In the Region 2B semifinal matchup between Clarke County and Stuarts Draft, the Cougars bullied the Eagles on both sides of the ball to win in convincing fashion and advance to the Region finals for the third consecutive season. Draft finished the regular season with a tie and a pair of losses to area rival Riverheads but has stormed through the first two rounds of the postseason this fall.
Now, Draft will begins to prepares to face Central Woodstock in the region finals next weekend.. Before we prepare for the upcoming holiday feast and the football action that will follow let’s take a closer look the action from Friday.
GAME RECAP
If the performance of Stuarts Draft on Friday night is indicative of what future playoff opponents should expect over the next few weeks from the Cougars, all should take warning immediately. The team that has appeared in the Class 2 State Championship game the past two seasons was brutally physical in their dominant win over Clarke County, advancing handily to next weeks regional final.
Entering the contest with a 9-1 mark and a defense that allowed just over six points per contest, the Eagles looked to be a tough matchup for the homestanding Cougars. The score remained close for the majority of the first half but the Cougars dominated the line of scrimmage for nearly the entirety of the contest, making observers wonder when they would breakaway from their opponents.
A pair of events sparked the anticipated outcome for Stuarts Draft beginning late in the first half. Following a three and out that was forced by the Cougars defense, senior running back Aaron Nice and company drove 63 yards on 10 plays and extended their lead to 14-3 on a drive that lasteted less than four minutes. Clarke appeared primed to respond, quickly marching inside the ten yardline of the Cougars.
Once inside the redzone, the Eagles offense stalled, thanks in large part to the Stuarts Draft defense. On fourth and one from the Cougars seven yardline, The Eagles opted to convert the down and create a goal-to-go situation. Senior Symeon Balser had other ideas, however, meeting Eagles running back Carson Rutherford in the backfield. Cougars teammate Kyle Coffey and others assisted, forcing the Clarke County offense to turn the ball over on downs.
Although Stuarts Draft was unable to add points prior to intermission, the key defensive stop prevented the Eagles from narrowing their deficit. On the opening kickoff of the second half Xavier Grigsby sprinted for an 82 yard return before being tackled at the Eagles three yard line. Two plays later, Nice scored from two yards away for the third of his five rushing touchdowns on the night.
Holding a 21-3 lead, Stuarts Draft continued to hold down the throttle on both sides of the ball, shutting the door on the Eagles. The Cougars defense held the Eagles offense to -1 yards of the offense the rest of the second half, forced three punts and didn’t give up a first down. In fact, Clarke’s offense managed just five first downs and 95 yards the entire night.
The five scores by Nice gives him 74 total scores in his career at Stuarts Draft with at least one more game to play. The third of the night by the 5-foot-11, 215 pound senior set a new school record for the Cougars.
The Cougars defense has been staggering in the first two rounds of the offense allowing just 10 total points in those games. Additionally, the offense for Stuarts Draft has been hot, totaling 77 points in the two postseason outings.
With the victory, the Cougars prepare to go on the road and face Central-Woodstock in next weeks region championship contest. The Falcons have won seven consecutive games with an overall 34-13 average margin of victory. The last matchup between Central-Woodstock and Stuarts Draft was in 2000 when the Falcons edged the Cougars 14-6.
SCORING SUMMARY
Clarke County—3 0 0 0—3
Stuarts Draft—7 7 13 6—33
FIRST QUARTER
C—Chris LeBlanc 25 field goal, 4:18
S—Aaron Nice 34 run (Ethan Cyr kick), 1:40
SECOND QUARTER
S—Nice 1 run (Cyr kick), 7:58
THIRD QUARTER
S—Nice 2 run (Cyr kick), 11:20
S—Nice 1 run (kick failed), 1:49
FOURTH QUARTER
S—Nice 27 run (kick failed), 9:26
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Aaron Nice, Stuarts Draft…The senior rusher for the Cougars scored five total touchdowns (34,1,2,1,27) and racked up 287 rushing yards against Clarke County. In addition, Nice also made his presence felt as a dominating lead blocker for Xavier Grigsby and quarterback Landon Graber. The senior also was a key player for the Cougars defensive unit that allowed just 95 total yards to Eagles offense by constantly wreaking havoc and disrupting plays.
Robert lives in Gordonsville and has been contributing to VirginiaPreps.com since 2013. He also provides freelance contributions to the Daily Progress. Robert began working in the sports sector in 2006 and covers public and private schools throughout the state of Virginia.
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