HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Eagles regroup in second half

Sept. 06--Football championships aren't won in September, but the first month can derail a team's postseason hopes.

It's no coincidence that the last time Colonial Forge lost its first two games (2008) was also the last time the Eagles failed to reach the VHSL playoffs.

That's why Friday night's come-from-behind 27-20 victory over perennial power Briar Woods was significant--because it squared the Eagles' record at 1-1 and showed their resilience.

"That was a challenge," coach Bill Brown said. "I told the kids, 'You can't have accomplishment without a challenge.' We got one tonight."

A year ago in Ashburn, the Eagles fell behind Briar Woods early and never caught up. Friday night, they were outplayed in the first half again, but dominated the final 24 minutes to hand the Falcons (1-1) just their third regular-season loss in the last three years.

"This was a very big win," said senior quarterback Gary Jennings, who ran for three touchdowns and threw for another. "Last week's loss [to Highland Springs] was very discouraging. We knew we had to bounce back."

After halftime, Colonial Forge's defense put more pressure on Falcons quarterback Jake Maffe, who had been nearly perfect (12 for 14) in the first half. Maffe finished 24 of 34 for 225 yards and two touchdowns, but misfired on his last two attempts as Briar Woods tried to drive for a tying touchdown in the final 2:32.

Colonial Forge sacked Maffe five times, including a key third-down tackle by Daniel Seawright with just over a minute to play. Conner Riddle then deflected Maffe's fourth-down pass to end the threat and touch off a celebration.

"They made some defensive changes we didn't make," Briar Woods coach Charlie Pierce said. "They had the whiteboard and the eraser last. They made the big plays when they had to."

The Eagles' other halftime adjustment was getting the ball into the hands of Remone Miller more often.

Aside from a 55-yard pass from Jennings to David Thompson on Colonial Forge's first offensive play, the Eagles managed just 26 total yards and one first down in the first half.

Miller, who had just four carries for 8 yards in the first half, gained 100 on nine second-half carries. That nicely complemented Jennings, who ran for scores of 1, 3 and 5 yards and completed a 41-yard fourth-quarter strike to Joel Miller for a key insurance touchdown.

"[An] 0-2 start would have made my Adam's apple a little tight," Brown said. "We could have recovered from it, but I didn't want to have to."

The Eagles will visit Hermitage next Friday.

Briar Woods 6 7 0 7 -- 20

Colonial Forge 6 0 14 7 -- 27

First Quarter

CF-G. Jennings 1-yard run (kick failed)

BW-T. Carter 14-yard pass from J. Maffe (kick failed)

Second Quarter

BW-B. Polk 12-yard run (J. Funke kick)

Third Quarter

CF-G. Jennings 2-yard run (J. Redding kick)

CF-G. Jennings 5-yard run (J. Redding kick)

Fourth Quarter

CF-J. Miller 45-yard pass from G. Jennings (J. Redding kick)

BW-B. Maffe 41-yard pass from J. Maffe (J. Funke kick)

TEAM STATISTICS

JM NS

First Downs 20 18

Rushing yardage 35-109 43-227

Passing yardage 225 128

Passes 26-34-0 5-13-1

Punts-Avg. 4-36.3 4-31.0

Fumbles-lost 2-2 0-0

Penalties-yards 3-35 5-40

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: Colonial Forge--Joel Miller 5-44; Remone Miller 13-108; Gary Jennings 21-89, 3TD; Rohan Martin 1-(-5); Jamal Brown 3-(-9). Briar Woods--Anthony Martinez 10-56; Jordan Hinson 8-32; Dillon Blevins 3-19; Brandon Polk 3-12, TD; Jake Maffe 11-(-10).

Passing: Colonial Forge--Gary Jennings 4-10-1 123, TD; Jamal Brown 1-3-0 5. Briar Woods--Jake Maffe 26-34-0 225, 2TD.

Receiving: Colonial Forge--Joel Miller 2-58, TD; David Thompson 1-55; Jamal Brown 1-10; Gary Jennings 1-5. Briar Woods--Tristan Carter 6-78, TD; Ben Maffe 2-47, TD; Anthony Martinez 4-46; Brandon Polk 8-38; Riley Canan 2-9; Anthony Carino 1-5.

Steve DeShazo: 540/374-5443

[email protected]

___

(c)2014 The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, Va.)

Visit The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, Va.) at www.fredericksburg.com/flshome

Distributed by MCT Information Services