It was personal for linebacker Na’Rod Jarvis and Oscar Smith.
Before the game, L.C. Bird players wiped their feet on the Oscar Smith “S” at midfield.
It was noticed and the Skyhawks paid for it – dearly.
Oscar Smith’s defense dominated L.C. Bird the whole game, and the offense moved at will in the Tigers’ 50-0 victory in a VHSL Class 6 Region A semifinal at Chesapeake.
“At the beginning of the day, they came out here swiping their feet on the S,” Jarvis said. “At Smith the S is a powerful thing. We don’t take that lightly, coming into our house and disrespecting us.”
How dominant was Oscar Smith? The Skyhawks had only two first downs. L.C. Bird had only three plays the entire game in Tigers territory.
“We felt a certain way about them coming out here and spitting on and stepping on our S, so we just had to come out here and do what we had to do,” Oscar Smith quarterback Lonnie Andrews said.
Andrews threw three touchdown passes and ran for another. Tre’Shun Bradley caught two of Andrews’ touchdown passes and returned a punt 45 yards for a touchdown. Quali Price had a touchdown reception and Breon Gibson had a touchdown run.
“The coaches gave us a great game plan for the week, and we just had to execute and do our job,” Andrews said. “We did our part, the coaches did their part and we got the 50-0 win.”
Before the game, Oscar Smith paid tribute to Pro Football Hall of Famer and Oscar Smith alum Kenny Easley. The school painted his No. 5 on the field, and the team encircled it before the game for a moment of silence. Easley died Nov. 14, and this was the Tigers’ first game since his death.
Oscar Smith will be at home again for the region final against second-seeded Manchester, which beat third-seeded Thomas Dale 27-21 on Vicente Chavarria Jr.’s 99-yard interception return on the final play of regulation, preventing an overtime that seemed certain. The pick-six made Friday’s late ESPN “SportsCenter.”
– Reported by Greg Giesen
Class 5 Region A
Green Run 28, Salem 7: Senior quarterback Luke Ashcraft threw for 184 yards and two scores to help top-seeded Green Run cruise to a region semifinal victory over No. 5 seed Salem.
“It’s always a tough game when we play Salem,” Stallions coach Brandon Williams said. “I love the way our guys came out here, showed what type of team we are and played with a lot of intensity.”
The Stallions (12-0) began the game with an eight-play drive that was momentarily stalled, but Dorien Warren pounced on a loose ball following a muffed punt by the Salem return team at the SunDevils’ 8. Five plays later, Zaevion Cleveland hauled in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Ashcraft midway through the quarter.
Ashcraft again connected with Cleveland for a 10-yard scoring strike to push the lead to 14-0 with 16 seconds remaining in the first.
Having been stymied on its first three possessions, Salem (8-4) cut the deficit in half with 3:46 remaining until halftime on a 17-yard TD catch by Kaeden Drenning from Jack Strother.
But three plays and 40 seconds later, Charles Jackson rushed home from 3 yards to restore Green Run’s lead to 21-7. Jackson’s TD was set up by a 54-yard catch down the middle by Zebedee Clark.
A SunDevils kickoff return to the Green Run 45 kickstarted a drive down to the 9, but the visitors were unable to capitalize in the final minutes of the half.
“We knew they were going to run the ball real heavy — they’ve been doing it all year long,” Williams said. “The last time we played them, they ran it down our throats. We weren’t going to let that happen again, and I love the way our defense came out and executed.”
Tristen Williams added a 1-yard scoring dive midway through the third quarter for the final margin.
The Stallions limited Salem to 101 yards rushing and 88 yards through the air. They were, however, flagged 12 times for 128 yards.
“When it’s in playoffs, any win is a good win,” Williams said. “We’re winning, moving on and getting a chance to clean up these penalties this week. Next week, we get to play for a regional championship.”
Indian River 42, Cox 3: Freshman Lord Malik Heru threw four touchdown passes in a dominant second half as the Braves (10-2) eliminated the Falcons (9-3) in a Class 5 Region A semifinal at Cox’s stadium in Virginia Beach.
Indian River will go to Green Run for a game with a state semifinal berth on the line.
Heru completed 21 of 27 for 339 yards without an interception, and his throws were a big part in a 35-0 second half for the Braves.
Tre Pugh led Indian River with 84 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Reshard Pope Jr. ran 9 yards for the first half’s only TD, and Heru had six carries for 43 yards.
Cox threw just seven passes, completing three and seeing one intercepted. Tyre Jefferies had 77 yards on 28 rushes and quarterback Braden Herron had 54 yards on 17 carries, but the Falcons’ only points came on Brycen Widhalm’s 27-yard field goal with 3:32 left in the second quarter.
