Region 3A West Third Round: No. 16 Waynesboro (7-5) at No. 5 Western Albemarle (10-2)
The basics: Now there’s one. Western Albemarle is the final Central Virginia football team still alive after the Warriors held on to beat Christiansburg 28-21 last week with a goal line stand. The Warriors are now deeper in the playoffs than they’ve been since Jimmy Carter was president or the United States. They’ll face a familiar opponent in trying to extend that run as they’ll be treated to a rematch of the Battle of Afton Mountain when Waynesboro comes to town. The Little Giants are in the midst of their own incredible run. This year’s edition of the Little Giants is deeper into the playoffs than any squad from the program since 1969 and that’s after they ended a 16-year playoff drought for Waynesboro simply by qualifying for the postseason this year. Both teams are solid on the ground and have been tremendous defensively in the playoffs, with Waynesboro coming off a 41-14 blowout of Broadway while Western’s defense stepped up against the Blue Demons last week. The first meeting between the two went 33-22 in favor of the Warriors, but Waynesboro has a newfound confidence built largely over the last month where they ended the regular season with a pair of blowouts before winning the first two playoff games. Defensive end Tony Fitch (10+ tackles for a loss) and Tyshawn Brooks (leads the Little Giants in tackles) lead the way in the front seven for Waynesboro and will be looking to lock up the ground game for the Warriors that’s allowed them to control the clock a little and not put its defense in many bad situations. Now with a state semifinal berth on the line in Crozet, both teams need big-time games on both sides of the ball to snag a win and advance to the final four.
Key matchup: Western’s front seven takes on the Little Giants’ multi-faceted run game. Over the course of the year Waynesboro has turned itself into an unpredictable ground attack with four players rushing for at least 400 yards, led by quarterback Chris Baker. Baker is particularly dangerous because he can also pull the trigger and keep a defense honest over the top. But contending with Western’s defensive line of Michael Mullin, Osiris Crutchfield and Matthew Wozneak won’t be any easy task for the Waynesboro front. If those three players can play responsibility football and shut off run lanes like they’ve been doing much of the year, they’ll have a good chance to take the Waynesboro offense out of rhythm.
Who to watch: Western’s Sam Hearn. Hearn has emerged as an extremely efficient presence at quarterback for the Warriors as the year has worn on and last week was another rock solid performance for the junior signal-caller as he went 11 for 18 for 225 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 75 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. He’s clearly embraced the Warriors’ “take whatever the defense gives you” philosophy while settling in to make the appropriate audibles and adjustments at the line. If Hearn can piece together another big-time day, it’ll go a long way toward pushing the Warriors ahead.
The line: Western Albemarle by 7. Beating a team twice in a year isn’t easy, but the Warriors have been sound on both sides of the ball lately and that should allow them to survive and advance.
