Aldie, Va. — 370 days ago, the Tuscarora and John Champe High School football teams were in a similar boat: vying for a region title in Leesburg. In their 2023 matchup, the Huskies used some late game heroics to come from behind and defeat the Knights, 24-21. While the 2024 matchup featured the same two teams competing in Aldie, the Huskies didn’t need a comeback to overpower the Knights, 41-16, to claim their second straight VHSL Region 4C title on November 30 in Aldie.
“It feels awesome,” Tuscarora head coach Jared Toler said. “It feels awesome for those guys. These guys buy in and believe in each other. They love each other. They play for each other. It’s a phenomenal feeling.”
Coming into their matchup with the Knights, the Huskies were allowing less than 6 points per game while the Knights were scoring more than 42 points per game. But as the saying goes, defense wins championships. As they’ve done all season, the Tuscarora defense shut down John Champe, allowing just 15 rushing yards to hold the Knight to their second-lowest scoring output of the season.
“All week we said, we can put ourselves in the right spot, but you can’t go rogue and try to make a play when it’s not your job to make the play,” Toler said. “Trust each other, that’s what the brand is, the brotherhood. Trust the guys. Be selfless. Don’t be selfish trying to make a play.”
While their defense showed up time and time again, Tuscarora got most of its offensive production on the ground. Sophomore running back Zain Elian finished the game with 205 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns while senior athlete Dawson Pough added 100 yards and two touchdowns.
“I want to shout out my offensive line for everything that happened tonight,” Elian said. “I wouldn’t be able to do it without them. The best line in the state of Virginia, without a doubt.”
John Champe opened the game on offense, but after picking up a first down, Tuscarora senior defensive lineman Lucas Love ran into the backfield to tackle John Champe senior quarterback Brandon Pena for a 7-yard loss.
After taking possession, Tuscarora ran behind Elian and Pough to move down the field. Then, junior quarterback Peter Laiti connected with senior tight end Alexander McBride for 12 yards to set up Pough for a 1-yard touchdown run as the Huskies opened the scoring with a 7-0 lead.
Not wanting to fall into a big hole early, the John Champe offense was able to move the ball down the field on the ensuing drive as Pena took off for 12 yards on a quarterback keeper. On the next play, Pena found one of his favorite targets in senior tight end Ty Kann—who finished the day with 85 yards on 8 receptions—for 21 yards. However, the Tuscarora defense forced three consecutive incompletions and a holding penalty to get the ball back to start the second quarter.
Tuscarora, however, couldn’t capitalize on defense’s momentum as Pough and Laiti were both tackled in the backfield on the resulting drive, setting John Champe on their side of the field following a punt.
Rushes by Pena for 12 yards and senior running back Zee Willis for 13 moved the Knights inside the red zone. But, two pass interference penalties on the offense followed by a third-down sack moved the Knights outside scoring range.
On the ensuing drive, Tuscarora needed 71 yards to find themselves back in the end zone. The Huskies got those yards in 10 plays as Laiti found Elian for a 21-yard reception before senior fullback Oliver Chaplain made a defender miss and raced past the goal line for a 25-yard rushing touchdown, extending the Tuscarora lead to 14-0 with less than five minutes left in the second quarter.
On the next John Champe drive, the Tuscarora defense showed its strength again, as junior defensive lineman Lucas Allen sacked Pena for a 14-yard loss on second down, before the Knights were eventually forced to punt
On the first play of the next drive, Elian took a handoff 22 yards for a touchdown to increase the lead to 20-0.
“Our game plan was to put pressure on [Pena],” Allen said. “In the last five games, he’s only been sacked twice and the pressure this defensive line gave today, he wasn’t expecting. If we communicate, we get it done together. No one can stop us.”
Despite the added pressure from the defensive line, Pena—who finished the game 22-of-39 for 280 yards and a touchdown—connected with senior receiver DJ Harvey for 24 yards, then again for 15, setting the Knights up deep in Tuscarora territory. In true fashion, the Huskies defense made a stand as the Knights settled for a 23-yard Pena field goal to send both teams into halftime, 20-3.
Both sides struggled to get any offense going to start the third quarter, forcing three consecutive punts.
However, on the Knights’ second drive of the second half, Pena was able to air the ball downfield, as he found sophomore receiver Luke Gonzalez behind the defense to score a 51-yard touchdown, cutting into the Tuscarora lead 20-10 midway through the third frame.
The two-score game was short-lived, however, as on the second play of the next drive, Elian took a handoff and made one defender miss to outrace the Knights defense into the end zone for a 65-yard touchdown, re-extending the Huskies lead to 27-10.
Two minutes later, Tuscarora added even more cushion when Pough got a pitch after a misdirection and jumped past the goal line to increase the Huskies lead to 34-10.
“[Pough] does whatever he can to make people better around him,” Toler said. “Whether it’s a direct snap and setting up a block, or blocking for his other guys, or being a decoy, that’s what’s special about him. He does it for the love of his teammates.”
Trailing by 24, John Champe needed a quick score, but despite a 1-yard touchdown run by Kann, the 12-play, 62-yard drive ate up almost four minutes of precious clock as the Knights still needed three scores to catch Tuscarora.
Wanting to close out the game, the Huskies kept the ball on the ground and ran behind Elian. That game plan paid off as Elain broke free for 51 yards deep into John Champe territory. Then, Pough took the direct snap, but rather than run the ball, he took a step back and connected with McBride across the middle for a 19-yard touchdown to seal the championship for the Huskies.
“When [Bernardo Rivera] got hurt in the beginning, we put in that package for Dawson [Pough],” Toler said. “They called a time out before our last score, and I said, ‘Look it’s not an accident. We can go ice a championship out of a formation and a personnel we had no plans of using this year.’”
Tuscarora (4-0, 11-1) will continue its season next week when the Huskies travel to Region 4B champion Varina for a VHSL Class 4 State semifinal on November 7 in Henrico.
“We earned one more week to be together,” Toler said. “That’s all we’re going to focus on. Focus on us, so we can hopefully, ultimately, have two weeks together before this is all done.”
Derrick Jerry and Jace Lucas captured 250+ photos at the game!
Scoring Plays
| Period | Time | Team | Play | Score |
| 1Q | 3:52 | Tuscarora | Dawson Pough 1-yard TD run (Josh Tikalsky PAT) | 7-0 |
| 2Q | 4:19 | Tuscarora | Oliver Chaplain 25-yard TD run (Josh Tikalsky PAT) | 14-0 |
| 2Q | 1:51 | Tuscarora | Zain Elian 22-yard TD run (PAT blocked) | 20-0 |
| 2Q | 0:01 | John Champe | Brandon Pena 23-yard field goal | 20-3 |
| 3Q | 4:33 | John Champe | Brandon Pena to Luke Gonzalez 51-yard TD pass (Brandon Pena PAT) | 20-10 |
| 3Q | 3:33 | Tuscarora | Zain Elian 65-yard TD run (Josh Tikalsky PAT) | 27-10 |
| 3Q | 1:19 | Tuscarora | Dawson Pough 45-yard TD run (Josh Tikalsky PAT) | 34-10 |
| 4Q | 9:40 | John Champe | Ty Kann 1-yard TD run (2pt-conversion failed) | 34-16 |
| 4Q | 6:20 | Tuscarora | Dawson Pough to Alexander McBride 19-yard TD pass (Josh Tikalsky PAT) | 41-16 |