Purcellville, Va. — Entering Week 7 undefeated for the second time in school history, the John Champe High School football team was looking to keep their winning streak alive. The Knights matched up against Woodgrove for a back-and-forth battle through three quarters then used a 20-point fourth quarter to stay undefeated with a 40-28 win over the Wolverines on October 18 in Purcellville.
“It feels really good to get the win,” John Champe head coach Lee Carter said. “Woodgrove is a really good football team. They’re big, they’re physical. They called different stuff in the first half that we weren’t prepared for.”
John Champe’s pass-heavy offense turned to the ground game to push past the Wolverines defense. A collection of Knights ran for 30-plus yards with junior tight end Ty Kann highlighting the effort with two rushing and one receiving touchdowns. In total, the John Champe offense amassed 240 yards rushing, while senior quarterback Brandon Pena completed 14-of-23 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown.
“In the first quarter, I was down on myself, but coach kept trusting me, kept feeding me the ball, and I kept putting it in the end zone,” Kann said.
John Champe received the ball to start the game after Woodgrove deferred the kickoff. After driving down the field, Pena found senior receiver DJ Harvey for 15 yards then senior receiver Cooper Fitzgerald for 27. It set the Knights up on the 4-yard line, before senior defensive lineman Denver Elliott broke through the offensive line to tackle Kann two yards behind the line of scrimmage. A 2nd-and-goal saw Harvey—who finished with 60 rushing yards and 70 receiving yards—get the pitch and outrace the defenders to the pylon. Woodgrove blocked the PAT giving John Champe a 6-0 lead less than two minutes into the game.
Then, after trading punts, Woodgrove was set up on the John Champe 16 yard line late in the first quarter. Three handoffs to Woodgrove senior running back Sam Goode gave the Wolverines the 16 yards they needed as he finished the drive with a 6-yard touchdown. A missed PAT tied the game up at 6-6 with over three minutes left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing drive, Pena handed the ball off to junior athlete Shawn Springs II on 4th-and-1 before a group of Wolverines took him down prior to the first down, forcing a turnover on downs.
For the second straight drive, Woodgrove tried to capitalize on good field position; however, their offense stalled out, as the Knights forced a turnover on downs of their own.
On the next play of the resulting drive, Pena found Harvey across the middle, but a big hit knocked the ball out of his hands and onto the ground where Woodgrove senior athlete Connor Salmin recovered the fumble to give the Wolverines the ball inside John Champe territory.
Woodgrove freshman running back Joey Ridolfi capped off the ensuing drive with a 7-yard touchdown run. A good 2-point conversion after a pass to junior kicker Bryce Mullsteff gave Woodgrove a 14-6 lead midway through the second quarter.
“[Woodgrove] had a good game plan, so I was proud of our defense,” Carter said. “Keeping it a one-score game at halftime gave me time to make adjustments.”
Trailing 14-6 to open the second half, the Knights orchestrated an 11-play, 74-yard drive, which resulted in a 4-yard touchdown pass from Pena to Kann. Then, Kann threw a pass on the 2-point conversion to sophomore receiver Luke Gonzalez to tie the game up at 14-14 with just under three minutes left in the third quarter.
However, it didn’t take long for Woodgrove to answer as Ridolfi—who finished his night with 135 yards and two touchdowns—broke free on the first play of the ensuing drive for an 80-yard touchdown run, the second longest run in Woodgrove history. Woodgrove missed the PAT but still led, 20-14.
With just 2:30 minutes left in the quarter, the “Air Aldie” offense pushed the pace as Kann hauled in big receptions of 20 and 23 yards before finishing the possession with a 7-yard rushing touchdown just two minutes after they took over. The Wolverines blocked the resulting PAT attempt as the game remained tied 20-20.
“[Kann] is a special football player,” Carter said. “He can run, he can block, he can catch: he’s the complete package. He’s a legit football player.”
After a Woodgrove three-and-out to start the fourth quarter, John Champe looked to retake the lead. Pena found Gonzalez for a 32-yard pitch-and-catch before junior running back Harrison Tyler concluded the possession with a 7-yard rushing touchdown. A good Pena PAT gave John Champe their second lead of the game at 27-20.
On the next drive, John Champe senior athlete Zee Willis came off the edge to drop Woodgrove sophomore quarterback Brian Miller for a 9-yard sack, setting up a punt on 4th-and-18.
A short punt set John Champe up on the Woodgrove side of the field, where Kann took the direct snap and made three defenders miss for a 19-yard touchdown run. Kann finished the game with 50 yards rushing and 50 yards receiving as well as three touchdowns. A blocked PAT gave the Knights a 33-20 lead.
“[The expectations] are to win. We know if we win out we’ll get home field advantage,” Kann said. “So we got three more games, and I think we got it.”
Woodgrove received three consecutive penalties on the next drive before John Champe junior defensive lineman Jacob Franklin broke through for a sack. The Wolverines had to punt on 4th-and-58 and gave the ball back to John Champe on the 30-yard line. From there, Pena scored on a 1-yard quarterback keeper to put the game out of reach with three minutes left on the clock. While the Wolverines did score once more, the effort was too little too late.
John Champe (2-0, 7-0) will now turn their attention to Park View next week on October 25 in Sterling. Woodgrove (1-2, 4-3) travels to Broad Run on the same night.
“We want to be playing at Liberty [in the state championship game], and we want to win it,” Carter said. “We are just trying to go 1-0. That’s our philosophy.”
Sam Mesecar captured 250+ photos at the game!
Scoring Plays
| Period | Time | Team | Play | Score |
| 1Q | 10:18 | John Champe | DJ Harvey 6-yard TD run (PAT missed) | 6-0 |
| 1Q | 3:40 | Woodgrove | Sam Goode 6-yard TD run (PAT missed) | 6-6 |
| 2Q | 7:08 | Woodgrove | Joey Ridolfi 7-yard TD run (2pt good) | 6-14 |
| 3Q | 2:44 | John Champe | Brandon Pena to Ty Kann 4-yard TD pass (2pt good) | 14-14 |
| 3Q | 2:26 | Woodgrove | Joey Ridolfi 80-yard TD run (PAT missed) | 14-20 |
| 3Q | 0:30 | John Champe | Ty Kann 7-yard TD run (PAT missed) | 20-20 |
| 4Q | 9:28 | John Champe | Harrison Tyler 7-yard TD run (Brandon Pena PAT) | 27-20 |
| 4Q | 6:27 | John Champe | Ty Kann 19-yard TD run (PAT missed) | 33-20 |
| 4Q | 3:10 | John Champe | Brandon Pena 1-yard TD run (Brandon Pena PAT) | 40-20 |
| 4Q | 2:24 | Woodgrove | Sam Goode 5-yard TD run (2pt good) | 40-28 |