HIGHLAND SPRINGS — Some traces of ice and snow remained on the Highland Springs High football field at kickoff Saturday after a winter storm dumped nearly three inches on the Richmond area earlier this week.
By the fourth quarter, those remnants had mostly melted away, and so had Indian River’s state championship hopes.
The Braves’ offense spun its wheels nearly all day, going scoreless until the fourth quarter, in a 35-8 loss to Highland Springs in a Class 5 state semifinal.
The Springers (11-3) play Maury at 5 p.m. next Saturday at James Madison University in Harrisonburg for the Class 5 championship. Highland Springs will play for its sixth state title after last winning one in 2022.
Indian River (11-3) was vying for its first state championship game berth since winning a crown in 1995.
The Braves, though, couldn’t get unstuck. Indian River managed just 36 total yards by halftime after failing on downs and punting four times during its first five possessions.
Before Saturday, Indian River averaged 37 points per game and freshman phenom quarterback Lord Malik Heru had thrown for more than 2,800 yards and 35 touchdowns.
The Springers kept the Braves out of the end zone until Indian River trailed 28-0 midway through the fourth quarter.
“We just couldn’t get going,” Indian River coach Brandon Carr said. “That’s a well-coached team, and we just didn’t do what we needed to do to be successful.”
While Indian River struggled early on, Highland Springs scored in a 90-second span of the first quarter with a pair of big plays. Antoine Richardson threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Malik Bullock with 4:34 left, and after a Braves’ three-and-out, Bullock returned a punt 50 yards for a score with 3:13 left in the first quarter.
Richardson hit Jonathan Carter for a 20-yard TD in the second quarter to give the Springers a 20-0 halftime lead, and Highland Springs marched 89 yards on 14 plays in the third quarter, capping the drive with Richardson’s 2-yard run for a 28-0 edge.
Heru’s 21-yard touchdown pass to Donovan Brown with 6:17 left accounted for the Braves’ only touchdown.
Heru, hurried on his passes during most of the first half, finished 21 of 32 for 141 yards without an interception.
The Springers outrushed the Braves 176-47, led by Bullock’s 72 yards. Richardson — the Region C Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year —was 13 of 16 for 168 yards and three TDs and rushed for 59 yards.
