The matchup between Woodberry
Forest and Liberty Christian on Saturday was a classic battle in what
has become an early season "Super Bowl" for the two teams. Both squads
moved the ball well at times on offense but the matchup was dominated
by defense for the larger part of the game. The Tigers scored both of
their touchdowns as the result of turnovers and one was acquired
directly by the defense. Despite their troubles, the Bulldogs still
had an opportunity to pull out a victory and stay undefeated on the
season as the fourth quarter wound down but they were unable to
accomplish the task against a fiesty Woodberry defense.
Scoring Summary
2nd Quarter
W-Nathaniel Tyrell 93 yard interception return (Liam Hedge kick), 3:02
3rd Quarter
L-Lamar Webster 4 yard run (Jordan Foster run), 5:38
W-Patrick Shea 11 yard run (conversion failed), 2:07
Final Score: Woodberry Forest 13, Liberty Christian 8
Keys to Victory
Capitalizing on Mistakes
Both
teams' offenses had two turnovers in this game but what affected the
outcome of this game was the effectiveness of the squads ability to
make their opponent pay for their mistakes. The Tigers lost a fumble
and had an interception on offense but the Bulldogs were not able to
turn either of those opportunities into any type of points.
On
the other hand, both scores in the game for Woodberry occured after a
turnover by LCA. Late in the second quarter with the game still
scoreless, it appeared that the Bulldogs offense may strike first as
the team methodically moved forward deep into Tigers territory. The
tide turned quickly however when Woodberry defensive back Nathaniel Tyrell
stepped in front of a Bulldogs pass attempt at the seven yard line and
then raced untouched 93 yards for a score following the interception.
In
the second half, the Tigers offense sputtered during their first two
drive and the Bulldogs grabbed the lead by finishing off their first
drive of the second half with a touchdown and then a two point
conversion. LCA would get the chance to extend their lead following
the defenses' second three-and-out stop of the Woodberry offense.
Unfortunately for LCA, on their second play into the drive, Tigers defender Chris Kelemen
picked the ball out of the air and ended the drive putting momentum
back on the side of Woodberry Forest. Taking over at the LCA 43 yard
line, the Tigers offense wasted little time capitalizing on the
opportunity when Patrick Shea ran for an 11 yard touchdown just four plays after the drive started.
Finishing the Game
Both
teams played well but it was the defensive unit that put Woodberry
Forest in position to win and then solidified the victory with a
magnificent stop of LCA's offense during the Bulldogs final drive of
the game. Earlier in the contest, the Tigers defensive unit had forced
LCA to punt six times in addition to the two forced turnovers.
Despite
the limited success, the Bulldogs offense felt they had a chance to
complete the comeback when they took over possession with 4:45
remaining on the game clock. Early in the series, LCA was faced with a
fourth-and-one on their own 29 yard ine and was able to convert when Lamar Webster barreled through the Tigers defensive line to secure the first down.
A few plays later, LCA faced another fourth down, this time fourth-and-eight, and again kept their drive alive when Kaleb Bohrnstedt completed a 21 yard pass to Tim Glass.
That second successful conversion likely boosted the Bulldogs
confidence as they moved to their opponents' side of the field and sent
a brief gaspe through the stands as the Woodberry faithful became
concerned with the state of their team.
The weary Tigers defense
didn't surrender, however, but rather dug a little deeper knowing this
was their opportunity to clinch a season opening win. On the very next
play, a swarm of Woodberry defenders stopped Webster in his tracks four
hards behind the line of scrimmage on a rushing attempt. A pass
attempt on second down fell to the ground incomplete. On third down,
LCA looked to pass again but senior defensive lineman Wylie Mendicino
never gave the Bulldogs quarterback a chance as he raced into the
backfield and delivered a huge sack that resulted in a 13 yard loss.
The
Bulldogs quarterback heaved a final pass attempt on fourth-and-27 but
overthrew his intended receiver to turn the ball over on downs and
allow Woodberry to celebrate the win as they wound down the remainder
of the game clock.
Key Players
Nathaniel Tyrell, Woodberry Forest...In
addition to the huge interception return for a touchdown that covered
nearly the length of the entire field, the senior had three pass
breakups and kept LCA from targeting his side of the field for most of
the day. Tyrell also had a punt return of 29 yards that he came close
to scoring on but was tripped up just before he was able to break away.
