It seemed the only thing that could pull Blue Ridge’s Shawn Steen out of Saturday’s VISAA Division II title game Saturday afternoon was the bloody pulp at the top of his nose that prompted an official to send him to the sidelines late in the fourth quarter.
By then it was too late for Nansemond Suffolk Academy.
“It’s so exciting,” Steen said. “We all work hard. I just wanted to do it for my team, for my coach.”
On a team full ironmen, Steen, the Barons’ Canadian running back, return specialist, kicker, punter and cornerback made plays all over the field as the Barons rolled 41-16 over NSA to wrap up the school’s first state football title since 1994. It was also the first title for 26-year old second-year head coach Orlando Patterson, certainly one of the youngest title winning coaches in state history.
“I might be topping the charts,” Patterson said. “Bringing these boys to a championship and doing what we had to do right away feels really good. We don’t have many numbers, but we got it done.”
Steen helped the Barons’ defense create five turnovers on the day as they sent NSA’s wing-t offense into disarray. Blue Ridge held the Saints scoreless after the break, but they created turnovers all day — three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Darryl Smith had two picks while Steen had the other. Max Morgan and Jared Arntzen each had fumble recoveries.
The fact that the Barons’ offense also cut out its own turnovers after the break had a big impact too. An interception and a fumble in the first half allowed the Saints to only enter halftime down 20-16 despite the fact that the Barons had largely dominated the run of play.
In the third quarter, Steen ripped off a long punt return that set the Barons up in the redzone, and from there, Blue Ridge got rolling. Tristan Allen hit Darryl Smith for a 15-yard touchdown. Smith came up with his second interception and Cody Pegram slipped in from 15 yards out early in the fourth. The NSA offense continued to sputter, managing just 224 yards on the day despite holding an advantage on time of possession as Blue Ridge seemed to stuff every gap. Early on, the Barons played nearly everyone up by the line in an effort to shut down the Saints’ Wing-T. The approach forced NSA to take to the air where things didn’t go so well, including the three interceptions.
Blue Ridge’s offense wasn’t flawless by any means, but they did just enough to get the job done and not waste the incredible defensive effort. A long pass from Allen to Leon Straus gave the Barons an early spark and set up Jared Arntzen’s first half touchdown.
“I didn’t play last week, so I told them I owed them something,” Straus said. “I had to come out from the jump and start off strong.”
Steen finished with 114 yards on the ground and two touchdowns while Pegram checked in with 72 yards on the ground.
The win capped an incredible season for the Barons, who came together on a short timetable back in late August and managed to avenge an earlier season loss to Christchurch in the semifinals while down a few players last week.
Smith joining the team midseason had a huge impact. The basketball standout made an immediate impact, and Saturday was a playmaker all over the field.
“It was on him — he was out for awhile and he got that itch,” Patterson said. “I told him, you’re going to have to practice and work for it and he did. He’s balling out and we’re happy to have him.”
It’s Pegram, however, who likely enjoyed the title most. The running back/linebacker is the lone player who has been in the Blue Ridge program for four years and knew, perhaps even more than his head coach, what was at stake.
“I was here my freshman year when we lost to these guys (NSA in the 2009 title game) and I remember the seniors being really sad,” Pegram said. “I was telling the guys all week that I didn’t want to feel that.”
Now he doesn’t have to feel that way at all. Pegram and the Barons have their title.
