If you haven’t seen it, you need to. In the game’s biggest play, Richie Dyer did it all — break a tackle, bruise through a pile of bodies, spin move away from a would-be tackler, and out=run the rest of the field. The Fork Union running back’s 63-yard yard show-stopper drew first blood for the Blue Devils in their VISAA Division 1 semifinal against top-seeded Liberty Christian.
“It was a jet run,” Dyer said. “First the defensive back got free of a block and popped me but bounced off so I went up the middle. Then I had to break a few tackles until I went behind one of our guards, Larry Mayzck, he pushed me 10 yards up. Then I spun off another tackle and ran away.”
It may not have been the game winning score, but Dyer’s wild run certainly set the table for FUMA. On defense, the Blue Devils forced six Bulldogs turnovers — three interceptions and three fumbles. And as such, nailing the coffin on LCA’s season only required two big swings of the hammer. With Dyer’s explosive touchdown run and a 31-yard scoring pass from Christian Hackenburg to D.J. Randle-el, Fork Union pulled off the upset that few imagined they would — after all, they fell to the Bulldogs by 15 in the regular season matchup. This time the Blue Devils walked into Lynchburg ready to make the most of their talent.
“I think (this team) just decided they were going to play the way they were capable,” said Fork Union coach Micky Sullivan. “We hadn’t performed well mentally coming in. They went into the arena and were not intimated. This is that time of year — and I just got an email from a coach I’m friends with about this — you always want to peak as a team in the playoffs and I think we’ve done that.”
One game down, one more to go. The Blue Devils are back on the road one more time this season, this time in the state title game against two-time defending champion Collegiate. And while the Cougars will undoubtedly be ready to avenge their regular season loss to FUMA to make it a three-peat, to do so, they know they have to stop Dyer.
“I have a lot of respect for Collegiate’s program and coaches, and they have kids that have played in this game and they know how to play in this situation,” Sullivan said. “None of our players have been through this game yet. We lost three straight championship games to this school when (current N.C. State quarterback) Russell Wilson was playing for them. They’re going to do a lot of different things against us this time around and we have to be ready.”
Those different things, at least defensively, will likely center around Dyer. Fork Union’s big play machine had his best game of the year when he played against Collegiate on the road late in October. Technically, it was a light day of work from a touches standpoint, but not many running backs can say they averaged more than 33 yards per play and carried the ball more than twice. Dyer had five rushing attempts and churned out 166 yards and two touchdowns. After roasting the Collegiate defense on a 56-yard run in the first quarter, Dyer out-did himself in the third quarter when he scampered for an 82-yard score. That was just his day in the backfield — Dyer had an 80-yard punt return in the first quarter.
Fork Union’s physical brand of play is notorious throughout the Commonwealth on the private school circuit. But Dyer’s track and field background, his pure speed, has shone through this year because he came into the year with an open mind. A 100-meter dash champion, he runs a 4.3 second 40-yard dash, but wasn’t able to capitalize fully on his ability until this year.
“He’s always been a great athlete,” Sullivan said. “But this year he’s actually started listening and now he believes I’m not dumber than a stump. He’s been watching film, he’s listening, and of course he’s putting in the hard work. It’s worked and so he’s said ‘Maybe Coach is not so crazy after all.’ But that long run wasn’t coaching. That was all him.”
Sullivan is counting on Dyer and fellow running backs Andre Parke and Keevin Allen to get the job done on the ground to keep Collegiate’s high flying aerial assault on the sidelines.
“We’ve got to run the ball because when we’ve got it they can’t pass on us,” Sullivan said.
Of course getting big plays out of the ground game is an added bonus. Dyer doesn’t have any trouble there, and if you need a visual to understand what that means, click on the link here from Newsplex’s Friday Night Endzone and head for the 10-minute mark. Dyer won’t disappoint you.
