Salem became the last VHSL “Big-11” team to stay alive in the state championship run Friday night as the Spartans outlasted William Byrd 24-17 before an overflow crowd in Vinton.
The win in the 4A West Region playoff showdown sends the Spartans to a state semifinal contest this Saturday afternoon night at Salem Stadium where they will face Dominion, a 30-23 winner over #1 seed Woodgrove Friday night on the road.
The Spartan win over the Terriers was the second this year, following an early season overtime win, 20-17.
Salem, which has now run off 11 straight wins after an opening week loss to Amherst County, improved to 11-1. Byrd finishes the season 10-2 with the pair of defeats to the Spartans.
It was a fast start for Salem Friday night as the Spartans raced out to a 17-3 halftime lead on the heels of a 34-yard touchdown pass from Spartan quarterback Noah Beckley to receiver Luke Owen and a 1-yard scoring plunge by running back Riley Fox sandwiched around a 34-yard field goal by Nate Craft.
Byrd’s lone first half tally came on a 27-yard field goal from Teddy Drewes in the first quarter.
Byrd started chipping away in the third quarter after Dylan Nakhle returned a Salem fumble to cut the lead to 17-10. Prolific Terrier runner Larry Basham, the 2016 “Big-11” scoring leader, tied things up early in the fourth when he scored on a 16-yard blast to tie the game at 17.
Salem secured the victory midway through the fourth quarter when Beckley hooked up with Viante Tucker on a 7-yard touchdown pass.
A Spartan win this Saturday afternoon will send Salem to the 4A state championship game on December 10th against the winner of the Lafayette (13-0)- Dinwiddie (13-0) winner.
Bill Turner
