Warriors Dominate In The Trenches, Win 27-12
STEPHENS CITY, VA - Entering Friday's game against Millbrook, the Sherando Warriors had won 18 of their last 19 games, and had yet to be truly tested in the 2007 season. Millbrook lost their season opener to Briar Woods, but since then, they have rattled off 8 straight wins which set up the Northwestern District championship game against the Warriors in front of 10,000 people.
Millbrook got the scoring started first with Neil Bishop catching a touchdown pass to put the Pioneers up 6-0. In a strange twist to how each team would play on special teams, the Pioneers muffed the extra point and kept the 6 point lead.
Sherando took their first opportunity on offense and gave the Pioneers a heavy dose of tailback Markeith Brisco. Brisco and the Warriors marched down the field and then quarterback Ross Metheny threw a perfect fade route to receiver Derek Crosen to tie the game. A bad snap ensued on the extra point and the game remained 6-6.
Sherando's defense then stiffened and Millbrook began to have trouble moving the football into Warrior territory. Sherando held the Pioneers and on their next drive, Markeith Brisco scored the first of his 3 touchdowns on the night to give Sherando a 13-6 lead.
Brisco found the end zone again before the half and Sherando led at the intermission 20-6.
In the second half, Millbrook's defense stopped the Warriors twice deep inside their own territory to keep the game close. The Pioneers then marched down the field to start the 4th quarter and punched it in from inside the 5 yard line to make the score 20-12.
With 7 minutes left in the 4th quarter, Millbrook decided to kick the football deep on the kickoff hoping that their defense could stop the Warriors. That hope quickly faded as the Warriors went 70 yards in 4 minutes with Brisco scoring for the 3rd time in the game. The touchdown brought the score to 27-12 and the Warrior defense kept the Pioneers in check to secure Sherando's second consecutive Northwestern District title.
After the game, Sherando head coach Bill Hall talked about how tough it is to finish undefeated in the regular season, and how proud he was of his team.
"I'm really proud of our guys, Millbrook is a really good football team," Hall said. "When you have great kids that are willing to work hard all year long in order to accomplish some goals, it makes it a lot easier to finish undefeated."
The difference in the game was clearly Sherando's ability to control the line of scrimmage with their offensive line. Led by All Gameday lineman Joey Christine, the Warriors established dominance from the first quarter on and are now in a position to watch next week's action with their bye week to see who they will play on November 16th in the first round of the playoffs.
Sherando improved to 10-0 and won the Northwestern District for the 2nd straight year. Millbrook dropped to 8-2 with the loss. Both teams will play in the post-season.
Chick-fil-A Players of the Game:
Sherando's Markeith Brisco scored 3 touchdowns in the game against Millbrook just as he did against James Wood two weeks ago to help lead the Warriors to victory. Brisco's toughness running inside the tackles was the difference in the game.
Sherando's Joey Christine played dominating football again on the offensive side of the ball. Christine's ability to take his man out of the play opened huge holes for Brisco and the rest of the Warrior backs in the 27-12 win.
