Band aid: Hermitage hits the right notes in victory over Douglas Freeman

The postgame handshake line had just run its course Friday when the Hermitage Panthers raced jubilantly and en masse to the track beside the home bleachers at Chester E. Fritz Stadium where their band was still rocking and rolling.

Even before they assembled in the shadow of the goal post in the south end zone for a quick assessment of their just-completed 21-7 victory over Douglas Freeman, coach Timothy Jean-Pierre’s guys rejoiced unabashedly with their aesthetically inclined classmates, sang loudly if not always on key and danced gleefully to the music.

Football always has been a big deal at Hermitage. Band has been as well. The smile-inducing confluence of these two high-profile and culturally significant programs on this cool, windy evening epitomized pure joy and an all-for-one, one-for-all togetherness.

“The band is part of the football tradition. Right?” Jean-Pierre said. “When you hear the band practicing during the summertime and playing during the game, it gives you that nostalgic feeling that we all know and remember.

“The band is one of our No. 1 supporters. I want to thank those guys as much as possible, and one way we do it is celebrating with them afterwards.”

The Panthers (6-3), ranked 10th in the RVA Sports Network Super 12 Poll, had much to celebrate.

After falling behind 7-0 when sophomore quarterback Hunter Saunders of eighth-ranked Freeman connected with tight end Zach Martin for a 23-yard touchdown at 8:00 of the second quarter and Jude Martin added the extra point, Hermitage scored three touchdowns before halftime and held off the plucky Mavericks (7-2) after the break.

The Panthers rebounded quickly from their deficit when Jahson Allums sprinted 80 yards off the right side for a touchdown on the first play following Jude Martin’s kickoff into the end zone, and Noor Elhouda Lamrhari delivered the first of her three points after.

“Coach called a good play,” Allums said. “The O-line went out there and blocked. I cut back and took it to the end zone. It was just me following my lead blockers (William King, Jackson Woods, Zy‘Rell Taliaferro, Diego Smith and Thomas Brown). Shout out to all of them.”

Allums’ reputation as a potent offensive threat preceded him. Though the 5-11, 180-pound senior was the focus of the Mavericks’ defensive effort, he carried 15 times for 190 yards. 

“I take it play by play and take what I can get,” he said. “Some plays are going to be short. Some plays are going to be long. On to the next.”

On the ensuing kickoff, the Panthers forced a fumble, which Alijah Paige recovered on the Mavericks’ 21.

Four plays and two holding penalties later, quarterback Myles Brooks connected with Terrell Lewis Jr. for a 6-yard touchdown 5:45 before halftime.

Freeman’s promising next drive ended when Tison Brooks jumped the intended receiver along the visitors’ sideline and returned the interception 43 yards for a touchdown at 2:35 of the second quarter.

“We knew they were a heavy run team,” Tison Brooks said. “Coach told us all week to trust our eyes, so I was really waiting on it. When I saw the quarterback drop back, I took advantage of the opportunity.”

In the first half, the Panthers ran just 14 plays but amassed 179 yards. The Mavericks, shorthanded with nine starters injured and unavailable, ran 23 plays for 93 yards.

Early in the second, Myles Brooks engineered a 10-play drive hampered by two penalties for illegal blocks that nonetheless reached the Freeman 4.

On first and goal, the Mavericks forced a fumble. Colin Issak recovered, and after Freeman’s drive reached only its 25, Zach Martin delivered a 59-yard punt that rolled dead on the Panthers’ 16.

Hermitage’s ensuing drive ended with another fumble that Griffin Sentz recovered on the Freeman 20, but, alas, the Panthers ultimately regained possession and ran out the clock.

The Panthers amassed 353 yards (248 rushing, 105 passing) on 39 plays. Freeman accumulated 165 yards (123 rushing, 42 passing) on 37 plays.

“They were a great team,” Myles Brooks said of Freeman. “The linebackers played tight. The safeties played back. We just took what they gave us.”

The Panthers’ victory provided much-needed salve following a 25-17 loss at Highland Springs a week earlier that they felt slipped away.

“Last week, we went into halftime ahead and got complacent,” Brooks said. “The loss really hurt us. Our main goal tonight was to finish this game.”

The outcome moved Freeman from third to fourth and Hermitage from seventh to fifth in the VHSL Region 5C rankings with one week remaining in the regular season.

As nice as the win was, Jean-Pierre says his guys have much room for improvement with the playoffs looming on the horizon.

“Tonight, we ran the ball well,” he said. “Moving forward, we need to be better at (not committing) penalties (10 for 105 yards). They’re biting us. We need to eliminate them because they’re momentum killers.

“The biggest thing for us is trying to be consistent, which is not easy in high school. We have to find a fine line of consistency that we can depend on. We’re finding it, but we’ll continue to refine it.”