.

Darius Taylor with a big hit on 2nd & 8 to limit Varina to no gain. Myles Derricott takes off and scrambles on 3rd down, but comes up just short of the sticks. Varina punts it away on 4th & 2 from their own 39.

Highland Springs starts its second possession at their own 20 and the freshman nose tackle Jaysean Richardson makes a terrific play in the backfield to stymie the Springers on first down. Following the loss of three, the Springers keep it on the ground. Not much working for them on second and third downs, resulting in another punt.

Varina takes over at their own 43, trailing 8-0. An illegal shift puts Varina back behind the sticks. The Blue Devils will punt it away again from their own 35. The knuckleball kick gets down at the Highland Springs 27.

 

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From their own 27, the Springers offense goes back to work. Junior QB Khristian Martin moves his feet nicely in the pocket and finds Virginia Tech commit Takye Heath for a 13-yard completion. Aziz Foster-Powell bounces off a couple tackles to get a solid run of 5.

Another good run from Aziz Foster-Powell - their third straight out of a Power I formation - as they move into Varina territory. Following an encroachment on Varina and another tough downhill run from Foster-Powell, the Springers get to the Varina 38. His runs have him at 20-plus yards in the opening quarter.

 

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Eli Williams with a run of 6 to bring up 2nd & 4 and then they go back to Aziz Foster-Powell to move the chains. The Springers are on the move as the first quarter is coming to a close, looking to avenge the 7-6 loss to their rival from a year ago.

 

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On 3rd & 7 from the Varina 24, the Highland Springs offense gets hit with a holding call. That will push them back to the 40, making it not just hard to convert, but probably pushing them out of field goal range with 10:02 to go in the first half.

An illegal forward pass on 3rd & 23 will result in a loss of down. Highland Springs will punt it away after chewing up 6:18 of clock time.

Varina begins at its own 12 with 9:20 to go in the second period after junior D'Kai Logan quickly gobbles up the return man for the Blue Devils.

A couple of really good runs from QB Myles Derricott and tailback Tae'mon Brown puts Varina at their 46. They then get the ball on a wide receiver screen to UNC commit Kaveion Keys. It's a tough matchup on the outside with Keys and Virginia Tech commit Braylon Johnson on the Springers defense at corner. But Varina is now on the move, into Highland Springs territory at the 47 following the 7-yard gain by Keys.

 

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Varina junior WR Eric Smith walks off under his own power with an injury before a 3rd & 4 from the Highland Springs 48 as they lost a yard on a run on 2nd & 5. The Highland Springs reads the counter-fake from Varina and Myles Derricott is kept short of a first down by a yard.

On 4th & 1 from the 45 of the Springers, Varina is electing to go for it with their offense. The quick screen to Jordan Edwards is stopped quickly by the swarming Springers defense. Big stop for the Springers defense.

The Springers gain six yards with Jakyre Henley on first down and then go right back to him on another screen. That brings up 3rd & 2 as it hits the midway point of the second quarter. Elijah Williams is tackled by Elijah Brown, but it's not before he gets 8 yards to move the sticks. Highland Springs goes for a deep shot and Khristian Martin's pass deep down the field to Takye Heath misses by a hair as the Hokies commit tried to make a superb one-handed snag.

Eli Williams gets outside and is tackled to the far side of the field by OLB/SS Keiarri Lewis. He's even more important to the defense now with Michael Long-Okosun out. The gain is for 12 yards. The Springers are getting solid chunks in the running game and trying to use that to set up another strike in the passing game. Highland Springs is now at the Varina 26, facing 3rd & 9.

 

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Aziz Foster-Powell bowls over a defender as the safety valve who hauls in a pass from QB Khristian Martin, scoring on a 26-yard touchdown. That extends the Springers lead to 15-0 on Varina.

 

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Another touchdown from Aziz Foster-Powell, this one being his 10th rushing score of the season.

