History was made Friday night when Thomas Jefferson beat King William 30-28. Although Thomas Jefferson lays claim to two state titles, they came well before there was a playoff and well before most fans were born... 1943 and 1952. So Friday night when the Vikings beat King William 30-28, history was indeed made.

The win was not pretty by any stretch of the imagination. Come March Madness you always hear the term 'survive and advance' and that is exactly what the Vikings did, survive and advance.

The Vikings had to overcome an early deficit, a run game from the Cavaliers that carved up the TJ defense like a Thanksgiving turkey, turnovers, mistakes and a failed 2-point conversion. The Vikings earned this win perhaps more than any other this season.

The game went right down to the bitter end. King William had the ball at the TJ 19 with less than a minute to go in the game. The great field position came due to a fake punt. The Cavaliers pushed the ball to the 10 yard line facing 4th & 1 when the TJ defense came up with the stop they needed! With the ball back in the Vikings hands they could simply run out the clock and claim victory.

The first quarter saw an impressive showing early for the Vikings but then the quarter took a turn in the favor of the Cavaliers.

Thomas Jefferson's defense held King William to a 3 & out with Jacobi Harrison with a tackle on a loss of 3 and the Cavaliers were also called for false start. When Thomas Jefferson got the ball for the first time on this night the Vikings marched right down the field.

Shamar Graham had 4 carries for 30 yards and QB Ron Rhone had a run of 22 yards himself. Things began to turn south for the Vikings in the red zone. QB Ron Rhone fumbled on 3rd & goal and although the Vikings recovered, it meant settling for a field goal instead of a touchdown. Unfortunately for the Vikings the field goal attempt was bumbled and it never had a chance.

Dodging a bullet and great field position to work with Demond Claiborne took off for an 18-yard pickup to the 1. 2 Viking penalties just inched the Cavaliers closer and before long the Cavaliers were in the end zone with less than two minutes to go in the quarter.

As we transitioned into the second quarter the Vikings were on offense for the second time tonight and Ron Rhone had already hit Dahsean Smith with a 19-yard pass and he then hit Jaylen Jones with another pass. This put the Vikings at the 11 with a fresh set of downs but on a second down run Shamar Graham lost the ball and King William came up with it. The Vikings second trip to the red zone came up empty.

Credit the Viking defense however and a penalty against King William for holding the Vikings were able to force King William to a 3 & out.

However it would be more of the same for the Vikings on their third offensive possession of the night. To hookups between Ron Rhone and Jaylen Jones had the Vikings at the King William 13... their 3rd trip to the red zone. False start hurt the Vikings but no more so than King William's Kenadre Roane who broke up two Rhone passes. The Vikings were forced to a turnover on downs, 4 yards shy of the first.

From their own 7 the Cavaliers moved the ball out to the TJ 40 behind 46 yards from Demond Claiborne who continued to carve up the Vikings defense. The Cavaliers faced their own 4th & short play and Shackoy 'Rampage' Fearon came up with the stop.

The first half of this Region 2A Final was defined by big stops on defense.

Speaking of King William, the Cavaliers Chase Rosso hit Ron Rhone for a loss of 8 yards ending the Vikings possession and putting the Cavaliers in a position to put more points on the board.

1st & 10 at the 37 the Cavaliers with a mix of the run and pass along with a facemask call against Thomas Jefferson moved the ball to the cusp of the goal line. The Cavaliers ran 3 plays and could not penetrate the Viking defense. The Cavaliers were to attempt a field goal but a penalty for false start allowed the Vikings to accept the penalty and with the 10 second run off, the Vikings dodged a bullet.

Three trips to the red zone without anything to show for, the Vikings were lucky to be down by only 7.

When the third quarter began the Vikings came out firing looking to put the first half behind them. The Vikings Dahsean Smith had a big return out to the 41 and Arthur Sutton grabbed 21 yards off the ground. Penalties continued to plague the Vikings who were hit for a holding on call and false start call. Facing 3rd & 14 Ron Rhone hit Jacobi Harrison with a big pass for the first. Jacobi might have taken it to the house if not for King William's Caston Weldon coming up with a big stop. The Vikings took care of the rest with Ron Rhone ending the shutout with a quarterback sneak. Just like that the Vikings had tied the game.

