Sterling, Va. — It was a postgame scene straight out of a movie: the fans from the stands pouring in dressed in black and pink to embrace their players, their champions who had just vanquished another foe. This was the scene after the Dominion Titans football team defeated the Heritage Pride, 20-9, on October 18 improving the former to 3-4 and dropping the latter to 1-6 in a game that was defined by one major player.
Last year was a frustrating one for senior running back Trey Hayes, as inconsistency at quarterback prevented him from getting the ball and making the impact he wanted, but after being moved to running back, he’s flourished. No play illustrated his brilliance more than the 77-yard touchdown run he had right after his team had just lost the lead.
Hayes took a handoff – a counter – and in the blink of an eye had begun to outrace all the Heritage players en route to the end zone. It was his eleventh touchdown of the year, on a night where he had well more than 150 yards of total offense and was the deciding factor for the Titans.
“It feels good,” Hayes said. “But I couldn’t have done it without the passing game starting to open it up, put less people in the box for blockers. They led me to the end zone.”
[adrotate banner=”38″]This came right after a stretch where Dominion dramatically took the lead, only to lose it and then finally retake it on the Hayes touchdown.
Early on, it looked like the Titans were going to be unable to capitalize on Hayes’ efforts, as they suffered from penalties, missed opportunities, and multiple failed fourth down conversion attempts after solid drives early in the game. Heritage scored early – a field goal putting them up 3-0 in the first quarter.
“In the beginning, we just couldn’t finish with penalties and dumb mistakes,” Hayes said. “But after that, you know, at halftime, coaches talked it out and we got the job done.”
Dominion quarterback Aidan Dolan struggled for most of the first half, as a huge grounding penalty was one of the aforementioned issues that plagued the Titans and kept them scoreless in the first half.
Dolan, however, kept his head up, staying positive throughout halftime and making sure he motivated his teammates in any way he could.
Dominion played from behind for most of the game until Dolan found junior receiver Mason Word for a 14-yard score to make it a 7-3 game.
Heritage brought a blitz, leaving all their defensive backs in single coverage, and Word flashed open and scored.
“I knew my guy would beat him off the route, the linebacker didn’t come up,” Dolan said. “I just made the correct throw.”
The Pride responded, but after Hayes’ long touchdown run, Dominion never looked back, adding another touchdown on a run by Dolan to ice the game.
The win brings Dominion closer to playoff contention, something that seemed impossible after they started the season 0-4.
“We got that bond going,” Hayes said, as the Titans hope to continue their winning streak and keep their postseason hopes alive.