Heru’s touchdown passes went for 71 and 19 yards to Jason Preston, 42 to Simeon Battle and 55 to Donovan Brown.
— Darrell Cuenca
Class 5 Region B
King’s Fork 45, Bethel 28: Isiah Gilliam and Kamonza Jones formed an impressive rushing combination Friday night in Suffolk as King’s Fork advanced to the Class 5 Region B championship game.
Gilliam ran 42 times for 263 yards and two touchdowns. Jones carried eight times for 109 yards and three second-half TDs, enabling the Bulldogs (11-1) to pull away from the visiting Bruins (7-5).
King’s Fork coach Anthony Joffrion said, “I’m really proud of the way our kids bounced back with a little adversity and, you know, it was one of those tight games.”
Amari Pryear ran for three Bethel touchdowns and 82 yards on 16 carries. He sandwiched 16- and 14-yard scoring runs around a Gilliam 35-yard touchdown, putting Bethel ahead 14-7 in the second quarter.
Myles Satchell’s 27-yard TD pass to Anthony Henderson pulled King’s Fork even at 14, and Joshua Pittman then caused the night’s only turnover by intercepting an Alex Lewis pass and returning it to the Bethel 17. That set up Riley Ricks’ 28-yard field goal just before halftime, giving the Bulldogs a 17-14 lead.
King’s Fork, which amassed 523 yards of offense to Bethel’s 302, scored touchdowns on its first four second-half drives before running out the clock.
The Bulldogs marched 80 yards on 17 plays over 6:41 to begin the third quarter, capped by Gilliam’s 4-yard touchdown run.
Lewis and Antonio Cummings connected for an 82-yard touchdown to cut the gap to 24-21, but Jones then took over. His 17-yard run made it 31-21, and after Pryear scored from 12 yards, Jones concluded the scoring with 47- and 3-yard runs.
Thanks to their No. 1 region seed, the Bulldogs will get to stay at home for their toughest test yet: No. 2 seed Maury, which has been the 757Teamz Top 15’s highest-ranked team all season. In last year’s region final, the Commodores downed King’s Fork 38-14 on their way to a state trophy.
“We’ve been looking forward to this game since last year, when they beat us in the same game,” Joffrion said. “In order to win the state championship, you have to beat Maury High School.”
— Reported by Charlie Baumgardner
Class 4 Region A
Lafayette 35, Smithfield 6: Continuing a dominant run they have displayed since losing to Poquoson eight weeks ago, the Rams used a third-quarter rushing display and four interceptions to charge past the Packers in a Class 4 Region A semifinal Friday night at Wanner Stadium.
Next weekend, the Rams will take on the winner of Saturday’s noon game at Darling Stadium between Phoebus and Hampton.
Breon Stokes led the potent Lafayette ground game with 94 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Josh Simpson added 72 yards on a dozen carries. As a team, the Rams steamrolled for 233 rushing yards, 122 in the third quarter.
Since the 10-7 loss to Poquoson, Lafayette (11-1) has gone 7-0 while outscoring its opponents 330-20.
Meanwhile, the Packers (7-5) finished the regular season with a 42-0 loss to the Islanders before rebounding in the first round of the playoffs with a 30-22 win over Warhill.
However, the Packers struck first as quarterback Kyle Buggs found Kayden Pretlow on a crossing pattern from 17 yards to cap an 11-play, 70-yard drive. The extra point failed, but the visitors briefly enjoyed a 6-0 lead. On the drive, running back Zyron Wells gathered 37 yards on six carries, and the senior finished with 87 on 19 carries.
Izaiyah Gray’s 24-yard gallop set up a short burst from Stokes, who pushed the final 2 yards for the Rams’ first TD. Aiden Gerda’ s conversion gave Lafayette a 7-6 lead, and the Rams would not look back.
In the second quarter, Jael Love grabbed a Baum Hogge pass, spun 360 degrees to the right and
sprinted 29 yards untouched for a TD, extending the lead to 14-6.
Buggs was intercepted twice in the first half, first by Love and before halftime by Logan Oleksy, who leaped backwards to snare a slightly overthrown ball.
Hogge pulled a 1-yard quarterback sneak for a score early in the second half. As a linebacker, he grabbed a pitch in
midair and rambled to the Packers’ 33.
Stokes opened the fourth quarter with his second rushing TD, this one from 4 yards. Talon Leach finished the scoring with a 32-yard interception return.
Class 3 Region A
Lake Taylor 42, Norcom 13: The top-seeded Titans (10-2), playing at home in Norfolk, eliminated the fourth-seeded Greyhounds (6-6) in relatively routine fashion to reach the region championship game.
The Titans next will play host to Petersburg, a team coached by Hampton University football and track legend Jerome Mathis. The Crimson Wave beat nearby rival Hopewell 20-7.
