The William Byrd football players will be practicing on Thanksgiving for
the second straight season, but there will be plenty of time for turkey and pie later
in the day. And, some good football on TV.
“Thanksgiving is always better when you have football practice,” said
Byrd coach Brad Lutz. That means the team is still alive in the post-season.
Blue Ridge District arch-rivals Lord Botetourt and William Byrd will play
each other for the fourth time in two seasons this Friday, and this one’s for the
Region 3D championship. LB will host the game Friday at 7 p.m. in Daleville.
Byrd has won two of the last three, and the Terriers are defending Region
3D champs. However, Botetourt won this year’s regular season game, 21-13,
ending a last minute Byrd drive with an interception in the end zone. The rematch
has been highly anticipated, to say the least.
“They have home field advantage,” said Lutz. “Our players are excited to
play in our second consecutive regional championship game.”
This has been a big year for the Blue Ridge District. With two BRD teams
in the final the district will have the Region 3D champ, and in Region 5C William
Fleming of the Blue Ridge is hosting L.C. Bird Friday for that championship.
The Blue Ridge District did not have one of the top two seeds in the
Region 3D tournament, as LB is the third seed and Byrd is fourth. Two more
BRD teams followed, Staunton River and Northside, but Byrd beat Staunton
River in the region opener and Botetourt eliminated Northside. Last week Blue
Ridge teams eliminated the two top seeds, as Byrd beat top-seeded Abingdon, 28-
23, and LB won at second seeded Magna Vista, 36-26. That gave the Cavaliers an
unanticipated home game for the region championship this week.
Byrd came from 10 points down on a cold night in Abingdon to beat the
Falcons, who came into the game with a 10-1 record. Abingdon drew first blood
on a “pick six” 22 yard interception return for a touchdown on Byrd’s second
offensive play, then a 39 yard field goal put the home team up 10-0 early in the
second quarter.
The momentum swung to Byrd when Jerrett Shepherd returned the
ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown, and Connor Whitehead’s extra point
kick cut the lead to 10-7. Byrd then took their first lead of the game, 14-10, when
Cannin Lutz ran one in from the four yard line. The 92 yard drive was highlighted
by a 30 yard pass from Lutz to Thomas Purcell and a reverse pass where Kam
McKee found Tate Kotz for a big gain.
Abingdon regained the lead on a two yard run with less than a minute
remaining before the half and went into intermission with a 16-14 lead. The
Falcons got the ball first in the second half but the Byrd defense stiffened and
forced a three-and-out. After a punt to the Byrd 29 the Terriers drove the length of
the field, culminating in a 21 yard touchdown run by Gray Matthews.
Whitehead’s kick made it 21-16 Terriers and that’s how the score remained
heading into the fourth quarter.
Momentum swung back to the Falcons with time winding down as they
drove 75 yards to regain the lead with 6:40 remaining on the clock, 23-21. Byrd’s
next possession ended when the Terriers failed to pick up a first down at midfield,
but the Byrd defense forced a punt with just under three minutes remaining.
Disaster followed for the Falcons as the ball was snapped over the punters’ head
and Byrd took over in Abingdon territory with 2:42 still remaining.
“Both teams traded momentum the entire game, but I believe the turning
point was when our defense forced them to punt on their final drive,” said coach
Lutz. “They could have put the game away, but our defense made a huge stand
and forced them to punt. During the punt they snapped it over the punter’s head,
and we tackled the punter in great field position. Our defense created that
opportunity, and it led to our offense scoring the game winning touchdown.”
A 35 yard Cannin Lutz to Ethan Haston pass moved the ball inside the
Abingdon 20, then Lutz scored from 13 yards out with just 51 seconds remaining
and Whitehead’s kick made the final score 28-23 and earned Byrd a second
straight trip to the region championship game.
The game at Abingdon was played in challenging conditions. Freezing
temperatures resulted in snow falling for a portion of the game and a stiff wind
made passing a challenge. Still, the Terriers didn’t let that affect their game plan.
“Both teams handled the weather well and adapted to the wet field
conditions,” said coach Lutz. “In the end, the snow helped make our game against
Abingdon an incredible memory that our players, coaches, and fans will never
forget.”
Cannin Lutz passed just eight times and completed four, but they were all
key plays as Byrd finished with 83 yards passing. Kotz had two receptions,
including the pass from McKee, and Haston’s big catch on the final drive was key
to the win.
Matthews, a freshman who has taken on a big role after a mid-season
injury to Jamez Toler, rushed for 125 yards on 22 carries and also caught a pass
for 31 yards. Cannin Lutz had three rushes, two of which went for touchdowns,
and ran for 34 total yards.
The defense came up big again when the Terriers needed it. Graylen
Castleberry had 12 tackles with five for losses and a sack, and he had some key
stops late in the game. Justyn Rozeboom had 13 tackles, Blake Anderson had 11,
Jahdai English had six and Jonathan Rosser had five tackles with one for a loss
and a quarterback pressure.
With the win Byrd is now 10-2 on the season and 22-4 over the past two
years, including five playoff wins. Their only playoff loss was to Liberty
Christian Academy, a private school in Lynchburg that welcomes players from all
over the state.
The winner of the Byrd-Botetourt game will advance to the state semifinal
and play the winner of the Region 3C championship game between LCA and
Turner Ashby this weekend in Lynchburg. Both Region C teams are undefeated.
