Blue Ridge needed to take control immediately. Facing a team hungry and desperate for a win, letting St. Anne’s-Belfield hang around could’ve been trouble.
“We hammered that message all week — ‘we have to make sure we’re taking care of business any time we have the ball’,” said Blue Ridge coach Orlando Patterson. “We had to make sure they didn’t get anything big on us.”
Mission accomplished. The Barons leapt out to a thre-touchdown lead in the first half and picked up a 35-12 victory over STAB to secure a VISAA Division 2 playoff berth. It was the Barons’ first win over the Saints in seven years in football.
Getting Cody Pegram back in a groove offensively was a key part of the early success. Pegram, one of the Baron’s few fourth-year players in the progam, suffered an injury against Christchurch and has slowly worked his way back into the lineup. Before getting hurt, Pegram had emerged as a solid option in the ground game.
“That was our game plan the entire week,” Patterson said. “We took it easy on him last week and only put him on defense. We were happy with the results.”
It’s hard not to be. Pegram almost immediately put the Barons on the board with a 52-yard sprint for a touchdown on the Barons’ first possession. From there, he piled up 132 yards on 14 carries, including another touchdown run in the first half.
Shawn Steen and Jared Arntzen rounded out the Barons’ three-pronged rushing attack. Steen went for 83 yards and a touchdown on just nine touches while Arntzen went for 62 yards on 13 carries.
The efficient ground game opened things up for the pass a little too, and quarterback Tristan Allen through for 105 yards, including an absolute strike to Darryl Smith for 33 yards in stride that set up Pegram’s second touchdown in the opening half.
“It’s a week by week thing, (Allen is) getting better every time he gets out there,” Patterson said. “He hit his receivers in stride and set his feet. He has the targets, why not use them?”
P.J. White had a pair of catches for 47 yards. White also had an interception on a ball that was tipped a couple of times near the STAB sideline. Steen also had an interception while the Barons’ defense had nine tackles for a loss in a dominant performance. Ryan Etheridge led the way with eight tackles while Arntzen had 7.5 stops. Pegram and Steen each had five tackles as the Barons’ core of two-way players got the job done.
The loss ends a winless campaign for St. Anne’s-Belfield, a frustrating product of a team beset by injuries, forcing them to play an increasingly inexperienced roster each week. The Saints came up just short a couple of times on the year, but should have some pieces to build around for next year as a lot of freshmen and sophomores picked up a lot of experience.
Aaron Stinnie, a senior, led the defense against Blue Ridge with 6.5 stops while Minor Smith came up with six tackles. He combined for a sack with Gideon Elron. Walker Neil had 5.5 stops.
The Saints’ young quarterbacks, sophomores Lee Parkhill and Jake Allen, combined for 9 for 24 passing, with Parkhill throwing for 88 of the 97 passing yards. Allen picked up 56 yards on 15 carries. Kareem Johnson led all receivers with 48 yards and two touchdowns on three catches.
Blue Ridge will play in the semifinals of the VISAA Division 2 tournament next week, time and place to be determined.
