Although time of possession and total yardage were heavily weighted in Volley Forge’s favor, by virtue of two huge plays, one from running back Richie Dyer and another from linebacker Zac Williams, Fork Union remarkably held a four-point lead over a Trojans squad that suited up with 10 post graduate players. However, holding on to that lead in the second half proved difficult, as a string of missed tackles, blown coverage, an onside kick and interceptions helped Valley Forge dominate the second half. Behind the big plays, the Trojans completed their undefeated season with a 38-19 win over hosting FUMA.
“We just did not respond well,” said Blue Devils coach Micky Sullivan. “They had a big pass and we followed it up with two turnovers and you can’t do that – or at least not against good teams.”
A 15-yard touchdown reception from Tyler Hrycak to Lawrence Livers and a 23-yard field goal had Forge up 9-0 with just over three minutes to play. But like he has all year, Dyer’s ability to bust open a play changed the shape of the game as he took a screen pass from Christian Hackenburg, made two would-be tacklers fall over on a juke move, then flew down the sidelines for a 24-yard touchdown.
On the very next play from scrimmage, Williams landed on top of a pitch gone awry in the Trojan’s endzone to suddenly give the Blue Devils a 13-9 lead heading into the second half.
“Our defense played their fannies off,” Sullivan said. “But we could not capitalize and we made too many mistakes.”
The third quarter started with a 64-yard bomb from Hrycak to Stephen Hodge to put Forge out in front. After both teams trading turnovers, Rasheen Tookes ran for a 38-yard score to give the Trojans an 11-point lead. Another interception later and another Hrycak-Hodge connections made 32-13.
“Big plays and turnovers, the onside kick, that was it for us, those were huge,” said Forge coach Glenn Foley. “We’ve been down before so we knew what it takes to come back in the second half.”
Fork Union’s D.J. Randle-el came up with the only Blue Devil touchdown in the second half, an 11-yard reception from Hackenburg. Unfortunately for FUMA, Tookes ran for a 51-yard touchdown just seconds later. With a 19-point gap keeping the Blue Devils at bay, Forge was able to hang on for a much appreciated win.
“We don’t play in a conference, so this was it for us, we were playing for the undefeated season,” Foley said. “And to be able to get that against a program like (FUMA’s) – really, they’re the type of program that we aspire to become. We want to be able to build our program to have the same reputation.”
Fork Union appears to have earned a VISAA Division 1 playoff spot and will play next week.
