Aldie, Va. — Being undefeated is no small feat for any high school football team—especially in Loudoun County—but the John Champe High School football team was looking to improve to 6-0 when they hosted Loudoun County High School in a Catoctin District matchup on October 10 in Aldie. John Champe senior quarterback Brandon Pena threw for more than 300 yards—including 140 yards and 3 touchdowns to senior receiver DJ Harvey—as the Knights held on to defeat the Captains, 28-21.
“We know we work hard,” John Champe head coach Lee Carter said. “[Football] has become pretty much a year round thing here. To come out and win six games, it’s a testament to these guys’ hard work.”
The victory was no easy task for the Knights as Loudoun County ran for 150 total yards with the help of junior running back Montez Dyson and sophomore quarterback Braden Nyce threw for 115 yards plus two touchdowns.
“[I] thought the defense played well,” Carter said. “Whenever you’re facing a back like Montez Dyson you know he’s gonna get his, you just don’t want him to go crazy on you. Kudos to my defensive staff and those guys on defense.”
On the opening drive of the game, the Knights drove down the field to the County 39-yard line. On 1st-and-10, Pena rolled right before his pass bounced off his receivers’ hands and into the arms of Loudoun County senior defensive back Will Hancock.
That play set the Loudoun County offense up on its own 19-yard line. The Captains capitalized on the turnover with a 15-play, 81-yard drive, capped off by a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Dyson. A Luke Morrison PAT gave Loudoun County a 7-0 lead with 1:21 left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing drive, it was clear the Knights did not want to fall behind any further. The fast-paced offense only needed three minutes of game time and ten plays to score as Pena rolled out and found Harvey streaking past defenders for a 43-yard touchdown. The Knights got a Arash Ahmadi PAT to tie the game at 7-7.
“Coach really harps on us going hard in practice so we can make the game easy,” Harvey said. “Us working hard in practice is just paying off.”
Following a three-and-out on the ensuing Captains drive, Pena found sophomore receiver Luke Gonzalez, senior receiver Cooper Fitzgerald, and Harvey for large gains on their next 10-play drive. Harvey capped off the drive with a reception, making a defender miss the tackle while he strolled into the end zone for a 17-yard score.
“I thought [Brandon Pena] played well,” Carter said. “He’s still learning how we do things. I don’t think you’ve seen the best Champe yet, nor do I think you’ve seen the best Pena yet.”
Now trailing 14-7, Loudoun County had less than six minutes to score before the end of the first half. The Captains moved down the field using their aerial attack as Nyce found Morrison for 18 yards and sophomore receiver Jackson Patterson for 23 more. On the opposing 12-yard line, Dyson got a quick pass and made two defenders miss before stumbling into the end zone for six points. With only 36 seconds left in the half, Loudoun County tied up the game at 14-14.
The Captains got the ball back to start the third quarter,, and quickly started moving down the field until they stalled out on the John Champe 34 yard line. Facing a 4th-and-8, Nyce dropped back looking downfield before John Champe senior linebacker Landon Buckner and junior defensive lineman Jacob Franklin combined to take down the quarterback to force a turnover on downs.
On the following John Champe drive, back-to-back passes to junior tight end Ty Kann for 26 yards helped set up the Knights in the red zone. Junior running back Harrison Tyler finished the drive by finding a hole in the defense for a 8-yard rushing touchdown.
Back-to-back punts on the ensuing drives gave Loudoun County the ball back with three minutes left in the third quarter. Trailing 21-14, the Captains kept the ball on the ground to get to the John Champe side of the field, setting up a 4th-and-7 to start the fourth quarter.
The conversation during the intermission proved fruitful as Nyce dropped back before finding senior tight end Sam Frye across the middle, for a 27-yard touchdown. Morrison tied the game at 21-21 with the PAT..
After once again trading punts, John Champe received the ball back with 8:45 showing on the clock. Starting near midfield, Pena found Kann for 25 yards and a first down. Then, Pena found Harvey on a 15-yard connection, before finding his favorite target again for a 13-yard touchdown to give his team a 28-21 lead with 7:20 left in the ballgame.
“It was a good catch, good route, good ball,” Harvey said. “I’m happy I came down with the catch to give the team the lead.”
On the ensuing drive, Loudoun County moved the ball down to the John Champe side of the field, before Nyce dropped back and threw up a ball towards the right sideline that senior defensive back Jordan Galbert intercepted with just two and a half minutes left in the game.
After a short, four-play John Champe drive, the Captains’ defense gave its offense one more chance. With less than eight seconds left, Pena—who had flipped to the defensive side of the ball—intercepted the Hail Mary pass to seal the deal for the Knights.
“It’s prevent defense,” Pena said. “I’m back there and I saw the quarterback throw it up, and I was like, I gotta go make a play on it.”
John Champe (1-0, 6-0) now travels to Purcellville to take on Woodgrove in a Catoctin District showdown on October 18. Loudoun County (1-1, 4-3) returns home where they will host Broad Run on the same night.
“Tonight, the whole mission was to go 1-0. Next week, it’ll be trying to go 1-0,” Carter said. “We know we’re going into a hostile environment next week at Woodgrove. Our guys are excited.”
Kiko Dudley captured 250+ photos at the game!
Scoring Plays
| Period | Time | Team | Play | Score |
| 1Q | 1:21 | Loudoun County | Montez Dyson 1-yard TD run (Luke Morrison PAT) | 0-7 |
| 2Q | 10:08 | John Champe | Brandon Pena to DJ Harvey 43-yard TD pass (Arash Ahmadi PAT) | 7-7 |
| 2Q | 5:54 | John Champe | Brandon Pena to DJ Harvey 17-yard TD pass (Arash Ahmadi PAT) | 14-7 |
| 2Q | 0:36 | Loudoun County | Braden Nyce to Montez Dyson 12-yard TD pass (Luke Morrison PAT) | 14-14 |
| 3Q | 6:13 | John Champe | Harrison Tyler 8-yard TD run (Arash Ahmadi PAT) | 21-14 |
| 4Q | 11:52 | Loudoun County | Braden Nyce to Sam Frye 27-yard TD pass (Luke Morrison PAT) | 21-21 |
| 4Q | 7:20 | John Champe | Brandon Pena to DJ Harvey 13-yard TD pass (Arash Ahmadi PAT) | 28-21 |