My wife Elizabeth will be covering this game for Recruit757.com. Check out @recruit757 for game updates.
5A
South Region Finals - Indian River (11-2) vs. Highland Springs
(12-1), Saturday, 1:00 PM
Where -
Victor W. Kreiter Stadium, Highland Springs High School, 15 S. Oak Ave.,
Highland Springs, VA 23075 (off Rte. 33 – E. Nine Mile Rd, accessible from I-64.)
Next
Opponent - The winner will play the winner of the 5A
North championship game, Stone Bridge (9-4) vs. Tuscarora (13-0), next weekend
in the 5A State Championship game, held at Scott Stadium (University of
Virginia)
For the Braves from Chesapeake, beating top-seeded Hampton
21-17 last week merely served as the first step of three toward winning the 5A state
championship. Next on deck for Indian River are the Springers of Highland
Springs, who earned the distinction of becoming the best team in Richmond by
virtue of their 42-35 victory over previously top-ranked Hermitage in last
week’s 5A South Conference 11/12 final.
By defeating Hermitage, the Springers avenged their only
season loss, a 21-20 heartbreaker to the Panthers in the season opener.
Highland Springs is on a hot streak, with 12 straight wins, but the Springers
have given up 69 points in the last two games, meaning that Indian River should
be able to find chinks in the defensive armor of their opponent.
Meeting
Highland Springs
The Springers, coached by Loren Johnson, entered this season
looking to fill several key spots from the 2014 team, which went 11-1, losing
25-23 to eventual state champion L.C. Bird in the 5A South semifinals. They
were successful, and after the opening game loss, quickly found their
collective stride. Indian River will face a tough task in beating Highland
Springs, particularly on the road, and 100 miles from their home base.
The team is on a mission, having been the victim of hard
luck on several occasions on their quest for an elusive state championship.
Since 1970, they have been to two championship games, but lost both by close
margins. In 1978, the Bob Hardage-led Annandale Atoms nipped the Springers
14-13 for the AAA championship, while in 1989, it was Alexandria’s West Potomac
Wolverines that squeaked by Highland
Springs 17-14 to triumph in the AAA-Division 6 final.
Offense – The Springers
may have the most explosive offensive unit in the 5A South region, averaging
41.7 points in three playoff games. Junior quarterback Juwan Carter was the
highest rated signal caller in Richmond this season, completing 63.5 percent of
his passes for over 1,500 yards and 18 TD’s. He only completed 66 passes during
the regular season, but 60 of them went to a pair of speedy receivers. Greg
Dortch is only 5’9”, but showed blazing speed while catching 34 balls for 802
yards. K’Von Wallace also averaged over 20 yards per catch with 26 receptions
for 535 yards. Dortch is a Division I prospect while Wallace has committed to
Cincinnati.
D.J. Anderson leads the Springer running attack. Anderson
rushed for over 950 yards and eight yards per carry during the regular season.
Against Hermitage, he added 124 more. Tackle Mekhi Becton (6-7, 310 lbs.)
anchors a sturdy offensive line.
Defense
– The
Springers defensive unit has become a bit of a paradox lately. Like the
offense, they started the season as an inexperienced group, but quickly jelled.
During the regular season, the Springers pitched five shutouts, including four
in a row during October when Hanover, Lee-Davis, Henrico and Patrick Henry
failed to score on successive weeks.
However, in playoff wins against Lee-Davis and Hermitage,
the defense allowed 34, and then 35 points. While giving up 8.7 points per game
during the regular season, they have allowed 27.3 ppg. in three playoff games. Good
teams can score on Highland Springs and the key for Indian River on Saturday
will be figuring out how to reach the end zone regularly.
How Can
Indian River Win? – The challenge is well defined for Coach Glenwood
Ferebee and his Braves. The offense, led by quarterback Tyre Givers-Wilson,
will need to shake up the Springer defense and not allow them to find the
comfort zone that kept opposing teams scoreless for most of October.
On defense, the Braves will need to slow down the receiving
tandem of Dortch and Wallace, while applying pressure to Juwan Carter so that
he cannot find a passing rhythm – one which achieved a 23-yard per completion
average and astronomical 17.3%
touchdown-to-passing attempt ratio in 2015.
Braves
on Offense – Working in the favor of Indian River is that
they have a big running back, a big quarterback, and a receiver who can keep the
Highland Springs secondary honest.
The Brave attack focuses on Tyain Smith, the 6-2, 205 lb.
running back who transferred from Great Bridge and immediately bolstered the
Indian River running game. Smith finished the regular season with 1,175 yards
and 11 touchdowns on the ground, but in the mold of John Riggins, he is
elevating his game for the playoffs. Against Hampton, Smith pushed for 130
yards, but 110 came in the second half as the Braves looked to control the
ball.
Handing him the ball will be Tyre Givers-Wilson. Wilson got
off to a sluggish start in the opening game against Bethel, a 14-8 drudge
match, but at 6-4 and 220 pounds, Givers-Wilson possesses the size, arm and
speed of a college quarterback. Fortunately, for his teammates, the rest of
Givers-Wilson’s season went better, and he finished the regular campaign with
over 1,400 passing yards and 20 touchdowns.
Many of those passes went to leading receiver Kyren Best.
Best grabbed 31 balls for just over 500 yards and 11 scores. He will have help
from Devon Hunter and Jonathan Griffin, both of whom caught touchdown passes in
the Hampton game.
Braves
on Defense – Very few words are needed; in fact, four can
sum up what Highland Springs has to look forward to on Saturday.
Jaquan Yulee. Tavante Beckett. They are the showcase players
for a defense that allowed just over ten points a game during the regular
season, and have held Bethel, Kecoughtan and Hampton to seven, seven and 17.
Yulee will be playing for Nick Saban at Alabama next year,
but #2 will still be counted on for big plays against the Springer offense, one
that has notched 550 points in 13 games. Beckett is slightly less well known,
but it was his forced fumble and recovery that sealed the victory against the
Crabbers last week.
Outlook
– Two
keys here. Can Highland Springs, and its 42-point per game offense, be held in
check? Indian River will need to hold the Springers under 28 to win this game.
Second, which Springer defense is the real deal – the one that recorded five
shutouts in the first ten games, or the one that has given up 69 points over
the past two weekends? If the Braves can score 35 points, it may be a fun ride
back to Chesapeake on Saturday.
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