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Grounded Barons fall in title game

Blue Ridge’s state title contest with Nansemond-Suffolk Academy came down to just a few seconds. Not on the game clock, but the four seconds it takes Blue Ridge quarterback Speedy McCauley to connect on one of the deep balls that were his specialty all season.

Nansemond-Suffolk knew that’s what the Barons wanted to do, so they took it away. And it worked.

“I sent more than they could block,” said NSA coach Kevin Allen. “It takes three seconds to throw anything over 10 yards — (by bringing pressure) I was giving them two seconds, so they couldn’t throw the deep ball.”

By shutting down Blue Ridge’s vertical passing attack, NSA kickstarted its bid for a VISSA Division 2 title, winning 17-0 over the Barons at Blue Ridge. The win ended a four-year losing streak against Blue Ridge for NSA.

The Saints’ constant pressure forced Blue Ridge into six turnovers before the break while grounding Blue Ridge, a squad that produced one the area’s most prolific passing attacks. McCauley ran into pressure all day and struggled to step into throws or find receivers before he was taking a sack.

The turnovers were most costly though as Blue Ridge repeatedly gave NSA the ball on interceptions and fumbles after driving into the redzone. A 70-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Ryan Serianni was a backbreaker in the third quarter, as he scooped the ball up just two plays after Blue Ridge’s Robin Moore had put the Barons on the 5-yardline. That gave NSA a 10-0 lead after they led by just a field goal at halftime.

“This is three games in a row that we really haven’t showed up to,” said Blue Ridge coach Del Smith. “We have not matched the other team’s intensity and we’ve got to look at that.”

Blue Ridge’s defense fought valiantly, stuffing NSA several times when the Saints had a short field. NSA finally broke through with an offensive touchdown with 1:52 to play in the contest when Will Crenshaw scored from a yard out after a Josh Todd interception. Crenshaw carried the Saints’ offense with a rugged running style as he notched 81 yards on the day in NSA’s run-oriented attack.

Still, it was NSA’s opportunistic defense that carried the day, forcing McCauley into quick throws and hauling in interceptions throughout the second half. The adjustments Allen made to his defense were instrumental in NSA wrapping up a state title in just his first year at the helm.

A.J. Williams, who amassed right at 1,000 yards through the air as McCauley’s top target, missed the game along with center Matt Clarke, which didn’t help Blue Ridge’s passing efforts. But the Barons’ struggles with protecting McCauley compounded the problem.

“We couldn’t complete a deep ball which has been our strength all year,” Smith said. “He couldn’t set up in the pocket (so) we would try to sprint him out and he’d have somebody chasing him down from the backside — he had a tough day and that’s not all on him, that’s a fact.”

Blue Ridge loses a significant group of talented seniors including McCauley and Rod Holloway, who piled up 10 solo tackles at linebacker in the game and was in on 14 stops.

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