Johnson goes to work as No. 1 Varina holds off Lee-Davis Varina 21, Lee-Davis 13

By Michael Phillips

Published: October 3, 2008

With the Lee-Davis band providing background noise, Tre Johnson’s runs for Varina seemed as if they came straight out of a video game. A very unfair one.

Johnson’s spin move seems to have about 100 percent effectiveness, and when he gets in the open field, his speed makes him nearly untouchable as he was in Varina’s 21-13 victory against Lee-Davis last night.

The Blue Devils, No. 1 in The Times-Dispatch Top 10 Poll, went to Johnson early and often, eating up 10 minutes of the first quarter to wear down the Confederates and then sending him loose on a 90-yard touchdown run to take the lead.

In the second half, not much changed early, including a goal-line run where Johnson (28 carries, 209 yards, two TDs) spun off four tackles before finally being brought down.

“That’s my favorite move,“ he said. “I’ve been doing that one since I was a kid.“

He said that one of his coaches urged him to cut back on doing it to avoid injury, but it’s so instinctive to him that he can’t do that.

But while Johnson gave the Blue Devils the lead, it was the offense that protected it.

In the fourth quarter Varina turned the ball over three times, giving Lee-Davis prime field position. But after allowing a touchdown on the first turnover, the Varina defense held the rest of the way to protect victory.

“Those were costly errors, but we were really able to shut them down late,“ coach Stu Brown said. “It’s a tribute to the defense, because after playing on Monday, we didn’t get a chance to have a full practice this week until Thursday.“

The Confederates had reason for optimism late, but every time quarterback Will Burton got in a groove, the Blue Devils defense was there for a stop.

On the team’s last stand, with fourth and five from the Varina 14-yard line and a minute remaining, Burton’s pass to the corner of the end zone slid through the fingertips of a diving receiver.

“We had opportunities to put points on the board but couldn’t make plays,“ coach Jason Meade said.

He added that the defense struggled to make tackles on Johnson that would have contained his runs. Lee-Davis isn’t the only team to face that problem this season.

Varina quarterback Hermon Norrell said that the offensive line gave Johnson great blocks the entire game.

“We just kept running the ball and trying to pound it,“ he said. “Tre is the fastest guy I know.“

Contact Michael Phillips at .

Lee-Davis 0 6 0 7—13
Varina 0 14 7 0—21

LD—Harvey 38 pass from Burton (kick failed)

V—Smith 49 pass from Norrell (Gay kick)

V—Johnson 90 run (Gay kick)

V—Johnson 10 run (Gay kick)

LD—Walton 5 run (Angus kick)

RUSHING
Lee-Davis: Walton 10 carries 20 yards; Morris 1-33, Burton 4-minus 3; Connerley 1-minus 1; team-1-minus 16 Varina: Johnson 28-209, Chapman 6-20, Upshaw 3-14, Norrell 5-4.

PASSING
Lee-Davis: Burton 8 completions 24 attempts 169 yards, 1 interception; Harvey 0-1. Varina: Norrell 9-16-139-1

RECEIVING
Lee-Davis: Harvey 4 catches 88 yards; Worley 2-27; Walton 1-minus 2; Connerley 1-56. Varina: Smith 5-103, Upshaw 1-28, Harrison 3-30, Pegeas 2-4.