Western Albemarle didn’t panic when they went down by two touchdowns Saturday afternoon against Waynesboro in the second quarter. The Warriors didn’t panic when Waynesboro’s Dominique Gray powered in for a touchdown to put Western back down by 14 points midway through the third quarter. Western didn’t even panic when a blocked extra point threatened to be the difference-maker.
The Warriors just didn’t get rattled.
Instead, No. 4-seeded Western stuck with the gameplan and rallied to win and advance in the Region 3A West tournament, earning the program’s first-ever state semifinal berth in Group 3A with a 33-28 victory over Waynesboro. They’ll play Lafayette in the state semifinals after the Rams shutout Petersburg Saturday.
“Credit to Waynesboro…they’ve improved,” said junior quarterback Sam Hearn. “We knew what we had to do and we had to execute on offense and we needed to pick it up (in the secondary). We just executed in the second half. We have a lot of heart.”
The Warriors trailed 21-7 late in the first quarter after giving up a second touchdown toss from Chris Baker to Kawan McCarthy, the third long touchdown pass of the first half by Baker, with the trio coming from 38, 35 and 80 yards. With about a minute to play and the ball, Western got moving and after a solid drive, Hearn scrambled in from four yards out as time expired to pull within a touchdown at 21-14.
Out of the break, Western attempted a slick little onside kick where kicker Holland Corbett looked to recover his own kick and Corbett got it, but Western went three and out and punted, giving Waynesboro the ball on their own 19. The Little Giants promptly ripped off a solid drive, highlighted by a speedy run by Steffan Thornton for 53 yards and capped by a Dominique Gray touchdown from inside the 10. Suddenly Western was down 28-14 facing a Waynesboro offense capable of churning up the clock.
“We didn’t start well … but in the second half (after the Waynesboro touchdown) the kids came out and put in a more concerted effort on the line of scrimmage,” said Western coach Ed Redmond. “We sort of took the game over there in the second half.”
After trading punts, Western went to work, with Hearn getting Henry Kreienbaum involved in the offense after a quiet first half. Hearn hit Kreienbaum for a 20-yard pickup, and then followed it with a toss down the sideline to his fellow junior for a 49-yard touchdown that pulled the Warriors back within a touchdown.
Western’s defense then forced a punt and the Warriors got to work again, driving for the potential equalizer when Oliver Herndon (who finished with 150 yards on 20 touchdowns including a 60-yarder that was the Warriors’ first score of the game) powered in from two yards out. But Waynesboro flooded the middle on the point after attempt and blocked the kick, leaving Western trailing 28-27 with 7:52 to play.
Western’s defense was going to have to come up with a stop, and they got it when they stuffed a Waynesboro drive near midfield on an Osiris Crutchfield sack on fourth and six.
“Our defense played outstanding in the second half other than the first drive where they sort of punched us a little bit,” Redmond said.
With a little more than four minutes to play, Western opted to get methodical, looking to drive the ball, melt the clock and score to win. Herndon rushed for a couple of first downs before the Warriors got into a third and seven situation just outside the redzone. That’s when Hearn found Sam Lesemann on a rollout for a first down, then Herndon powered the Warriors inside the five. After a couple of penalties on Waynesboro, Western tried to setup a field goal, but Herndon scored from a yard out with 11 seconds to play. The 2-point failed but it mattered little after Western recovered the ensuing kick by banging the ball off a front line player for the Little Giants before scooping it up.
With that, Western was headed to the Group 3A state semifinals for the first time in school history. Hearn went 9-for-15 passing for 118 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 85 yards and a score on 17 touches. Kreienbaum led the Warriors in receiving with 71 yards on three catches.
Defensively, Crutchfield led the Warriors with 8.5 total tackles while Josh Meeks had five stops including a sack.
For Waynesboro, Baker went 5-for-6 for 186 yards and three touchdowns with the bulk of that coming in the first half. Gray led Waynesboro on the ground with 106 rushing yards while Thornton had 67 yards on seven touches. McCarthy had three catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns.
Western will face Lafayette Saturday, time TBA. Facing an unbeaten Rams squad, the Warriors will need to stay calm again.
Good thing they don’t get rattled.
