Hogan Ends Sundevils Season
Virginia Beach, VA - Brandon Hogan will be helping the West Virginia Mountaineers try and win a Big East title next season, but for now, the standout quarterback was not ready for his high school career to be over. That was welcome news for the Osbourn Eagles as they faced their toughest test of the season in the Salem Sundevils. The Sundevils came into the game as favorites to win their first state championship, having reached the state semi-finals without so much as a scare all season. After taking a 14-0 lead over Osbourn it appeared as if this would be another blowout. Hogan had other ideas. A 27 yard pass to Julian Beale cut the lead in half, and Hogan connected with Scott Arvai to tie the game early in the third quarter.
The Sundevils would strike back quickly, with star running back Kevin Whaley carrying the load and scoring his second touchdown on the day. As he proved all day, Hogan would just not go away. With just over 7 minutes remaining, the scrambling quarterback connected with Beale again to tie the score at 21. The Sundevils took over and ran Whaley inside Eagle territory with under a minute to play, but a penalty put Salem in a 4th and 10 from the 44 yard line. Salem coach Robert Jackson elected to go for it, and that decision would prove to be costly. An incomplete pass gave Hogan the ball back, and he would make the Sundevils pay. A 37 yard bomb put the Eagles inside the 5, and Hogan would take care of the rest with a 2 yard touchdown run that gave Osbourn the 27-21 win and a birth in the state championship game.
Stats: Hogan ran for 41 yards, but sack yardage cut into a solid running performance. He completed 10 of 19 passed for 207 yards and 3 scores. Whaley ended with 138 yards on 30 carries
