High school football report: Thomas Jefferson proves resilience with late stand
Sometimes, the biggest week of the season turns out to be the one where you didn’t play.
Coming off two close defeats, Thomas Jefferson entered their bye week searching for a myriad of things. Healing, rest, and a few personnel moves to position them for the stretch run to the Class 2, Region A playoffs.
“We’re a true (Class 2) team, there’s no fudging numbers,” Vikings head coach Eric Harris told The Richmonder this week. “You’ve seen us on the sideline. We’re about 30-35 people strong. That being said, we have a lot of guys who play both ways.”
Getting them a break was top of mind heading into their trip Friday to Deep Run. Right after that was their top psychological goal.
“We needed to eliminate those self-inflicted wounds,” Harris noted. “They really hurt us in those last two losses.”
Moving Quameer Waters to quarterback certainly didn’t hurt. The senior’s passes as the game unfolded made him look in midseason form, helping Thomas Jefferson build a 31-15 lead in the second half.
But one self-inflicted wound threatened to change everything. A pass on fourth down near the goal line turned into a pick six as Deep Run’s Cullen Burch grabbed the ball and raced 95 yards for a score.
The Wildcats recovered the onside kick, and, down 31-28 with just under two minutes left, had a chance for the miracle comeback. But the Vikings’ defense stiffened, stopped Deep Run standout running back Jamel Howard, and got the ball back on downs to seal an extremely important victory.
“We’re still relatively new when it comes to being one of the better teams in the area, so the number one thing was to alleviate the doubt that was creeping into the minds of our young men,” Harris said, understanding that one’s journey to greatness includes the occasional step back.
He understands his players hear the chatter from family, classmates, and fans, and wants to make sure they are as prepared as possible, mentally and physically, for the final stretch of the season.
Waters finished 12-of-16 for 242 yards and one touchdown, adding two touchdown runs.
The Vikings go to Mills Godwin Thursday, then finish at Hermitage November 7th.
WEEK NINE STANDOUTS
Avery Curtis, Hermitage: Doing all he could to help the Panthers in their upset bid of Highland Springs, Curtis carried the ball 23 times for 214 yards and two touchdowns, and caught six balls for 66 yards and a score.
Charles Scott, Jr., Huguenot: The sophomore passed former teammate Linwood Johnson III to break the all-time single season passing yards mark for the Falcons, now at 2,313 yards and counting with two regular season games, and who knows how many postseason contests, remaining.
Kaleb Wyche, Varina: Tuning up for the Highland Springs showdown, Wyche threw for 275 yards and five touchdowns, and added a rushing score in the Blue Devils’ rout of Atlee.
UNSUNG HEROES
Cooper Wolfe, King William: His 30-yard field goal as time expired gave the Cavaliers their third consecutive win, defeating Mechanicsville 24-21, and keeping them just ahead of Thomas Jefferson in the Class 2, Region A standings.
Cullen Burch, Deep Run: Not only did the senior get the Wildcats back in the game with his aforementioned pick six, he caught a 40-yard touchdown pass in the first half to get the Deep Run offense going, finishing with 218 total yards.
The Monacan Offense: Better late than never. Down 26-7 midway through the third period, the Chiefs scored the final 22 points of the game to defeat Clover Hill 29-26 last Thursday to move to 3-5.
WEEK TEN GAME OF THE WEEK
#3 Varina (6-2) at #4 Highland Springs (6-2), Thursday, 7 p.m.
As if this game needed any more hype. The Blue Devils and Springers are now referencing each other on social media via acronyms. Supremacy in Eastern Henrico is, again, on the line, and it’s been awhile since the teams met when both had multiple losses on their record.
Richardson vs. Wyche is must-watch, but this game will be decided in the trenches, specifically, each team’s defensive line. Who gets the most stops likely gets bragging rights. Then both teams can fully focus on their state championship aspirations.
GAMES WE’RE WATCHING
#11 Hanover (7-1) at #9 Armstrong (8-0), Thursday, 7 p.m.
The Wildcats come off their bye achingly close to taking the top seed in Class 2, Region A. The Hawks bounced back from their Varina loss with a win over Henrico but found themselves losing a spot in the Class 4, Region B race, now seventh. Both teams have a ton to play for in what will be the biggest game in this series since it began in 2003.
#10 Hermitage (6-2) at Douglas Freeman (5-3), Thursday, 7 p.m.
Had the Panthers held onto their fourth quarter lead against Highland Springs, they would be in a much different position. With two weeks left, they find themselves one of five teams fighting for the final four seeds in Class 5, Region C, separated by just 1.277 points. One of them? A Douglas Freeman team who has patched together a four-game winning streak after starting 1-3. Now, Hermitage travels to Three Chopt Road in what could be a make or break game, more so for the Mavericks, who will be huge Huguenot fans this week…
GAMES UNDER THE RADAR
#8 Huguenot (7-1) at James River (5-3), Wednesday, 7 p.m.
