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Sports

Hayfield Football Falls to Stone Bridge in Regional Final

Hawks struggle after Knudson injured in first quarter

A knee injury suffered by all-around star Hayden Knudson five minutes into the first quarter and an inability to finish two key drives doomed Hayfield's football team in the VHSL AAA Division 5 Northern Region championship game Friday against Stone Bridge.

The Hawks (8-5) saw their season end with a 35-7 loss at the hands of the host Bulldogs (13-0), the defending regional champion and state runners-up.

"It was just terrible to have to watch the rest of the team (from the bench)," said Knudson, a junior, who left the game after gaining 20-yards on an end-around. "It sucked being on the sideline, I couldn't do anything about (the score)."

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Trailing 21-7 late in the second quarter after recovering a Stone Bridge fumble and driving to the 24, Knudson could only look on as quarterback Jason Stewart's pass into the end zone fell incomplete with time expiring in the half.

After the break, the Hawks took over at their 35 after Ben Jamison's kickoff bounced out of bounds. Stewart completed a clutch 22-yard pass to senior wideout Sean Townsend on 3rd-and-10 to spark a drive that ended up eating eight minutes of the third quarter, but didn't result in points.

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Carries by Steve Lynch and Justin Marshall -- notably a four-yard gain on 4th-and-1 near midfield by Marshall -- moved the Hawks into Stone Bridge territory.

"We haven't had anybody move the ball and take a drive down the field this whole year. Nobody has moved the ball like that," said Bulldogs coach Mickey Thompson.

Hashim Sesay broke loose on a sweep around the right side for a 19-yard gain, and Stewart scrambled for 10 yards one play later to give the Hawks 3rd-and-3at the Stone Bridge 23 with about five minutes to go in the quarter, prompting a timeout from the host team.

"We were starting to think, OK if they punch this in, we're in trouble here," Thompson said.

Lynch came back after a Stewart incompletion with a six-yard gain to give Hayfield a first down on the Bulldogs' 16. From that point, the drive fizzled as the Hawks couldn't get inside the 10.

"Once we got that stop, that was essentially the ballgame," Thompson said.

The Bulldogs responded, taking over on their 21 after sacking Stewart for a loss, and embarked upon a six-play, 79-yard drive highlighted by Brian Rody's 37-yard pass to Ryan Lowdermilk and Adrian Thomas' five-yard touchdown on a sweep to the left side. Hayfield found itself down 28-7 after the extra point.

The Hawks weren't able to get anything going after the kickoff, and Stone Bridge finished off the game with a quick scoring drive. Rody hit Spenser Rositano with a 14-yard touchdown strike to make it 35-7.

Rody tossed a pair of touchdowns and running back Marcus Harris, who is closing in on 2,000 yards this season, gained 129 yards on 22 carries with a touchdown to lead the Bulldogs into the state final four.

In the fourth quarter, the Hawks got desperate, and a few trick plays and long heaves by Stewart and backup quarterback Ellis Knudson failed to fool the star-studded Stone Bridge defense. Stewart, who scored Hayfield's lone touchdown on a one-yard plunge in the first half, finished with 108 yards on 7-of-13 passing. Marshall was the leading rusher with 50 yards on 16 carries, and the Hawks were outgained 286-186.

The last highlight of the season for the Hayfield came when linebacker Craig Luskey picked up a fumbled Stone Bridge backfield exchange and returned the ball to the Bulldogs' 49. The drive stalled a few plays later with under five minutes to play.

Hayfield Coach Roy Hill said the Hawks just couldn't come back from losing Knudson.

"Each team has just a certain number of playmakers," he said. "When you have two or three playmakers and you lose one like that it really hurts, especially when you get in the red zone."

Knudson, on crutches with his knee immobilized by a brace at the end of the game, said he knew as soon as he was tackled that he wouldn't be able to return.

"It was terrible," he said "They think I messed it up pretty bad."

But the good news for the Hawks is that Knudson is a junior and he has a number of classmates coming back next year.

"It was good to show the kids coming up what we've got to do. We've got to do this, if not better next year," he said. "Our goal was to practice on Thanksgiving, so there you go, we made it."

 

Box Score

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Hayfield Hawks 7 0 0 0 7 Stone Bridge Bulldogs 14 7 7 7 35

Scoring Plays

First quarter

Stone Bridge: 11:47 - Gouveia 84-yard kickoff return (Jamison PAT)

Stone Bridge: 7:28 - Rositano 7-yard pass from Rody (Jamison PAT)

Hayfield: 2:02 - Stewart 1-yard run (Schwartz PAT)

Second quarter

Stone Bridge: 9:19 - Harris 1-yard run (Jamsion PAT)

Third quarter

Stone Bridge: 1:43 - Thomas 5-yard run (Jamison PAT)

Fourth quarter

Stone Bridge: 9:44 - Rositano 14-yard pass from Rody (Jamison PAT)

Hayfield Statistics

Passing Comp. Att. Yards YPA TD INT Jason Stewart 7 13 108 8.3 0 0 Ellis Knudson 0 3 0 0 0 0 Rushing Carries Yards TD Justin Marshall 16 50 0 Steve Lynch 15 25 0 Hayden Kundson 1 20 0 Hashim Sesay 1 18 0 Jason Stewart 8 -35 1 Receiving Receptions Yards TD Sean Townsend 3 57 0 Justin Dill 2 42 0 Hashim Sesay 1 5 0 Hayden Knudson 1 4 0

Stone Bridge Statistics

Passing Comp. Att. Yards YPA TD INT Brian Rody 7 12 108 9.0 2 0 Rushing Carries Yards TD Marcus Harris 22 129 1 Adrian Thomas 4 35 1 Brian Rody 2 21 0 Hilton Galyean 1 14 0 James Manning 2 1 0 Receiving Receptions Yards TD Ryan Lowdermilk 2 46 0 Stan Johnson 1 23 0 Spencer Rositano 2 21 2 Kyle Gouveia 1 16 0 Marcus Harris 1 2 0
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