The Tigers Defense...The
graduation of several Woodberry defenders from last years' Prep League
champion squad didn't seem to cause much of a dropoff in the unit's
play during this contest. The Tigers defense only allowed 111 rushing
yards on 35 attempts by the Bulldogs and also defended the pass rather
well. LCA did complete 14 of its' 32 pass attempts but only managed to
gain 105 yards on the successful completions. Of course, there are
also the two interceptions, six forced punts, and the huge stop at the
end of the game as well.
Team Statistics
LCA WF
First Downs 14 10
Rushes-yards 35-111 30-116
Passing yards 105 91
Passing 14-32-105-0-2 10-15-91-0-1
Punts-avg 6-33.7 5-23.8
Fumbles-lost 1-0 2-1
Penalties-yards 1-10 6-45
Individual Statistics
Rushing--LCA,
Lamar Webster, 20-74 (1 TD), Jordan Foster 6-27, Jaylyn Gill 2-1,
Cameron Jones 1-8, Grant Johnson 1-3, Kaleb Bohrnstedt 5-(-2).
Woodberry, H.T. Minor 14-62, Lindell Stone 7-27, Evans Riviere 5-14,
Patrick Shea 2-13 (! TD), Nathaniel Tyrell 1-0, Nate Ingram 1-0.
Passing--LCA,
Kaleb Bohrnstedt 14-30-105-0-2, Jordan Foster 0-2-0-0-0. Woodberry
Forest, Lindell Stone 9-14-86-0-1, Christian Zaytoun 1-1-5-0-0.
Receiving--LCA,
Jordan Foster 5-45, Jared Jauch 3-13, Grant Johnson 2-22, Lamar Webster
1-6, Jaylyn Gill 1-2, Hunter Sherman 1-9, Cameron Jones 1-8.
Woodberry, Zach Roderick 5-45, Nate Ingram 2-30, Hearne King 2-16,
H.T. Minor 1-0.
Robert
Edmonds
joined the Virginia Preps staff midway through 2013 and just completed
his one year
anniversary with the site. He provides insight on player profiles
and recruiting
news for players from around the state as well as in-season game and
team
reports. In 2014, Robert is once again covering the Piedmont area
for the site. He has been contributing sports coverage in the
newspaper
industry since 2006 and also currently does correspondence work with
the Daily
Progress in Charlottesville. Follow him on twitter@bigrob2523
and send feedback and suggestions to him directly at bigrob2523@gmail.com.
Forest and Liberty Christian on Saturday was a classic battle in what
has become an early season "Super Bowl" for the two teams. Both squads
moved the ball well at times on offense but the matchup was dominated
by defense for the larger part of the game. The Tigers scored both of
their touchdowns as the result of turnovers and one was acquired
directly by the defense. Despite their troubles, the Bulldogs still
had an opportunity to pull out a victory and stay undefeated on the
season as the fourth quarter wound down but they were unable to
accomplish the task against a fiesty Woodberry defense.
Scoring Summary
2nd Quarter
W-Nathaniel Tyrell 93 yard interception return (Liam Hedge kick), 3:02
3rd Quarter
L-Lamar Webster 4 yard run (Jordan Foster run), 5:38
W-Patrick Shea 11 yard run (conversion failed), 2:07
Final Score: Woodberry Forest 13, Liberty Christian 8
Keys to Victory
Capitalizing on Mistakes
Both
teams' offenses had two turnovers in this game but what affected the
outcome of this game was the effectiveness of the squads ability to
make their opponent pay for their mistakes. The Tigers lost a fumble
and had an interception on offense but the Bulldogs were not able to
turn either of those opportunities into any type of points.
On
the other hand, both scores in the game for Woodberry occured after a
turnover by LCA. Late in the second quarter with the game still
scoreless, it appeared that the Bulldogs offense may strike first as
the team methodically moved forward deep into Tigers territory. The
tide turned quickly however when Woodberry defensive back Nathaniel Tyrell
stepped in front of a Bulldogs pass attempt at the seven yard line and
then raced untouched 93 yards for a score following the interception.
In
the second half, the Tigers offense sputtered during their first two
drive and the Bulldogs grabbed the lead by finishing off their first
drive of the second half with a touchdown and then a two point
conversion. LCA would get the chance to extend their lead following
the defenses' second three-and-out stop of the Woodberry offense.
Unfortunately for LCA, on their second play into the drive, Tigers defender Chris Kelemen
picked the ball out of the air and ended the drive putting momentum
back on the side of Woodberry Forest. Taking over at the LCA 43 yard
line, the Tigers offense wasted little time capitalizing on the
opportunity when Patrick Shea ran for an 11 yard touchdown just four plays after the drive started.
