When it was over, all Zeke Wimbush could do was take off his helmet and march toward his teammates.

Just seconds before, Wimbush had caught the winning touchdown against Maury, on a play that was as remarkable as it was unlikely. His Stone Bridge Bulldogs had managed to gain 52 yards in 35 seconds after starting a drive at its own ten-yard line. Jacob Thomas, the Bulldogs quarterback, had rolled left and lofted a high arching pass across the field, where Winbush was standing alone at the five-yard line.

Despite having three Maury defenders in the vicinity, the ball dropped right into Wimbush’s breadbasket. The senior receiver had time to make a 180-degree turn, take the final four steps and dive into the end zone, providing a climactic finish for Stone Bridge, who won 27-21 as the clock wound down to zero.

“I didn’t think my teammates would be mad at me, but I knew I had to finish it off right,” said Wimbush, about the pressure to gain the final four yards after catching the ball.

Speaking to the question of the pass being a desperation heave, Thomas discarded the notion, adding, “we run that play once a game, and it usually goes for a touchdown or big yardage.”

With the win, Stone Bridge concluded a perfect season at 15-0, and won their second state title in 2021, this after dropping seven of its first eight.

“It was an unbelievable game,” said Coach Mickey Thompson, possibly understating the fact that his Bulldogs overcame a 20-14 deficit in a matter of minutes to pull out the win.

This one had dogfight written all over it from the get-go. In their previous meeting, at the 2019 Class 5 Championship held at Hampton University, Maury dropped 28 straight first-half points on Stone Bridge, and then allowed the Bulldogs to score three times in the second half before holding on for a 28-21 win.

Saturday’s proceedings had more of a back-and-forth feel.

“Defensively, I think we just battled all day long,” said Thompson, whose record at Stone Bridge now stands at 244-47 over 21 seasons. “On offense, we weren’t getting the ball very much.”

In fact, Maury dominated the time of possession in the first half, holding the ball for 17:15 of the 24 minutes, while outgaining their opponent from Ashburn in yards by a 209-80 margin.

Yet, the Commodores took a mere 14-7 lead into the intermission sandwiching two short touchdown runs by Peyton Jones and quarterback SaQuan Miles around Stone Bridge’s 18-yard scoring pass from Jacob Thomas to Doniven Cooper.

Amazingly, Thomas who completed over 70 percent of his passes with just two interceptions during the first 14 games, was held in check through three quarters, with the TD pass being his only completion in six passes, which included an interception. But he may have been diverted from his regular game routine as Thompson noted “it was tough (for Thomas) playing both ways after not really playing both ways all year.”

However, the running game started to work in the Bulldogs favor as thy opened the second half with a six-minute drive (albeit non-scoring), which changed the game’s tempo and gave Stone Bridge a measure of ball control.

Later, in the third, Eli Mason (17 carries, 106 yards) scored on a two-yard run, and even with the failed conversion, put the Bulldogs within a point, as the third quarter ended with Maury clinging to a 14-13 lead. Stone Bridge gained 97 yards, all rushing, in the third, and held the ball for 8:27 of the period.

Maury struck next in the fourth quarter, as Old Dominion commit Ahmarian Granger-McNeal, the Commodores receiver and backup QB, took a direct snap, weaved toward the right, picked up the first down, and then TD, rushing 25 yards for a score, giving Maury a 21-13 lead with 5:10 left.

An 18-yard run by Colin Hart set up Stone Bridge’s game evening touchdown, with Thomas (5-10, 136 yds., 3 TD) finding Dylan Hundertmark for a 36-yard passing touchdown, completing a drive that traveled 68 yards in all of 37 seconds. Back in February, the dynamic duo of Thomas and Hundertmark teamed together to lead Stone Bridge back from 18 down against Green Run to win the VHSL Class 5 State Basketball Championship.

The Bulldog defense held tough, with an open field tackle by Region 5D Defensive Player of the Year Zach Laing forcing the Commodores (8-2) to punt on fourth down. With the ball on their 10-yard line and 40 seconds remaining, the Dogs ran for a short gain and seemed content to run out the clock.

“We were going to shut it down,” admitted Thompson. “But my son (Zach) came over and said, I got a play,” and a down and out to Hart picked up 12 yards. “Then Coach (Brian) Wolf said, “I got another one,” and the 33-yard pass from Thomas to Winbush put the ball at the Maury 38 with 11 seconds left. Because of the ensuing celebration, the clock ran down to five seconds.

And what happened next gave Stone Bridge its third State Championship, along with an ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 moment.

Postgame Press Conference with the Stone Bridge Bulldogs following their thrilling 27-21 comeback win over the Maury Commodores in the VHSL Class 5 State Football Championship at Old Dominion's S.B. Ballard Stadium in Norfolk on Saturday, December 11, 2021.

Down 21-13 in the fourth quarter, Stone Bridge rallied and won thanks to a pair of Jacob Thomas touchdown passes - to Dylan Hundertmark and Eli Wimbush in the game's final 4:27.

Thomas rolled left and threw back to the right to Wimbush for the 38-yard game-winning strike with no time remaining on the clock to give the Bulldogs the win.

The Bulldogs capped a perfect 15-0 overall season, extending their winning streak to 24 games and capturing a second straight state title. It marked the third state title at the helm for Stone Bridge Head Coach Mickey Thompson.

Postgame Press Conference with Maury Coach Dyrri McCain and players following their 27-21 heart-breaking loss to Stone Bridge in the VHSL Class 5 State Football Championship at Old Dominion's S.B. Ballard Stadium in Norfolk on Saturday, December 11, 2021.

The Commodores, who led in the fourth quarter 21-13, closed out the season at 8-2 overall.