Hampton, Va. — Tuscarora High School junior quarterback Justin Allen tossed three touchdown passes in desperation to cling on to state title hopes, but the Huskies fell short 40-27 as Highland Springs High School took home their third straight VHSL 5A State title on December 10.
“We made a run that nobody thought we’d make,” Tuscarora head coach Mike Burnett said.
After finishing third in the VHSL Region 5C in the regular season (8-2, 13-3), Tuscarora made a deep postseason run that included knocking off Potomac District foes Broad Run and Stone Bridge, whom they suffered their only two losses during the regular season. A dramatic last-second win over Stafford in the state semifinal gave Tuscarora its second state title berth since the school opened in 2010.
“I chose to coach football a long time ago because of the relationships with the players. I think we have strong bonds on our team which is why we’ve been resilient all year and we were again,” Burnett said. “If we got one more stop there with the momentum going our way, I thought we’d win.”
After a rough start in the first half – suffering five unanswered touchdowns to a powerful Highland Springs offense – Tuscarora found their cool and settled in. Their big rally started with just 2:13 left in the first half when Allen connected with senior receiver Adam Thorne on a 62-yard touchdown pass.
“What you saw in the second half was the product of a lot of hard work and maturity,” Burnett said. “I think we outplayed them in the second half, but we had dug such a big hole for ourselves in the first half. But it’s all about developing these young men. I’m proud of these kids and it’s not going to change win or lose.”
Despite a huge deficit headed into halftime, Allen and the Huskies offense didn’t give up. Early in the third quarter, Allen found junior receiver Owen Cary from 33 yards out for Tuscarora’s second score of the game.
“They’re a good football team. We don’t want to take credit away from them. There was two good football teams out there,” Burnett said. “The flow of a game is hard to change and the flow to start this game just didn’t go our way. We certainly didn’t envision that game going that way in the first half.”
Within ten seconds of Allen’s second touchdown pass, Tuscarora senior defensive back Alex Lee intercepted a pass from Highland Springs junior quarterback D’vonte Waller – who had already thrown for two touchdowns on the day – and returned it for a touchdown, bringing the Huskies within two scores of Highland Springs.
“The whole sideline erupted,” Allen said. “Everybody got more comfortable. It felt like we were back at home again.”
However, that momentum was short lived as Highland Springs answered Tuscarora’s efforts with another touchdown run – this one from 47 yards out by junior running back Rayquan Smith.
But once again, Tuscarora refused to surrender to the deficit they faced. Allen connected with senior receiver Kyle Jenkins for his fourth and final touchdown pass of the game.
“The seniors on this team gave it their all,” Allen said. “But we have a lot of juniors on this team, and we’re going to have the same mentality and goals next season.”
With the win, Highland Springs claimed its third straight state title under head coach Loren Johnson. Johnson believes that his team has overcome adversity on and off the field allowing them to become more well-rounded students and citizens.
“I hear people doubt us on a regular basis,” Johnson said. “Stop doubting us. Our team and our players are here to be productive members of our community.”
Scoring:
1Q 6:20 HS D’vonte Waller to Billy Kemp for 32-yard TD pass (Alsheskie kick)
2Q 11:12 HS D’vonte Waller to Jones for 19-yard TD pass (PAT failed)
2Q 9:08 HS Marcus Taylor for 6-yard TD pass (Alsheskie kick)
2Q 5:41 HS Rayquan Smith for 19-yard TD pass (Alsheskie kick)
2Q 3:43 HS Shyrie McKeiver for 1-yard TD pass (Alsheskie kick)
2Q 2:13 T Justin Allen to Adam Thorne for 62-yard TD pass (PAT failed)
3Q 6:43 T Justin Allen to Owen Cary for 33-yard TD pass (Skirkanich PAT)
3Q 6:34 T Alex Lee for 35-yard interception return TD (Skirkanich PAT)
4Q 4:24 HS Rayquan Smith for 47-yard TD pass (Alsheskie kick)
4Q 0:22 T Justin Allen to Kyle Jenkins for 7-yard TD pass (Skirkanich PAT)