Finishing the Game
Both
teams played well but it was the defensive unit that put Woodberry
Forest in position to win and then solidified the victory with a
magnificent stop of LCA's offense during the Bulldogs final drive of
the game. Earlier in the contest, the Tigers defensive unit had forced
LCA to punt six times in addition to the two forced turnovers.
Despite
the limited success, the Bulldogs offense felt they had a chance to
complete the comeback when they took over possession with 4:45
remaining on the game clock. Early in the series, LCA was faced with a
fourth-and-one on their own 29 yard ine and was able to convert when Lamar Webster barreled through the Tigers defensive line to secure the first down.
A few plays later, LCA faced another fourth down, this time fourth-and-eight, and again kept their drive alive when Kaleb Bohrnstedt completed a 21 yard pass to Tim Glass.
That second successful conversion likely boosted the Bulldogs
confidence as they moved to their opponents' side of the field and sent
a brief gaspe through the stands as the Woodberry faithful became
concerned with the state of their team.
The weary Tigers defense
didn't surrender, however, but rather dug a little deeper knowing this
was their opportunity to clinch a season opening win. On the very next
play, a swarm of Woodberry defenders stopped Webster in his tracks four
hards behind the line of scrimmage on a rushing attempt. A pass
attempt on second down fell to the ground incomplete. On third down,
LCA looked to pass again but senior defensive lineman Wylie Mendicino
never gave the Bulldogs quarterback a chance as he raced into the
backfield and delivered a huge sack that resulted in a 13 yard loss.
The
Bulldogs quarterback heaved a final pass attempt on fourth-and-27 but
overthrew his intended receiver to turn the ball over on downs and
allow Woodberry to celebrate the win as they wound down the remainder
of the game clock.
Key Players
Nathaniel Tyrell, Woodberry Forest...In
addition to the huge interception return for a touchdown that covered
nearly the length of the entire field, the senior had three pass
breakups and kept LCA from targeting his side of the field for most of
the day. Tyrell also had a punt return of 29 yards that he came close
to scoring on but was tripped up just before he was able to break away.
The Tigers Defense...The
graduation of several Woodberry defenders from last years' Prep League
champion squad didn't seem to cause much of a dropoff in the unit's
play during this contest. The Tigers defense only allowed 111 rushing
yards on 35 attempts by the Bulldogs and also defended the pass rather
well. LCA did complete 14 of its' 32 pass attempts but only managed to
gain 105 yards on the successful completions. Of course, there are
also the two interceptions, six forced punts, and the huge stop at the
end of the game as well.
Team Statistics
LCA WF
First Downs 14 10
Rushes-yards 35-111 30-116
Passing yards 105 91
Passing 14-32-105-0-2 10-15-91-0-1
Punts-avg 6-33.7 5-23.8
Fumbles-lost 1-0 2-1
Penalties-yards 1-10 6-45
Individual Statistics
Rushing--LCA,
Lamar Webster, 20-74 (1 TD), Jordan Foster 6-27, Jaylyn Gill 2-1,
Cameron Jones 1-8, Grant Johnson 1-3, Kaleb Bohrnstedt 5-(-2).
Woodberry, H.T. Minor 14-62, Lindell Stone 7-27, Evans Riviere 5-14,
Patrick Shea 2-13 (! TD), Nathaniel Tyrell 1-0, Nate Ingram 1-0.
Passing--LCA,
Kaleb Bohrnstedt 14-30-105-0-2, Jordan Foster 0-2-0-0-0. Woodberry
Forest, Lindell Stone 9-14-86-0-1, Christian Zaytoun 1-1-5-0-0.
Receiving--LCA,
Jordan Foster 5-45, Jared Jauch 3-13, Grant Johnson 2-22, Lamar Webster
1-6, Jaylyn Gill 1-2, Hunter Sherman 1-9, Cameron Jones 1-8.
Woodberry, Zach Roderick 5-45, Nate Ingram 2-30, Hearne King 2-16,
H.T. Minor 1-0.
Robert
Edmonds
joined the Virginia Preps staff midway through 2013 and just completed
his one year
anniversary with the site. He provides insight on player profiles
and recruiting
news for players from around the state as well as in-season game and
team
reports. In 2014, Robert is once again covering the Piedmont area
for the site. He has been contributing sports coverage in the
newspaper
industry since 2006 and also currently does correspondence work with
the Daily
Progress in Charlottesville. Follow him on twitter@bigrob2523
and send feedback and suggestions to him directly at bigrob2523@gmail.com.
