Varina is too tough to handle

As Varina quarterback Hermon Norrell took a knee to run out the clock, Tre Johnson sat on the trainer's table, steam rising from his head, blood pouring out of his scalp, trickling down his face between his nose and left eye.

Johnson had just ripped through the Highland Springs defense for a first down, the first down that clinched the game, an undefeated season and the Capital District championship for the Varina Blue Devils.

Johnson picked up those final yards without a helmet. Someone knocked it off, and running through a crowd of Springer defenders without a helmet can be hazardous to your health. Falling to the ground and hoping for mercy would not have been a bad idea. Johnson never slowed down, until he finally was knocked down.

"I got hit in the head by another player's helmet," Johnson said. "It didn't hurt at all. I'm a tough guy."

Tough guys make for good teams. Tough guys make coaches look good. Tough guys win championships.

As he celebrated with his teammates, Johnson looked pretty tough. He had a butterfly bandage on his wound, which went along nicely with the No.7 he has shaved into his hair.

"Tre gets credit for being a speed back," Varina coach Stu Brown said. "But he will stick it up in there. He will run downhill."On our last possession, it was no secret what we were going to do. It was Tre behind our D-I lineman, DeAntre' Rhodes."

It worked. The Springers desperately wanted one last chance to either tie the game with a field goal or win the game with a touchdown.

Johnson and Rhodes denied them that chance.

But Johnson and Rhodes were not alone in clinching the victory.

Brown, in his first year as the Blue Devils head coach, kept the Blue Devils on the right path last night and all season. And Norrell should be commended for staying calm amid the storm.

Last night, Norrell did more running than anybody on the Blue Devils offense. Very little of it was into the Highland Springs line. Most of it was from the field to the sideline, then back to the huddle. After almost every play, Norrell trotted to the sidelines where he chatted with Brown.

Brown would give Norrell the play and any other advice he felt necessary.

Brown was wearing what appeared to be a soft cast on his left wrist. Or, he had just left the bowling alley and had yet to remove his wrist brace.

On closer examination, Brown had a list of plays encased in a black wrist wrap. Norrell had a matching wrap on his wrist.

In most games, Brown uses a signal to give Norrell the play. Last night, with 4,000 people in the stands and two school bands matching each other note for note during the game, calling in plays from the sideline was a risky endeavor. Brown had neither the volume nor the endurance to call out every play from the sidelines. So, Norrell got up close and personal with his coach on a play-to-play basis, and that was interesting. Brown describes himself as "intense."

That might be an understatement. "If it's a big down, he'll get me hyped, and I'll get the team hyped," Norrell said. Being hyped was not paramount for Norrell last night. For the most part, he handed the ball to Johnson, who had 28 carries and 126 yards.

When Norrell finally got to run straight ahead during the Blue Devils final possession, he sprinted up the middle for eight yards. But wouldn't you know it, one of his blockers adjusted a bit too much and was called for holding.

"That's OK," Norrell said. "It's like a marriage. Even though I don't get to touch the ball that much, I feel like if we win, I did my part and helped my team."

It helps to have tough guys for teammates, especially one who doesn't lose his head when he loses his helmet.
Contact Paul Woody at (804) 649-6444 or .