Ashburn, Va. — Doink! The John Champe High School offense opened the second quarter on a 4th-and-goal from the 1 yard line. Rather than going for it, the Knights elected to kick the field goal to put some points on the board and take an early lead, but Patrick Bryan’s attempt doinked off the right upright as the Falcons took over on downs.
“I just kept my chin up. There’s no reason to hang your head after that,” Bryan said. “I just kept playing the game.”
That missed field goal could have been the story of the night for the Knights, but Bryan wasn’t going to let an early blunder get him down. The senior quarterback/kicker/punter responded by going 22-for-39 for 351 yards and 3 touchdowns, leading John Champe to its first win of the season, 36-25, over Briar Woods on September 1 in Ashburn.
“We’re going to make the defense spread the field and play 53 yards [sideline to sideline]. That’s who we are,” first-year John Champe head coach Lee Carter said. “We want to spread the ball around.”
[adrotate banner=”46″]And spread the ball around they did. Throughout the night, Bryan connected with six different receivers, all of whom had at least 15 yards, including a 6-reception, 145-yard, 2-touchdown performance from junior receiver Greg Spiller and a 7-reception, 103-yard, 1-touchdown night from junior receiver Cameron Petrey.
“I love Greg. He’s a tough player, and he gets open, and Cameron is the shiftiest athlete I’ve ever played with; he’ll get open like no one else,” Bryan said. “My receivers make it easy for me; I just drop back and throw it to an open receiver.”
After the missed field goal, Briar Woods drove the length of the field, before taking the lead on a 2-yard touchdown run by junior running back Kendall Potts.
However, that lead was short-lived as on the first play of the ensuing drive, Bryan hit Spiller, who made his way down the sideline, 80 yards for a touchdown. The Knights elected to go for 2, and senior running back Jake Oxendine carried it in to give John Champe its first lead of the night, 8-7.
Then, late in the second quarter, John Champe showcased why it’s no-huddle, up-tempo offense works for them as Bryan capped off an 82-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Spiller with just nine seconds remaining in the half to take a 15-7 lead into the locker room.
“At halftime, we had the approach that we were up, we were going to lose. We had the approach that we were tied, we were going to lose. The only way we were going to win this game is if we stayed true to who we are, which is a no-huddle, up-tempo offense,” Carter said. “Our guys fought to the end.”
For every bit of fight the Knights had, the Falcons were there every step of the way. Midway through the third quarter, Briar Woods cut the lead to 15-10 when junior kicker Alex Crabb hit a 29-yard field goal. The Falcons defense then forced a punt, setting up a 65-yard drive which Briar Woods senior running back Andrew Joyce finished with a 2-yard touchdown run. Unfortunately, for the Falcons, Joyce—who finished with 10 carries for 130 yards and a touchdown—went down after that touchdown and didn’t carry the ball for the rest of the night.
“Whenever you can run the ball and throw it, you’ll challenge any defense. The Briar Woods quarterback is phenomenal and the offensive line did a great job,” Carter said. “That’s a good football team that we just beat. The ball just happened to bounce our way.”
After three more lead changes gave John Champe the 29-25 early in the fourth quarter, the ball literally bounced the Knights’ way as senior defensive back Calvin Cosenke scooped up a loose fumble and took it 32 yards to the house to extend the John Champe lead to 36-25.
It’s the first win of the 2022 season for the Knights and the first under Carter, who replaces longtime John Champe head coach Jason Dawson. Dawson—who is now the defensive shot caller for the Falcons—hired Carter a few years back and the two have since developed a close personal friendship.
“I was a head coach in Alabama, and I felt it was my time to step aside and try something new, and when I came up here Jason Dawson hired me as an assistant and named me the OC,” Carter said. “Up here in Virginia, he’s my best friend. His family’s my family. The Dawson family has been very good to me and my family. I love him, my family loves him, and Briar Woods got a good one with him.”
Briar Woods will lean on the experience of Dawson and 2-time state championship head coach Mike Burnett as they look to bounce back against Hylton on September 9. The Knights will look to build on their first win when they host Colgan on September 16.
“We don’t have a lot of depth. A lot of guys go both ways, so we have to stay healthy,” Carter said. “And, we have to stay true to who we are. Our strength is throwing the ball around, so that’s what we’re going to do.”
Cassie McDonald captured 150+ photos at the game!
Scoring Plays
| Period | Time | Team | Play | Score |
| 2Q | 9:34 | Briar Woods | Kendall Potts 2-yard TD run (Crabb PAT) | 0-7 |
| 2Q | 9:18 | John Champe | Patrick Bryan to Greg Spiller 80-yard TD pass (Oxendine 2pt run) | 8-7 |
| 2Q | 0:09 | John Champe | Patrick Bryan to Greg Spiller 80-yard TD pass (Bryan PAT) | 15-7 |
| 3Q | 7:55 | Briar Woods | Alex Crabb 29-yard field goal | 15-10 |
| 3Q | 3:40 | Briar Woods | Andrew Joyce 2-yard TD run (Carmichal to Weber 2pt) | 15-18 |
| 3Q | 1:02 | John Champe | Michael Clark 9-yard TD run (Bryan PAT) | 22-18 |
| 4Q | 9:38 | Briar Woods | Kendall Potts 7-yard TD run (Crabb PAT) | 22-25 |
| 4Q | 8:57 | John Champe | Patrick Bryan to Cameron Petrey 36-yard TD pass (Bryan PAT) | 29-25 |
| 4Q | 4:57 | John Champe | Calvin Cosenke 32-yard fumble recovery TD (Bryan PAT) | 36-25 |