The Rapids find themselves, barely, on the outside looking in as the ninth seed in Class 5, Region C and now have to deal with one of the hottest teams in the Commonwealth, not just the area. Scott, as noted earlier, is flinging the football with incredible confidence as the Falcons are trying to hang tough in the top four in Class 4, Region B to at least get one home playoff game, currently a half-point ahead of fifth-seeded Courtland, who handed #6 Caroline their first loss last Friday.
#7 Thomas Dale (7-1) at #12 Petersburg (6-2), Friday, 7 p.m.
The Crimson Wave are sleepers no more. After routing Meadowbrook, they went to Merner Field and won their first game over Hopewell in fifteen years. Now they look to end another losing streak, this time against the Knights, who will finish no worse than third in Class 6, Region A, and maybe no higher.
Petersburg has raced up to the second seed in Class 3, Region A, and don’t want to be done rising. Their last loss to Thomas Dale by one possession was back in 2018.
JUSTICES RULE IN GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL
They came, they played, they conquered.
John Marshall went to Varina on Monday night in a battle of undefeated teams and came out with a 20-0 victory as the regular season in girls flag football winds down.
The Justices, now 7-0, head to Huguenot next Wednesday, November 5th for their regular season finale, and will have to contend with Zania Gonzaga of the Falcons, who scored three touchdowns and an interception in their 32-0 triumph at Armstrong.
Other week seven finals saw Thomas Jefferson shut out Franklin Military 28-0, while Open High defeated RHSA by that same 28-0 count.
PLAYOFF RACE – THE LATEST
First, let’s congratulate the teams in our area that we know, mathematically, will play in the postseason.
Class 6, Region A: Manchester, Thomas Dale
Class 5, Region B: Highland Springs, Midlothian
Class 4, Region B: Dinwiddie, Louisa, Varina, Huguenot, Hanover
Class 3, Region A: Petersburg, New Kent, Hopewell
Class 2, Region A: Armstrong
In Class 6, Region A, Manchester remains 1.5 points behind top seed Oscar Smith, while Thomas Dale falls nearly two points behind the Lancers. The top two seeds earn byes to the region semifinal round November 21. L.C. Bird is still in the #5 seed, with an outside shot at catching Western Branch for fourth, which would mean a home first round game. Cosby is in desperation mode, nearly two points behind Landstown for the sixth and final berth.
Highland Springs tied Patrick Henry-Roanoke for the top spot in Class 5, Region C, and, with games against Varina (6-2) and Hanover (7-1) to come, are the odds-on favorite to grab home field. Midlothian is in, currently third, but watching William Fleming, who has leapt to fourth but still need another win to ensure a postseason berth.
Then it’s a five-team race for four spots, with Glen Allen fifth, .027 ahead of Hermitage, followed by Meadowbrook, Douglas Freeman and James River, the latter two switching spaces after last week’s results. Of note, the Jaguars and Mavericks meet next week in a regular season showdown that could set up to be the winner in the playoffs, and the loser going home.
Dinwiddie continues to reign in Class 4, Region B with just a game left at Prince George. They’ll be on the bye when the other region teams battle for position on finale night next week. Louisa remains second, 1.25 points ahead of Varina, with Huguenot in fourth, a half-point behind the Blue Devils.
Courtland takes fifth with Caroline just .125 behind in sixth, then Hanover in seventh. Spotsylvania is 2.5 points ahead of Powhatan for the eighth and final seed.
Can Petersburg catch Lake Taylor for the number one seed in Class 3, Region A? The Titans have one game left against 5-4 Norview next week. If the Wave can knock off Thomas Dale, then Prince George, there is a chance.
New Kent is only a tenth of a point ahead of Tabb for third. Hopewell is comfortably in sixth while Colonial Heights remains in the eighth and final playoff position, 1.3 points ahead of Heritage-Newport News.
Armstrong draws within .75 points of Poquoson at the top of Class 2, Region A, while King William moves to fourth, just .03 ahead of Thomas Jefferson in fifth. The Vikings see Greensville and Southampton both just a point behind. One more win for both the Cavaliers and Vikings will guarantee postseason play.
THEY SAID IT
“I ultimately decided on Army because of the amazing game day experience I had at West Point, and how helpful and involved the coaching staff has been.” – Cosby kicker/punter Grant Horvath on why he committed to Black Knights this week, noting the military aspect was a motivating factor in choosing Army over two other schools.
OUR FINAL PLAY
While it was disappointing to see John Marshall’s varsity team have to forfeit its scheduled games with Northampton, J.R. Tucker, and this week’s game against Prince Edward, the program ultimately made the right call.
The Justices are short players because of Virginia High School League (VHSL) rules mandating suspensions for players who are involved in fights during games.
While the VHSL does not have a mandate regarding a minimum number of players to dress in order to compete, the Justices’ leadership didn’t need one to know the safety of their student-athletes comes first.
The John Marshall community held an online meeting to discuss not just the situation, but the program moving forward. With the football success this decade of Thomas Jefferson, Armstrong, and Huguenot, and with Richmond High School for the Arts readying a new campus, we hope Richmond Public Schools will not leave the Justices program behind.
Being able to utilize City Stadium has been a positive. But what is really needed is a new facility for John Marshall, and the chance to truly play at home, under the lights, one Friday in the future.
