Varina’s season over

MANASSAS -- The Osbourn Eagles call themselves a football team of destiny.

The Varina Blue Devils won't argue.

Osbourn spotted Varina a two-touchdown lead, then cranked up the offense for a 47-28 victory in a Virginia High School League Group AAA, Division 6 playoff semifinal yesterday afternoon before a crowd of more than 4,000.

The Eagles (9-4), winners of six games in a row, advanced to Saturday's championship game at Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium against unbeaten Oscar Smith (Chesapeake), which handed Oakton its first loss yesterday.

Osbourn has eliminated an undefeated team from the playoffs the past three weeks to reach the title game for the second time in three years. The Eagles were 14-0 when they won the state crown in 2006.

"We've been playing really good teams. . . . We just kept believing in our underdog role that we've been using, and it's been working," said Osbourn coach Steve Schultze, who has guided the Eagles to three playoff appearances in four years.

Osbourn senior Jerell McFadden was everywhere. He rushed for 102 yards (138 for the game) and four touchdowns in the second half. He caught five passes for 72 yards and a second-quarter TD that forged a tie at halftime. He played tailback when the Eagles ran their single-wing formation. He played running back or wide receiver when Osbourn ran its spread offense. He intercepted a pass on defense.

Quarterback Thomas Keith completed 9 of 15 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 42 yards and a TD.

Their success came after Varina struck first. A poor punt gave the Blue Devils the ball on Osbourn's 33-yard line. On the first play, quarterback Hermon Norrell connected with Bobby Smith for a touchdown with 7:22 left in the first quarter.

Varina's Jerrell Harrison stretched out to intercept Keith's pass on the Eagles' next possession, and the Blue Devils drove 53 yards in seven plays. In a bit of trickery, T.K. Hester, who plays linebacker, took a direct snap and covered the last 26 for the touchdown on the final play of the first quarter. Cory Gay kicked his second point for 14-0.

"There's definitely a concern when that happens in a big-game situation," Osbourn's Schultze said. "We talked about not choking. Once we made a play, I think we felt like we could stay in the game. We just had to stop giving them short fields and turnovers."

Osbourn scored the next 28 points. Keith scored on a 7-yard run and hit McFadden for a 6-yard scoring toss in the second quarter. Between scores, a McFadden fumble was recovered by Hester, but the Eagles' defense stopped another Hester run on fourth down at the Osbourn 33.

"That was a huge turning point," Schultze said.

The Eagles got the ball to start the second half, and Keith hooked up with Lucky Whitehead for 80 yards and a touchdown on the second play.

"We got that quick score, and that got us up. It picked us up," McFadden said.

McFadden's interception on Varina's next possession led to his first rushing TD. Thirty-one seconds into the third quarter, Osbourn led 28-14.

The first two Osbourn kickoffs in the second half concluded with a Varina receiver slipping on the turf. The Blue Devils started at their 7and 5-yard lines.

Hester brightened the outlook for a moment by picking off Keith and returning the ball 56 yards for a touchdown that made the score 28-21, but the Blue Devils' four turnovers and poor field position in the second half were too much to overcome. The Central Region's leading rusher, Tre Johnson, managed just 20 yards in 13 carries.

"Their nose guard [Tyler Brown] killed us. We couldn't block him," Varina coach Stu Brown said. "We weren't able to get our running game going. If you don't establish any consistency, you aren't in a rhythm, then you're trying to make things work. We just couldn't get anything started."

McFadden scored three touchdowns following Hester's interception return.

"Coach put the ball in my hands, the line blocked well, and I scored," McFadden said.

The Eagles were up 47-21 when Varina scored its last touchdown of the season, a 27-yard pass from Norrell to Smith.

"I think the defense was on the field 16 of the 24 minutes [in the second half]," Brown said. "[Osbourn] plays a fundamentally sound game, and it caught up with us."

Varina ------------------------- 14 0 7 7 -- 28
Osbourn ------------------------- 0 14 14 19 -- 47

V --Smith 33 pass from Norrell (Gay kick)

V -- Hester 26 run (Gay kick)

O -- Thom. Keith 7 run (Schultze kick)

O -- McFadden 6 pass from Keith (Schultze kick)

O -- Whitehead 80 pass from Keith (Schultze kick)

O -- McFadden 1 run (Schultze kick)

V -- Hester 56 INT return (Gay kick)

O -- McFadden 1 run (kick blocked)

O -- McFadden 6 run (pass failed)

O -- McFadden 31 run (Schultze kick)

V -- Smith 27 pass from Norrell (Gay kick)
RUSHING

Varina -- Johnson 13 carries 20 yards; Hester 2-26, Smith 2-8, Norrell 4-minus 7, Upshaw 1-3, Finney 1-0. Osbourn -- McFadden 34-138, Thom. Keith 9-42, Whitehead 2-minus 9, Tim. Keith 2-minus 4, Roy 1-7.
PASSING

Varina -- Norrell 13 completions 18 attempts 155 yards 2 interceptions. Osbourn -- Thom. Keith 9-15-221-2, McFadden 1-2-4-0.
RECEIVING

Varina -- Smith 4 receptions 103 yards, Jones 2-12, Upshaw 3-20, Harrison 4-20. Os bourn -- Whitehead 4-107, Tim. Keith 1-46, McFadden 5-72.