HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — At the Richmond International Airport Friday night, wind gusts were recorded at nearly 40 mph. With temperatures already in the 40s, the wind chill made for an extreme night.
Just down the road at Highland Springs High School, head coach Loren Johnson and his staff adjusted their game plan to fit the conditions.
"You go the entire week in warm weather, then you have to layer up," Johnson explained. "You have the wind in your face one quarter, then you don't."
Their game plan flipped to a sustained ground attack that yielded rushing TDs from Nelson Layne, Daeron Ferguson and Evan Ford in a 23-20 win over Glen Allen that propels the Springers (9-3) into the Region 6A title game.
Layne's 3-yard scoring run in the first half, in which he fumbled the snap before his 3-yard run, gave the Springers a 10-0 lead and early momentum against the Jaguars.
"We thought they were going to be a really good football team," Johnson said of the Jaguars who answered right back with a 6-yard run from quarterback Nana Utsey to close the gap to 10-7 at the half.
Utsey's second TD run of the night in the third quarter put the Jaguars (10-2) ahead 13-10 before Ferguson's tough 9-yard run took the lead back for the Springers at 17-13.
In the fourth, a span of three plays turned the tide of the game. Inside 7 minutes to go, the Jaguars had 4th and short inside the Springer 30. Glen Allen's 4th down run came up inches short. After a long run from Ferguson, Ford capped the quick drive with a 21-yard touchdown run giving the Springers a 23-13 advantage.
"The guys came through, big," Johnson continued. "That's what you have to have. Nobody cares about how you get it done, you just want to get it done."
Glen Allen scored quickly to close the score to 23-20 but one final Springer first down allowed them to run out the clock and advance to their regional final for the fifth straight season.
Don't miss Central Virginia's most honored local high school football show Fridays at 11:15 p.m. on CBS 6 and on the CBS 6 Streaming App.
