3 plays change game

POWHATAN -- Three plays.

Three big offensive plays.

That, in a nutshell, was the story of the North Cross Raiders' 21-6 victory over Blessed Sacrament Huguenot last night in the VIS Division 3 championship game.

"We knew coming in that they had two big-time playmakers," said Knights' coach Mike Henderson. "I thought for 98 percent of the game we did a pretty good job shutting them down.

"Give them credit. They made plays. They made two more than we did."

The home team, ranked No. 1 in the final VIS poll, led 6-0 at the half on the strength of a 14-play, 59 yard drive that ended when Ryan Bendele crashed in from the 1 at 6:07 of the second period.

Along the way, the Knights' relentless defenders stymied the Raiders' big guns.

They limited Tyler Cavaness (1,992 yards and 25 touchdowns on 222 carries coming in) to 33 yards on 11 tries and receiver Sid Brown (39 receptions, 866 yards, 14 TDs) to one catch for 4 yards.

"We needed to step up and start playing," said North Cross coach Lee Johnson, whose team, ranked second, is 11-1.

"Their linebackers were absolutely whipping us like a dog.

"When we put Sid in the slot, they were defending him real well. When we put him in the pro, we were getting single coverage on him at least for the first 10 yards.

"For us to run the ball, we had to get the ball to Sid a couple of times."

Brown scored the Raiders' first touchdown on a 32-yard reception from Glenn Williams at 5:10 of the third period.

"It was a hitch and go," said Brown, a 6-1, 190-pound junior. "I burned the first guy with the hitch. Glenn just threw a perfect pass."

On the second play of the fourth period, Caveness finally found a chink in the Knights' defense and raced 69 yards up the left sideline for the score.

"It was a 25," said the 5-10, 190-pound junior. "I took the ball, went left right off the tackle. I saw one guy there, but I faked outside, then went inside of him. Then, it just opened up.

"Until then, they'd put a lot of guys in the box. Then, our line started getting a lot of push."

North Cross scored its final TD -- a 35-yard pass from Brown to Quint Coles -- on a fake punt 1:44 from the end.

"Gutsy call," said Henderson. "We're still kind of in it at that point. Give Coach Johnson a ton of credit."

Defensively, the Raiders, who play a 5-3 but often shift into a four-man front, held Blessed Sacrament to minus-4 yards rushing and 32 yards passing in the second half.

"We needed to fly to the ball," said Johnson. "When our defense decided to take the game over, the whole team fed off it. We just needed to get after'em."

North Cross ------------------------- 0 0 7 14 -- 21
Blessed Sacrament Huguenot ------------------------- 0 6 0 0 -- 6

BSH Bendele 1 run (kick failed)

NC Brown 32 pass form Williams (Lacey kick)

NC Caveness 69 run (Lacey kick)

NC Coles 35 pass from Brown (Lacey kick)
RUSHING

North Cross -- Caveness 18 carries, 124 yards, Ring 7-31, Brown 2-minus 2, Williams 5-minus 30. Blessed Sacrament Huguenot -- Watts 6-28, Spitz 1-9, Howard 9-8, Bendele 2-5, Moore 1-3, Trainum 1-1, Wingfield 10-0.
PASSING

North Cross -- Williams 5 completions, 8 attempts, 0 interceptions, 62 yards. Brown 1-1-0-35. Blessed Sacrament Huguenot -- Wingfield 10-30-1-59.
RECEIVING

North Cross -- Coles 1 reception, 35 yards, Brown 3-33, Clari 1-19, Caveness 1-10. Blessed Sacrament Huguenot -- Trainum 3-28, Paul 1-14, Howard 1-12, Leboff 1-8, Moore 1-01, Watts 2-minus 2, Gilliam 1-minus 2.