GAME SUMMARY

The Class 5 State Championship game between Maury and Briar Woods on Saturday featured a Commodores team looking to repeat as state champions and a Falcons squad hoping to solidify their spot at the top of the classification.

Maury took control of the contest early, throwing a 49-yard touchdown pass less than a minute into the contest. Senior quarterback Autori Newkirk found Lebron Bond for the first of his five touchdown passes on the day. The Commodores only scored once more in the first half, but an explosive third quarter by the offense and a stifling defensive performance helped the team secure back-to-back state championships with a 46-0 win over Briar Woods.

Briar Woods looked to respond after the initial score and seemed to have success with a gameplan that entailed keeping control of possession and the game clock. Brady Carmical connected with fellow senior Colin Capistrant on a pair of passes on their opening drive that stretched 13 plays but a big sack by Leslie Hines on a Falcons second down play at the Commodores 30-yard line stalled the Falcons momentum.

The stop by Hines forced Briar Woods into third and long, and the Falcons ultimately turned the ball over on downs. Three plays into the next drive, Newkirk found Elijah Moss for a 39-yard connection to set up a goal-to-go situation. Moments later, Newkirk connected with Jahvon Wiggins for a six-yard score to stretch the Commodores' lead to 14-0.

Maury took the same advantage into halftime after failing to capitalize on an opportunity to score on their next possession. Tayshawn Branche burst through the Falcons' defense on a second down rushing play for a gain of 54 yards putting his team’s offense in the red zone again. Briar Woods’ defense stiffened on the next three plays and Syracuse commit Trey Dudley snagged an interception at the five-yard line to end the Commodores' threat.

The Falcons had to feel good entering intermission being down by two scores and having two enduring drives as they nearly doubled Maury in time of possession despite ending the first half with no points. The confidence they may have felt during the break would take a major blow quickly when the second half started.

Briar Woods took the kickoff but the offense only managed one first down before being forced to punt. On the very first play from scrimmage for the Maury offense, Newkirk delivered a dart over the middle to Elijah Moss and the junior went the distance, reaching the endzone for a 57-yard score.

The Maury defense forced Briar Woods to punt once again on their next drive and the Commodores offense stretched their lead on the next possession. Branche scored the first and only rushing touchdown of the game barreling ten yards into the endzone midway through the quarter.

Hunter Collins intercepted a pass from Carmical on the next Briar Woods possession giving Maury the football in Falcons territory. Four plays later, Newkirk had his fourth touchdown pass of the game going to Damon McDaniel. After each of the three scores, Maury went for two points and the Commodores converted each on passes from Matthew Williams.

With a running game clock and a 38-0 advantage, the Commodores added another pass score prior to the end of the third quarter when Newkirk connected with Bond for the second time to set the final score.

SCORING SUMMARY

Briar Woods 0 0 0 0--0

Maury 14 0 32 0--46

FIRST QUARTER

M--Lebron Bond 49 pass from Autori Newkirk (Charles McCoy kick), 11:05

M--Jahvon Wiggins 6 pass from Autori Newkirk (Charles McCoy kick), 0:22

THIRD QUARTER

M—Elijah Moss 57 pass from Autori Newkirk (Kendall Daniels from Matthew Williams conversion), 8:19

M—Tayshawn Branche 10 run (Kendall Daniels from Matthew Williams conversion), 5:28

M—Damon McDaniel 27 pass from Autori Newkirk (Isaiah McDaniel from Matthew Williams conversion), 3:03

M—Lebron Bond 31 pass from Autori Newkirk (Matthew Williams conversion rush), 1:31

STANDOUT PLAYERS

Autori Newkirk, Maury…Last year’s Class 5 Offensive Player of the Year had a dominant game completing 14 of his 20 pass attempts in the game for 311 yards. Five of those completions went for touchdowns and Newkirk had an opportunity to record a receiving touchdown that was nixed due to a team penalty. On the season, Newkirk had 50 touchdown passes while throwing for 3,784 yards.

Lebron Bond, Maury…The Indiana commit only caught three passes in the championship contest but two of those receptions went to the house. Bond scored on the first possession of the game to help his team set the tone of the contest and then scored the final points of the day in the victory. Bond finishes the season with 938 total receiving yards and 16 touchdowns. One of a handful of seniors who are graduating this season, Bond made a major impact this season on a dynamic Maury offense that scored 784 points in 15 outings.

Damon McDaniel Jr., Maury…While acknowledging the seniors who are graduating, the Commodores have several underclassmen who will continue to contribute in the future. On the biggest stage of the season, McDaniel Jr. delivered as the sophomore caught a pair of passes, one of which went to the endzone in the third quarter. Then, he turned around on defense a snagged an interception that took whatever hope that was left on the Briar Woods sideline completely away.

BACK-TO-BACK

With the win, Maury secured consecutive state championships while going undefeated in both 2023 and 2024. The 52-point-per-game average on offense was slightly under the teams’ average of 57 last season. Newkirk was dynamic last fall and his 50 passing touchdowns in 2024 while only throwing four interceptions was phenomenal. With weapons like McDaniel Jr., Wiggins, Moss, and Bond in the passing game, Newkirk had an arsenal that any quarterback would relish.

Defensively, Maury finished the season allowing just five points per game, and held opponents to under 100 points (88) cumulatively on the season. While Maury certainly missed having Clemson commit Ari Watford on the field in this contest, they had several players step up in his absence. Leslie Hines had a pair of sacks in the championship to take his total to 21 on the season and Eastern District Defensive Player of the Year Carlton Smith finished the season with 99 tackles, six on Saturday, 18 sacks, and six eight fumble coveries.

The title was the third for the Commodores under head coach Dyrri McCain and also the third since 2019. With players like Wiggins, McDaniel Jr., Moss, and Branch back next season, will Maury have what it takes for a three-peat?

THEY'LL BE BACK

While the loss was not how Briar Woods wanted to end the season, the Falcons have a lot to build on. Under head coach Mike Burnett, Briar Woods has gone from 1-9 in 2021 to state runner-ups in 2024. This season was also the first time since 2013 that the Falcons finished the season with double-digit victories. The Falcons graduate several seniors who made an impact this season including Navy commit Brady Carmical and Syracuse commit Trey Dudley. Colin Capistrant and Lucas Roser were big contributors to the Falcons' success this year and also will be leaving due to graduation. Despite the loss of the big names, don’t be surprised to see Briar Woods back in the thick of things next season. The foundation that Burnett has built will likely mean we will hear more from the Falcons in the relatively near future.

Robert Edmonds has been contributing to Virginiapreps.com, part of the Rivals.com network, since 2013. Follow him on X (formerly known as Twitter) @bigrob2523 and subscribe to his YouTube channel
for sports-related content. You can read his work in the Daily Progress
and occasionally in other journalism publications. He began working in the sports sector in 2006 and covers public and private schools throughout the state with a focus in the Central Virginia area. He currently lives in Keswick with his wife and has seven children and two grandchildren. To contact Robert, please email him at bigrob2523@gmail.com.