By Logan Riddick / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
At least for a while, this one may simply be known in Penn Laird as The Firetruck Game.
After twice falling behind by two touchdowns in the second half, Spotswood battled back. Down eight with 1:49 to play, the Blazers faced fourth and 10 at the Western Albemarle 31. Coach Chris Dodson called his team’s last timeout to draw up a passing play.
“We noticed they were putting Andrew [McDaniel] one-on-one backside,” said junior quarterback Zach Polglase. “We had it setup.”
With the play clock running and the teams at the line of scrimmage, officials whistled before the snap as a firetruck just beyond the endzone gate turned on its full array of flashing lights.
“That dadgum firetruck,” said Coach Dodson. “We had [McDaniel] wide open, isolated individually. Then the firetruck delay was almost like a [replay] review. They had an opportunity to sit there from the press box and see what we were doing.”
Once the PA announcer had the lights turned off, Polglase was forced to throw into traffic. As the pass fell incomplete to the turf, the home side celebrated a 23-15 Warrior victory in a matchup of schools that each finished 9-1 last fall and were seeded No. 2 and No. 5 in the 3A West bracket.
“Credit to our defense, we hung tough,” said Western coach Ed Redmond. “Spotswood’s a very good football team and they came out in the second half with a little more energy.”
With junior Sam Hearn getting the nod under center, the Warriors settled in after a couple of penalties and drove 90 yards in eight plays, all on the ground. Sophomore Henry Kreienbaum took a sweep left down the Warrior sideline the last 43 yards for the score.
“We had scouted their JV team and watched some of the film from years’ past, and realized that we could probably get outside with some good blocking,” Kreienbaum said. “We got a great block from our tackle and Oliver [Herndon]. I got around the outside, made a move on a guy, and got past him to the endzone.”
The Warrior defense forced a quick three-and-out by Spotswood, and a short-hopped snap allowed Osiris Crutchfield to block the ensuing punt. Four plays later, senior Holland Corbett knocked through a 29-yard field goal, putting Western up 10-0 midway through the first quarter.
Spotswood suffered more special teams misfortune on the kickoff return, as McDaniel’s 35-yard return ended with a fumble recovered by Western’s Jarrett Smith. However, the teams exchanged three-and-outs, and defenses ruled for the rest of the half. After the Warriors stuffed Spotswood’s workhorse running back Brayden Dodson on fourth and one at the 43, Western took the ten-point lead to the locker room.
Out of the break, Spotswood mounted an impressive 11-play, 65-yard drive lasting five and a half minutes, and got on the board with Nick DiPaola’s 27-yard field goal. In just two plays, Western would respond as Hearn fired a quick slant on the right side to Kreienbaum, who raced 67 yards for a touchdown.
“We saw that their safety would flow over with the [pre-snap] motion,” said Kreienbaum. “Great call from up top. Sam threw a perfect ball and I was on my way.”
Ill-timed 15-yard penalties derailed the next possessions for both teams. Still trailing 17-3 early in the fourth quarter, Dodson found the end zone from a yard out to cap a 58-yard drive. Once again, Western answered with a quick strike: facing third and one from the 19, Herndon broke free for an 81-yard touchdown, re-opening a two-touchdown lead with 7:22 to play.
“The o-line was outstanding tonight,” said Herndon, who finished with a game-high 160 yards on 17 carries. “The holes were there so it was pretty easy on my part.”
Spotswood came back with some trickery. On the first play of its next possession, Polglase tossed a lateral pass out to senior Khalil Davis, who turned and lobbed a pass downfield. Junior Andrew McDaniel was able to haul it in behind the secondary and race all the way for a 69-yard score, the game’s third touchdown in a minute and 34 seconds.
“I was a little shocked by it, to be honest,” Davis said. “We do it sometimes in practice, but in my four years playing, that’s the first time we actually called it in a game.”
Spotswood’s defense forced a three-and-out, but as the Blazers’ offense advanced near midfield, Herndon snuffed out the threat with a interception.
“They run that wheel and like to cross those guys,” Herndon said. “I just dropped back, he lobbed it up, and it was there; I just had to make a play on the ball.”
Still, Western was forced to punt again after three plays with 2:44 remaining, setting the stage for one more chance at a game-tying drive. The first play brought disaster, as a deep sideline completion to Davis was not only nullified by a holding flag, but the dynamic flanker went down with a foot injury. Polglase came back to hit McDaniel for 33 yards into Warrior territory, but his next four attempts fell incomplete.
In his first start, Hearn completed 3 of 10 passes for 80 yards and a score. He also carried 12 times for 56 yards. Kreienbaum added 58 yards on four carries, plus 76 yards receiving with two catches.
“Henry’s a great athlete in space, and Sam’s equal, so we have two excellent athletes there both on the field,” said Redmond. “They can’t play the same position, and Henry just gives us so much out there with his athleticism. They’re both tremendous kids.”
Dodson led the Blazers with 70 yards rushing on 16 carries. Senior Stanton Shull added 45 yards on seven attempts. After an 0-for-7 first half, Polglase finished with four completions out of 19 attempts for 69 yards.
Spotswood (0-1) heads to Stanardsville next Friday for William Monroe’s season opener. Western (1-0) will face another Valley District opponent when Waynesboro (0-1) makes the short trip to Crozet.
