Arriving to Henrico tonight we thought we knew what kind of game we would get but we could not have been more wrong.

Yes, a muddy field did play a role, particularly early with ball handling.

This time however there would be no rally from Varina, there would be no climatic ending.

What there would be would be aggressive, physical play from Henrico on both sides of the ball but particularly defense.

Speaking of aggressive, physical play... Quarterback Jalon Jones took it a bit too far when he and a Varina player got into it shortly before the half in the end zone. It all happened so fast it is hard to get a handle on exactly what happened but both players were ejected bringing an end to Jalon Jones triumphant return to Henrico.

Henrico led 21-7 at the time. The Blue Devils came within 8 after the half when Isiah Paige returned the second half kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown. That would have been the optimum time for Varina to rally and seize the moment, seize the game... but they could not.

Varina's offense struggled mightily against the defense of Henrico as the Blue Devils repeatedly were forced into 3 & outs or in a few cases, turn the ball over. Henrico's defense was hungry.. They stuffed the line multiple times when Varina attempted to run the ball up the middle.

When Varina would put the ball in the air, a Henrico defender would be there to pick it off. Sometimes it was the Henrico defender reading the ball, sometimes it was poor decision making from a young quarterback.

Speaking of quarterbacks, Hayden Vozar played quarterback in the second half of the contest and while he did not have the explosive speed or long arm like a Jalon Jones, he did get the job done.

The Warriors added a late touchdown in the fourth quarter from Marquee Harvey that put the game out of reach. Particularly with Varina's offense unable to sustain any drives.

Henrico would beat Varina for a second time this season handing the Blue Devils their second straight loss to closeout the season.

Meanwhile, Henrico has a date with LC Bird next week as their season continues.

You would never guess the Henrico defense would be the story of the game by the way the game started. Henrico's Jalon Jones would hit Frederick Jones with a pass but Jones would fumble when hit by a Varina defender and the Blue Devils would recover.

The Blue Devils had the ball at the Henrico 41 with Henrico being called for offsides moving the Blue Devils even closer. An errant snap however set the Blue Devils back and the Warriors defense nearly got the ball back on an interception but they could not hold on.

Henrico was called for another penalty on a fourth down play giving Varina a first down and paving the way for a 10-yard pass to Floyd Jones from Dwayne Taylor. After offsides was called on Henrico, their third penalty of this series, the Blue Devils Isiah Paige took care of the rest racing 10 yards to put Varina on top!

Henrico however answered quickly to that Varina score with a 3-play drive helped by a big return from Lamontre Satterwhite. Jahad Carter would have himself a big night and it began with a 5-yard pass from Jones and on the very next play a 19-yard shot to the end zone to tie the game up at 7!

The Blue Devils nearly got the ball back on a 2nd down play when Bobby Dunn dropped an intercepted ball. Henrico came away with nothing on that drive but on their next possession they were better.

Jahad Carter caught another pass from Jones, faked a move and would have gotten more yards if not for a slip on a muddy field. Jones also hit Rasheed Jackson with a pass and about three Varina defenders got to him, could not bring him down so they literally picked him up and put him on the ground. That defensive play by the Blue Devils stunted the drive at the 10 yard line. Henrico had four downs to go 10 yards, how difficult could that be? Jones scrambled for 3, Eric McDaniels picked up 2 yards on the run and on a pass to the endzone, a Varina defender knocked the pass down keeping out of the hands of the Henrico receiver.

That setup a field goal attempt from the Warriors that would fail.

Varina's offensive play calling was bland, they continued to try to run up the middle and Henrico's defense swallowed them up every time.

Henrico had the ball back on offense but not for long. Jones would fumble the ball and Varina would be there to recover at their own 15!

Joey Jefferson came up with a big sack to set the Blue Devils back to their own 6 and the Blue Devils kept going backwards from there. On 3rd & 21 Joey Jefferson intercepted a Dwayne Taylor pass and took it to the house for a touchdown. The Warriors had a 14-7 lead, a lead they would never relinquish.

Varina fumbled the ball on their next possession but recovered... again, unable to do much on offense. The lone highlight was a 14-yard run from Alton Coston.

Meanwhile Henrico was hitting their stride. Jalon Jones on first & 10 from their own 19 raced 81 yards for a touchdown! A touchdown that was called back but from the Varina 26 Jones hit Jahad Carter for the second time tonight to increase the lead to 21-7!

Varina's ball handing continued to plague them on offense. Taylor fumbled the ball on first down but covered it up. On third down he was nearly intercepted by Rasheed Jackson.

