Senior Tre Bradley scored two touchdowns on a 93-yard kickoff return and a 60-yard pick six to help Liberty Christian defeat Fork Union Military Academy 35-14 to wrap up their second straight D1 Private Schools championship.
Bradley set the tone for the Bulldogs taking the opening kickoff and running it straight up the middle all the way to the endzone for a touchdown. Bradley turned on the afterburners after seeing a crease and he quickly put the Bulldogs up 6-0.
"I have to thank my teammates," Bradley said. "I was just looking for good field position. (My teammates) made the blocks and I found a lane and scored the touchdown."
Bradley second big play came early in the second quarter when he snagged a slightly overthrown pass and turned it in to six points with an interception return for a touchdown. The extra point was good and Liberty Christian led 21-0 with 9:28 to go before halftime.
The Bulldogs didn't stop there. Backup quarterback Zach Clinton drove Liberty Christian 65 yards in 8-plays throwing a touchdown pass to B.J Farrow who made a leaping two-handed grab for a touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 28-0 lead at the 2:55 mark before the half.
Christian Hackenberg, a Penn State recruit and the Virginiapreps.Com #5 prospect, was under constant pressure all night. The Blue Devils went to a 4-receiver spread offense after falling behind in the second quarter. Hackenberg was sacked eight times as the Bulldogs blitzed on what seemed like every play and even when he found his target his receivers often let him down with nine dropped passes.
Fork Union finally got on the board late in the second quarter when Hackenberg, after several drops on the drive, found safety Malcolm Cook who had been inserted at wide receiver after he proved earlier he could catch the ball with an interception. Cook caught a 22-yard pass for a first down then caught a 9-yard pass for a touchdown reception just before the half. The extra point made the score 28-7 at the break.
Hackenberg, who is headed to Penn State, led the Blue Devils on two good drives to start the third quarter. The first drive ended at the Bulldogs 7-yard line but he completed three passes on his next series then he scrambled around to find senior Chrystian Brown for a 20-yard touchdown reception that made the score 28-14. Hackenberg finished 18 of 30 passing for 188 yards.
However, it took Liberty Christian only two minutes to answer scoring the final touchdown when they faked the run on a 4th-and-1 and instead passed to tight end Logan MacGregor who had three catches all year. A 12-play, 4th-quarter drive by the Bulldogs ate seven minutes off the clock effectively ending the game.
The championship game was the final football contest for Fork Union head coach Micky Sullivan who announced his retirement earlier in the year. The legendary coach is a pioneer when it comes to Private School football in the state of Virginia and he has been with Fork Union since 1975.
"It's been a heck of a run," Sullivan said. "Private School football has come a long way and it's a whole lot better now than when I started."
This post was edited on 11/17 9:21 AM by wgarlick
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