They then execute an onside kick and recover at the Varina 49-yard line. With 20.4 seconds to go in the half, Varina gets flagged for a pass interference as Springers WR/DB Braylon Johnson gets shoved down. The Springers nearly turn it over, but end up out of scoring range and decide to take a knee to end the half.

HALF - Highland Springs 22, Varina 0

 

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Key Stats at the Half:

Highland Springs 22:
Khristian Martin - 7-11 for 85Yds. 2-0 TD/Int. ratio
Aziz Foster-Powell - 13Car. 48yds. TD; 2Rec. 34Yds. TD

Springers - 161 total yards


Varina 0:
Myles Derricott - 3-6 for 9Yds; 9Car. 13Yds.

Blue Devils - 36 total yards

 

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Highland Springs begins the third quarter with the football. The Springers convert a fake punt. A 17-yard run by Aziz Foster-Powell puts them at their own 47. Not long after, it's aerial fireworks with Khristian Martin to Jakyre Henley.




That is the 6th TD catch of the season for Henley, who also has 5 TD runs and a TD pass. It caps an 8-play, 78-yard drive in 4:41 to begin the 3rd quarter.

 

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Varina's first offensive possession begins at the 7:19 mark of the 3rd quarter. Brennan Johnson, sophomore linebacker and son of Coach Loren Johnson - sacks Varina QB Myles Derricott. It's a loss of 8 yards.

Tae'mon Brown gains 3 yards to take it to the 17 to bring up 3rd & 15 with the Blue Devils trailing 29-0.

Clock stops working for a brief delay.

After the delay, Derricott's pass intended for Kaveion Keys is underthrown. That will bring out the punting unit.

Pretty remarkable that Varina has just 31 total yards of offense. The Blue Devils came in riding a 15-game winning streak and having allowed just 69 points all of this season.

The Highland Springs defense - led on this evening by Brennan Johnson, Ian Wynn and Lance Nelson - has been nothing short of fantastic.

 

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As the 2nd half has dragged to a crawl pace, both coaching staffs are trying to keep their guys from losing their cool with the playoffs set to begin next week.

 

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With 4th & Goal from the 13 of Highland Springs, Varina QB Myles Derricott is sacked by senior linebacker Andre Alexander for a loss of 5 with under two minutes to go.

That will do it and the Springers will walk away with a 29-0 victory.

 

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Key Final Stats:

Highland Springs 29: (10-0 Overall)
Khristian Martin - 11-17 for 162Yds. 3-0 TD/Int. ratio; 7Car. 54Yds.
Aziz Foster-Powell - 17Car. 72Yds. TD; 2Rec. 34Yds. TD
Jakyre Henley - 3Rec. 58Yds.
Caron Ferguson - 2Rec. 42Yds. TD
Takye Heath - 3Rec. 24Yds.

Springers - 292 total yards (162 passing, 130 rushing).


Varina 0: (9-1 Overall)
Myles Derricott - 6-12 for 29Yds.

Blue Devils - 51 total yards (25 rushes for 22 yards)



Postgame Remarks from Coach Loren Johnson speaking with Gary Hess & Gary Criswell on WRVA Radio:

On QB Khristian Martin:
"He's growing and maturing. Making checks at the line, putting us in better position. He's continuing to get better,"

On the defense:
"It's your rival and you would like to shut them out. Ian Wynn played well at the safety position. The guys on the perimeter and on the corners did a great job. Coach Simmons challenged them. You've got to get pressure. The four guys up front do a good job."

On sophomore LB Brennan Johnson's play:
"Number 11 is pretty good and some people have recognized it. Tennessee offered him last night. As a dad and a coach, I was in awe about that one. That's the number one team in the country. He does a phenomenal job galvanizing people. He is a leader amongst men, talking to people the right way.

On unbeaten regular season:
"With the schedule that we played, the number of miles that we traveled, the teams we played against... this is a great group. This environment and atmosphere is like none other. The team concept and chemistry is essential in any football program. I'm satisfied with where we are and what's happened. We just have to continue to work towards that goal and finish the job."



Danny Lewis will have more to come later...