After erasing a 19-point first-quarter deficit Saturday afternoon, Lafayette pulled ahead but eventually lost a 25-23 thriller at Loudoun County in a state Class 4 football semifinal in Leesburg.
Aidan Gerda, who kicked a 46-yard field goal to close the second quarter as part of the Rams’ big comeback, came up short on another 46-yard try with 29 seconds remaining in the game. That enabled the Captains (12-1) to kneel out the clock and delight most of the crowd at Sonny Pearson Stadium.
Loudoun County earned a berth in next Saturday’s championship game at 11:30 a.m. against Varina at Liberty University’s Williams Stadium. Lafayette, which ended Phoebus’ four-year state title streak last weekend, finished 12-2 — its only other loss was to Class 2 semifinalist Poquoson.
Lafayette endured a miserable start. The Rams went three-and-out, and their fourth-down snap went over the punter’s head for a safety. Loudoun County then took the free kick and drove to Montez Dyson’s touchdown run for a 9-0 lead with 8:08 left in the first quarter.
The Captains recovered a fumble by Lafayette’s Breon Stokes at the Lafayette 45, and quarterback Jake Miller found Luke Morrison open for a touchdown catch on the next play. It was 16-0 with 7:35 still to go in the first quarter, and Morrison kicked a field goal to make it 19-0 with less than two minutes on the first-quarter clock.
Coach Andy Linn’s Rams turned the momentum in the second quarter. Stokes scored from the 3-yard line after Baum Hogge completed a pass, and Lafayette closed the half with a flourish. Jamir Nesbeth intercepted a pass and returned it 35 yards to the Loudoun County 30, and Gerda powered through a 46-yard field goal for a 19-10 halftime deficit.
Jael Love’s interception set up a Lafayette drive, and Josh Simpson ran around the right side for a 4-yard touchdown on the fourth quarter’s first play. Soon after that, Hogge connected with Simpson for an 80-yard touchdown, about half of it in the air, to put Lafayette ahead 23-19 with 10:03 remaining. The Rams’ two-point try — a halfback pass by Simpson — was incomplete.
The reeling Captains answered, driving downfield. Lafayette forced a fourth-and-goal, but Miller completed a 6-yard touchdown pass to the left corner of the end zone with 5:47 remaining. The Rams blocked the PAT try, leaving their deficit at 25-23.
On their final drive, the Rams converted two fourth downs on Hogge-to-Love completions. Short on time and timeouts, Lafayette tried to set up a winning field goal, but it fell well short of the posts.
