The keys to success in winning a high school football game include controlling the time of possession and executing plays to perfection.
Throw in some trick plays and you’ve got the recipe for a huge upset. Just ask the Lord Botetourt Cavaliers.
Friday night at Cavalier Stadium, Hidden Valley used a mix of those three to build a 14-0 halftime lead and the Titans held on with a late defensive stand in the red zone, as 12th-seeded Hidden Valley defeated once-beaten and 4th-seeded Lord Botetourt 21-14 in the VHSL 3A West second round playoffs.
“We were fortunate to just get in the playoffs,” Hidden Valley head coach Scott Weaver noted as his players celebrated the stout win. “We had nothing to lose and took chances. We’ve got a pair of great tailbacks and they came through tonight.”
The rest of the supporting cast for the Titans likewise had some significantly impressive moments.
“It was a hard-hitting game,” Cavalier head coach Jamie Harless pointed out afterward. “Despite their record, Hidden Valley is a hard team to get in a 14-0 hole against. Their play was typical of a Hidden Valley team. We could have been better prepared and I’ll shoulder that. But, our team gave its best effort and these guys had a great season.”
The tone was set on the opening drive when Hidden Valley took the kickoff and methodically ate up over 8 minutes before facing fourth-and-goal at the Botetourt 3-yard line. A procedure penalty backed the Titans to the 8, and a field goal attempt from the left hash mark sailed inches wide.
Early in the second quarter, a Botetourt fumble at the Cavalier 43 gave Hidden Valley the path to their first score. After converting on fourth-and-three, Mason Dermott went around the left side for a 25-yard touchdown run that put the Titans up 7-0 after brother Landon Dermott tacked on the point-after.
Weaver went to his magic hat on the next play and the Titans pulled the rabbit out when Dean Sayers tipped the ensuing onside kick and James Davis recovered for the Titans at the Botetourt 44. Hidden Valley again converted a fourth down play on the subsequent drive, before an errant snap left the Titans with 3rd-and-long at the LB 24. Hidden Valley reverted to a halfback reverse-and-throw from Billy Howe to Sayers that put Hidden Valley up 14-0 heading the the halftime break.
Botetourt took the second half kickoff and went three-and-out before a booming punt pinned the Titans at their own 14. Faced with 3rd-and-long, Botetourt let Hidden Valley off the hook when a Dermott run got a face mask penalty that gave the Titans a first down and much-needed room to operate.
Later in the quarter, Botetourt and its standout running back Chris Thompson got untracked when Thompson reeled off a series of runs capped off by a 25-yard TD burst that cut the Hidden Valley lead to 14-7 with 4:53 left.
The Titans flipped the field on a fake punt and a Botetourt punt early in the fourth quarter set up Hidden Valley at midfield. Howe brought in a 37-yard catch from quarterback Jake Smiley on first down and three plays later Dermott went off the left side for a 2-yard touchdown run, and 21-7 Titan lead with 8:44 left in the game.
Botetourt answered quickly. The Cavaliers, forced to the air, took less than two minutes before Nathan McClellan caught a 10-yard TD catch from QB Nick Webb that made it 21-14 with 6:55 remaining.
The Cavs held and started their final drive from their own 41. Botetourt, out of timeouts, converted a fourth-and-18 on a McClellan catch, then moved inside the Hidden Valley 7 with the clock ticking. A run was snuffed and the Hidden Valley defense got back-to-back sacks before a fourth down desperation throw from the 29 fell incomplete. The Titans took a knee on three plays as the Hidden Valley sideline celebrated.
“We had first-and-goal and let it slip through our hands,” Harless noted. “We felt Hidden Valley was set for the run, and we had been having success throwing. Just didn’t work out.”
“It’s one game at a time,” Weaver said of the Titan’s playoff run. “We got off to the 14-0 lead and that was huge. Lord Botetourt has shown it’s capable of scoring 50 points in one half.”
