That Louisa County was able to get its offense rolling in the second half after struggling a good bit in the first was nothing new — that’s been a recurring theme for this resilient bunch. What was new though was facing a top tier offense run by a top tier quarterback that this team couldn’t pound on. For all team’s not named Broad Run, Connor Jessop’s return to the football field after overcoming injury is bad news for Region II.
“We’re going to be watching Connor on Saturdays soon,” said Lions coach Mark Fischer. “We might be watching him on Sundays too.”
Against host Louisa, Jessop was under pressure all game, getting forced out of the pocket on the blitz on a regular basis. But no matter how much heat Louisa threw his way, Jessop was still able to make the big play in the air, and in the end that doomed the Lions in the Region II Division 4 semifinals, 39-21.
“(Getting a good start) was huge because as soon as you can take their crowd out of the mix you’re now playing on neutral territory,” said Spartans coach Matt Griffis. “We knew we had to come out and score quick and we’ve been fortunate enough to have been able to do that now two weeks in a row.”
It was a monster second quarter that did Lousia in, as after going up 7-0 in the first quarter, Broad Run outscored the Lions 25-7 in a stretch of just under 10 minutes with a pair of rushing touchdowns and a field goal set up on big passing plays, and one last score before the break, fittingly enough, on a big passing play. Jessop had four different passes in the game for 27 yards or more including 30-yard touchdown pass to Mike Price two minutes before a 17-yard strike to Michael Stratton made it 32-7 at the half.
After going down by 17 points to start the game, Anthony Hunter marched all the way down the field before punching in a 3-yard run to make it a 10-point contest with 4:41 left in the second quarter.
Coming out of the break, Louisa recovered an onside kick and cut the deficit to 18 points on a lengthy drive finished off on a 15-yard pass from Kire Worley to Rayshawn Jackson. However, Broad Run answered back with a 27-yard scoring reception from Jessop to Caleb Lindsay a little under three minutes later to re-inflate its lead. Louisa responded with a quick drive of its own in just 55 seconds later on a 43 yard pass to Jackson before Hunter picked up another short rushing touchdown, this time a 4-yarder with 2:22 left in the third quarter. That was it tough.
“That’s the best team we’ve faced all year,” Fischer said. “But our kids never gave up and they played hard and I’m proud of the effort, and what else can you say but that it’s been a fun ride.”
With the Spartans up 18, both defenses settled in and there was no scoring in the fourth to allow the Spartans, back-to-back Group AA Division 4 champs, a comfortable road to victory as Jessop finished with an impressive day passing, going 10 for 18 with 249 yards and three touchdowns.
For Fischer and the Lions, the season comes to a uncomfortable end as so many of the team’s 29 seniors have played together the last three years on varsity with a handful of starters earning regular playing time back in 2008. The 2010 campaign was just the second time that Louisa went a perfect 10-0 through the regular season. The Jefferson District champions lose key players like Ornduff, Colvin, Hunter and Jackson, but return a number of skilled players next season in Worley, Raheem Johnson and Andre Mealy.
“(The seniors) have been the lifeblood of this team,” Fishcer said. “It’s time to go and find the new characters and new personalities with the lot that’s returning.”
Jackson had 82 yards receiving on his three catches while Hunter had 64 yards on 13 carries. Worley had 149 yards in the air to go with 59 yards on the ground. Ornduff had two catches for 17 yards to go with three tackles and pass defended. Colvin had three tackles while fellow senior Deangelo Johnson led the team with four.
