Big plays, bigger score
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By Michael Phillips
Published: October 25, 2008
The Springers didn't mess around with smash-mouth football last night.
They used five plays of 60 or more yards, each a touchdown, to defeat Lee-Davis 41-14 and remain undefeated in the Capital District.
Junior John Saunders started the scoring on the Springers' first play, breaking off a 60-yard run. After Lee-Davis couldn't convert on a fourth down, Highland Springs took over again, handing the ball to Saunders for an 83-yard touchdown run.
"I had a couple great blocks from Clarence Hill," Saunders said of his runs. "Then, when I saw it, I just took off and went for it."
The Springers' third play from scrimmage went just as well, with quarterback JaQuan Burchette running a draw play to a 71-yard score. After running three plays, the Springers were up 21-0.
The Lee-Davis defense held for the remainder of the first half, but the damage had been done.
"We were shell-shocked," coach Jason Meade said. "We thought they were a better football team. And as soon as we realized that we could stop these guys, we did."
Meade, a former Highland Springs assistant, said his Lee-Davis team (2-2, 3-5) is close to where he wants it to be, but he is still working on getting the team to believe in itself.
Highland Springs (5-0, 5-3) finds itself in the position of having to win the district after forfeiting its three nondistrict victories because of a rules violation. Hill said the team considers the losses something that only happened on paper.
"We're the reigning Capital District champions," which his team is playing to defend, he said.
Hill added 90-yard and 61-yard touchdown catches in the second half to seal the victory. On the first one, he caught a 10-yard pass from Burchette over the middle and turned it into a touchdown.
"I just saw green grass, and I ran with it," he said. "I knew the defense was playing zone, so I thought going up the middle would be my best bet."
The Springers offense tallied nearly 500 yards, with a full 75 percent of that coming on the five scoring plays.
Other than that, Lee-Davis' defense gave the offense opportunities, but they failed to convert. Quarterback Phillip Gardner finished 13 of 30 for 142 yards with 3 interceptions, and running back Tucker Walton had 12 carries for seven yards.
But it was five big plays that kept the Springers on track in the Capital.
"We can't do anything about the forfeits. They're in the past," coach Loren Johnson said. "In the district we've given ourselves the opportunity to reach our goals."
| Highland Springs | 21 | 0 | 7 | 13 | -- | 41 |
| Lee-Davis | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | -- | 14 |
HS -- Saunders 60 run (kick failed)
HS -- Saunders 87 run (Reynolds pass from Burchette)
HS -- Burchette 71 run (Compton kick)
L-D -- Harvey 2 pass from Gardner (Castelvecchi kick)
HS -- Hill 90 pass from Burchette (Compton kick)
L-D -- Harvey 19 pass from Gardner (Castelvecchi kick)
HS -- Hill 61 pass from Burchette (Compton kick)
HS -- Burchette 1 run (kick failed)
RUSHING
Highland Springs: Saunders 6-155; Burchette 12-102; Garrison 6-16; Smith 1-minus-5 Lee-Davis: Walton 12-7; Gardner 3-10; Wyatt 5-14
PASSING
Highland Springs: Burchette 5-10-185-2 Lee-Davis: Gardner 13-30-142-3; Harvey 1-1-45-0; Wyatt 0-1-0-0
RECEIVING
Highland Springs: Hill 5-185 Lee-Davis: Walton 1-4; Worley 2-24; Marlowe 2-20; Harvey 6-48; Becker 5-117
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