Lynchburg, Va. — Less than a decade since the school first opened its door, the Woodgrove High School football team has made history. On December 8, the Wolverines took down Lake Taylor High School, 38-33, to win the program’s first ever VHSL 4A State title in football.
“It was a great game. [Our team] did a tremendous job,” Woodgrove head coach Mike Skinner said. “We kept things moving, and we made a few more plays than them. We made some tremendous plays.”
The game was Woodgrove football’s first ever appearance in a state championship. The football program – started in 2010 when Woodgrove first opened – has made six playoff appearances in the past seven seasons but never advanced to a state semifinal or final appearance until 2018.
“We’ve never had anything like this in the little town of ours,” Skinner said.
[adrotate group=”4″]The Wolverines weren’t alone in Liberty University’s Williams Stadium either, despite the three-hour drive. Woodgrove boasted a full student section, including some students and fans who brought green smoke bombs and a giant Wolverines flag.
“We had a lot of former players and a lot of community members,” Skinner said. “We had one former player fly in from Dallas. He played for us five years ago. We have a big tradition at our school, and everyone takes pride in what we do.”
The Wolverines won the pregame coin toss and elected to defer, kicking off to the Titans to open the game.
The Titans scored the first touchdown of the game less than a minute in when Lake Taylor sophomore quarterback Jeffery Foster scooped up a loose ball in the Titans’ backfield and carried it in from 49 yards out.
Woodgrove refused to fall behind, however, and pushed its way down the field on its next drive. The 77-yard, six-and-a-half minute drive was capped off on a touchdown pass from Woodgrove senior quarterback Graham Walker to freshman running back Price Williams. Their drive ended with the six-point touchdown, however, an attempted two-point conversion pass was broken up by the Titans.
Neither team scored for the rest of the first quarter, with the Wolverines continually shutting down the Titans’ offense and recovering a vital fumble late on their own 21 yard line.
“We knew they were going to be really aggressive,” Walker said. “We always talk about overcoming adversity as a team and never to let your mind change.”
Woodgrove took the lead for the first time early in the second quarter with a furiously fast 61-yard completion from Walker to senior wide receiver Krzys Miller, who caught the ball near the 25 yard-line and outran two defenders to find the end zone.
Lake Taylor responded with brutal force on the next drive, however, which ended in a 70-yard touchdown run from sophomore running back Malik Ousley-Newton and only lasted 13 seconds. The score rose to 14-12 Lake Taylor after a successful extra point attempt.
The Wolverines pushed their way down the field on their next drive, helped along by a 15-yard facemask penalty on the Titans and several long passes between Walker and senior tight end Nick Lockhart. Woodgrove forced its way into endzone again on a one-yard rush from junior running back KJ Lewis.
The drive ended on a third failed two-point conversion attempt, leaving the score at 18-14 Woodgrove.
The Titans refused to fall behind and ground out another forceful drive, starting on their own 45 yard line and pushing the last 55 yards on another Ousley-Newton run into the end zone.
The Wolverines refused to quit and stayed in the game, reclaiming the lead at the end of their next drive. However, they remained unable to complete any kind of an extra point after a missed kick, holding the score at 24-21 Wolverines.
“We knew they would be tough, especially on defense,” Skinner said. “To our offensive staff I said, you know, we have our hands full defensively. They’re good and they’re fast, so let it rip and score some points.”
The Wolverines received the second half kickoff and returned it 20 yards. Two plays later, Walker connected with senior tight end Cameron Beebe on a 53-yard completion to set the Wolverines in motion.
Woodgrove soon extended its lead to 32-21 on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Walker to Lockhart, followed by its first successful two-point conversion. The Wolverines never let go of the lead after that touchdown.
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Lake Taylor and Woodgrove struggled to score for much of the third quarter, marked by few completed passes and short runs.
The Titans broke that streak a few drives later and brought the game within five points when they scored on a 58-yard completion from Foster to junior tight end Ikeem Wright, seen through by a failed two-point conversion attempt.
Woodgrove had one final scoring answer for Lake Taylor as Walker carried in a 6-yard quarterback keeper early in the fourth quarter, bringing the score to 38-27.
The Titans fought back with another touchdown of their own but weren’t able to fully close the distance as Woodgrove ran away with its first VHSL 4A State championship, 38-33.
“I just enjoy watching them celebrate,” Skinner said. “It’s about them, not me. You know, I’ve been coaching for 40 years now and have plenty of great memories. This was a goal of theirs two years ago. Earlier in the season we were 1-2, but here we are.”
For Walker, the win was something his class had been looking forward to for the last several years.
“This is huge for the school,” Walker said. “We had never had anything comparable to this. And it’s a dream of ours from a young age to win this.”
Scoring
1Q 11:11 LT Jeffery Foster 49-yard TD run (Tapia PAT)
1Q 4:39 WG Graham Walker to Price Williams 12-yard TD pass (2pt failed)
2Q 10:47 WG Graham Walker to Krzys Miller 61-yard TD pass (2pt failed)
2Q 10:27 LT Malik Ousley-Newton 70-yard TD run (Tapia PAT)
2Q 6:06 WG KJ Lewis 1-yard TD run (2pt failed)
2Q 5:53 LT Malik Ousley-Newton 55-yard TD run (Tapia PAT)
2Q 2:12 WG Graham Walker to Price Williams 12-yard TD pass (Arvanitis PAT)
3Q 10:03 WG Graham Walker to Nick Lockhart 9-yard TD pass (2pt good)
3Q 1:58 LT Jeffery Foster to Ikeem Wright 58-yard TD pass (2pt failed)
4Q 10:00 WG Graham Walker 6-yard TD run (2pt failed)
4Q 7:02 LT Jeffery Foster to Ikeem Wright 14-yard TD pass (2pt failed)
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