With eye toward 2027, Mills Godwin claims bragging rights over Deep Run

There would be no next game.

Since they’d already been mathematically eliminated from the Region 5C playoffs, what, then, did the Mills Godwin Eagles have on the line when they suited up against visiting Deep Run in their season finale Friday at Axselle Stadium?

Neighborhood bragging rights. For sure.

To say the rivalry between the West End schools is intense is an understatement.

Momentum heading into the offseason. Without a doubt.

Any spark that makes the long, sometimes-devious grind more tolerable provides fuel for improvement.

And pride. Most definitely pride. 

“Every season starts, and every team wants to make the playoffs,” said Mina Gaid, a 6-3, 220-pound senior defensive end, in the aftermath of the Eagles’ 28-9 victory on a cool, damp, hazy night.

“Unfortunately for us, we were one game too short. Although there’s no next game for us seniors, there is a next game for the juniors and sophomores that are coming back next year.

“It’s about building culture. Just because we’re not going to the playoffs, it doesn’t mean we should give up. Culture sets up the team for success in the long run. That’s why it was important to come out here and assert dominance.”

That, the Eagles most assuredly did.

After Gaid & Co. stopped Deep Run’s first offensive series three-and-out, Godwin (5-5) began a clock-consuming, 14-play, 90-yard drive that began inauspiciously with a bobbled punt return but culminated when quarterback Luke Roberts bolted over the left side into the end zone from 8 yards out.

Colton Mayers then drilled the first of his three extra points to put coach Pete Gallagher’s crew up 7-0 at 1:45 of the first quarter.

“We put in a formation that we thought would open up (isolation) for me,” said Roberts, a 5-11, 195-pound senior, of the play called during a timeout on a third-and-goal situation. “I just followed my blockers, and it opened up wide for me to get in.”

Deep Run’s next offensive series reached the Eagles’ 26 before Godwin's staunch defense ended the threat.

The Eagles responded with another methodical, well-executed drive but ultimately found themselves in a fourth-and-5 on the visitors’ 38.

After another timeout, Roberts launched his first pass (and only completion) of the night, which resulted in a 38-yard touchdown to senior wide receiver Ben Martin, who had sprinted from the right side and slipped behind the secondary.

“We go to the huddle (at the timeout), and coach Gallagher drew that one up,” Roberts said. “It was a play fake. I got hit on the throw, but he was wide open, so it didn’t matter. 

“We’d never run that play before. He put it in, told us what to do, and we executed it.  We had the tight end on the left and twins to the right. We faked … and threw it deep to Ben down the middle.”

After Deep Run’s Mason Pritchard kicked a 32-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter, Godwin took a 14-3 lead into the locker room.

With the outcome still in the balance, the second half evolved quickly into a highly emotional, passionately contested back-and-forth between the two uber-spirited competitors.

Midway through the third quarter, the Wildcats (3-7) reached the Godwin 32 before the Eagles stopped them on fourth-and-1.

“For the most part, we stayed disciplined,” said Gaid, a Hampton University commit, of the home team’s defensive effort. “That’s our best attribute. Trusting everybody around you is an important part of our defense.

“When I look at the guy beside me and I see he’s not giving up on me, I’d never give up on him. Looking at the sideline, looking in the student section at people who’ve come to support us … looking in those people’s eyes and knowing we can’t let them down. … That’s a big part of why you keep going to the next play.”

After the stop, Roberts engineered a nine-play, 68-yard drive that ended with Tucker Clifton’s 22-yard TD run at 11:13 of the final quarter.

The Wildcats were undaunted.

They answered with a drive into Godwin territory that ended when the Eagles’ Braxton Pursell delivered a sack for a 12-yard loss on the Deep Run 43.

Eight plays later, Charles Banian scored off the right side from 16 yards out, and Mark Brooks added the point-after.

Deep Run’s touchdown came as time expired when Andres Plaza scored on a 9-yard run up the middle.

Godwin amassed 300 yards (262 rushing, 38 passing) and 12 first downs on 46 plays.

Roberts carried 19 times for 110 yards and Clifton 15 times for 100 yards.

Deep Run’s ledger read 208 yards (100 rushing, 108 passing) and 10 first downs on 41 plays.

“Each day, I told the seniors how many more days of high school football they had,” Gallagher said. “Each quarter we reminded them. At halftime, we said, ‘It’s 24 minutes left in your football career, and for some of you, it’s the last 24 minutes you’ll ever play this game.

“It was easy for them to get up for this game.”