On the Blue Devils next possession Khalil Finger sacked Taylor for a big loss. The Henrico defense continued their aggressive play and with Varina struggling to find a road to success on offense and having trouble holding onto the ball, Varina continued to falter as the game went on.

On the ensuing punt return, Fred Jones literally dragged a Varina defender behind him as he kept on trucking. Emblematic of how hungry this Warriors team was to win.

The Warriors had their trouble handing the ball at times, Jalon Jones fumbled on first down but recovered but was not as fortunate on second down.

Varina seemed to have something going on offense finally. Isiah Paige broke off a 14-yard run, Dwayne Taylor hit Floyd Jones with a 30-yard pass that was stopped from being more by Lamontre Satterwhite. The Blue Devils had the ball at the Henrico 21 but got no closer in two plays than the 19. 3rd & 8 Lamonte Satterwhite intercepted the pass giving the ball back to Henrico.

On the next play Jalon Jones throws an interception and then there is chaos. Many missed exactly what set off the exchange but Jalon Jones and Lorenz Terry get into a scuffle in the endzone with what appears to be punches being thrown with one player down and the other on top of him. Both teams scramble to the field with coaches and refs trying to get a handle on the situation before it escalates. Both teams jawing at one another, the players are separated before anymore can happen... quick reaction led to this one not getting out of hand.

We would go into the half wondering how the ending of this one would impact the second half. It would appear we have seen the last of Jalon Jones at quarterback for the Warriors.

To open the second half Isiah Paige would race 75 yards for a huge kick return for the Blue Devils. With a PAT miss, the Blue Devils were within 8 of the Warriors.

Without Jalon Jones at quarterback, it took the Henrico offense a few series to get back into rhythm.

Both teams went 3 & out

On the Blue Devils second possession of the second half Lamontre Satterwhite nearly picked off the Blue Devils again but he did breakup the pass.

Barry Hill nearly had a pick himself of Hayden Vozar but came up empty.

The two teams struggled in the third quarter to get anything going on offense. As the third quarter came to a close, Lamar Teal was recovering a fumble Blue Devil ball!

The first series for both teams were no different than the third quarter.

On the Warrior second possession however they finally had something going on offense.

Marquee Harvey broke a 10-yard run for the Warriors and the Blue Devils nearly intercepted a Hayden Vozar pass. On 3rd & 11 Vozar hit Harvey for a 13-yard gain. That moved the ball to the 35 and it would appear the Warriors would not overcome nearly fumbling the ball away on a first down play... The Warriors faced 3rd & 10 and it seemed Varina's defense had come up with a big stop but Varina was called for roughing the passer giving the Warriors a 1st & 10 at the 20. Marquee Harvey took it from there punching it in from 20 yards out with a little over four minutes to go in the game.

Varina's return man did them no favor, he took the kick and proceeded to run backwards losing 11 yards in the process. On 1st & 10 from the 10 Dwayne Taylor throws a pick to Jahad Carter!

Henrico is again on offense at the Varina 15 and on the first play they move the ball to the 5. The Warriors face 3rd & goal from the 6 when Harvey fumbles the ball. Varina recovers down 15.

From their own 5-yard line Varina tries to pull something out of their hat but on 2nd & 10 the Blue Devils are called for offensive pass interference. The third down pass was incomplete, fumbled out of bounds.

It came down to 4th & 10 and the Blue Devils could not convert.

Henrico would run a couple of plays, run out the clock and beat the Blue Devils for the second time this season!

While defense ruled the night for the Warriors, Jahad Carter came up big for the Warriors on both sides of the ball. Jahad scored two first half touchdowns for the Warriors on his way to 92 yards receiving on 6 catches. He also had an interception of Varina in the fourth quarter that further thwarted any attempts by Varina to come back.

On the Varina side of the ball you gotta take a look at Isiah Paige. Isiah had two touchdowns for the Blue Devils, one in the return game with that 75-yard return to open the second half. He also had the touchdown run in the first quarter to give the Blue Devils an early lead.

It is truly a shame that we had to witness another fight on a football field. This comes less than a month after Hermitage and Douglas Freeman's fight. This will be something coaches will have to discuss with their players moving forward... not these teams, all teams. This is a road we as a region do not want to go down. You risk injury with this stupid behavior as well as who is to say a player doesn't lose an offer or recruiting interest because of his judgement or lack there of? Food for thought.

The Warriors now get a date with LC Bird, a team they have not faced since 1989! The Warriors are 2-0 against the Skyhawks having outscored them in two meetings 41-9! This will be their first playoff meeting.

The Warriors have now won four straight against Varina, their longest such streak since winning 10 straight from 1964 to 1987!

Varina's season ends at 7-3 having lost to Henrico twice and Highland Springs once, teams who are a combined 20-1!