The momentum of the game had begun to shift but it really shifted when King William fumbled on 3rd & 10 and Jayden Tyler came up with it.

Ron Rhone hit Jaylen Jones with a 14-yard pass for which Jones had to fight for as it was well defended by King William. After another defensive play by Kenadre Roane, the Vikings faced 3rd & 8 and that is when Rhone hit Jaden Vaughn with a 28-yard shot. For the first time on this night the Vikings had the lead following the PAT, 14-7 TJ.

King William came back firing, down for the first time on this night. The Cavaliers marched 65 yards with Lance Alfonso airing it out to Kyle Lynch on consecutive passes for first downs each time. In no time at all the Cavaliers were on the TJ 25 being called for false start. Alfonso and Lynch connected for a third time on this drive with a gain of 26 yards bailing the Cavaliers out. Moments later Demond Claiborne was in the end zone tying the game with 3:24 to go in the third quarter.

The craziest moment of the game occurred when the Vikings had the ball. Shamar Graham fumbled but TJ recovered only to see the ball pop out on the recovery and King William ultimately ended up with it. A huge momentum changer but a flag negated the turnover and gave the Vikings the ball at their own 39 with a fresh set of downs. A Ron Rhone was deflected and Cory Winston caught it but for no gain. Ultimately the Vikings turned it over on downs.

As we shifted into the fourth quarter this one was very much in doubt.

The Cavaliers had the ball on offense but two penalties doomed this drive and the Cavaliers gave the ball right back to TJ.

Shamar Graham who had ball control issues on this night showed exactly why he is dangerous with the ball. Graham rumbled 66 yards for a score and followed that up with a 2-point conversion to put the Vikings ahead 22-14.

On the Cavaliers first play of their next series TJ's Zion Dean came in with the sack of Lance Alfonso. Backed up, facing 2nd & 19 Alfonso responds with a pass to Kyle Lynch and if not for TJ's Delonte Washington, Lynch would have taken it to the house. As it was it was 1st & 10 at the 45.

TJ intercepts Alfonso's next pass but it is ruled out of bounds, the Cavaliers dodging a bullet. Jalen Young hit his mark on a 10-yard run for the first, the Cavaliers now at the TJ 29. Delonte Washington comes in for a sack of 8 yards on Alfonso forcing King William to a 3rd & 18. Two Alfonso pass attempts fall incomplete and TJ gets the ball back.

Shamar Graham appeared to be on his way for another touchdown when Jalen Young came up with the stop. 1st & 10 at the 43 it took the Vikings just two plays to get in the end zone. Rhone hit Jacobi Harrison with a 50-yard pass and with the 2-point conversion the Vikings had a 30-14 lead with a little over 7 minutes to go. It appeared TJ was in control of this one... emphasis on appeared.

Shamar Graham drops an interception on the Cavaliers first play, that interception might have been the dagger in this game but as it was, King William plays on. Jayveon Robinson picks up 15 yards and thanks to a holding call against TJ the Cavaliers get the first down. Robinson and Lance Alfonso also hookup on 2 passes for a total of 13 yards and the Cavaliers are on the march. TJ is hit with another penalty, too many men on the field. Now at the 15 of TJ it takes just two plays for King William to score, completed by a Demond Claiborne run and the Cavaliers get their own 2-point conversion and it is now 30-22 with a little over 4 minutes to go.

1st & 10 from their own 8, disaster strikes TJ when the ball is lost and King William's Harry Robinson comes up with it.

King William is now at the TJ 10 and in one play the Cavaliers are back in the end zone with a pass to Jayveon Robinson. On the 2-point conversion to tie it up the Vikings defense comes up with biggest defensive stand of the game to keep the Cavaliers out of the end zone. 30-28 with a little over 3 minutes to go.

Penalties continue to plague TJ as they are called for holding. The Vikings are unable to recover and on 4th & 15 the Vikings fake the punt but cannot convert the first. A horrible call that nearly cost the Vikings the game, King William gets the ball at the TJ 19!

This is it... game on the line. Touchdown, field goal... either one puts the Cavaliers ahead.

On 1st & 10 Jalen Young picks up 4 yards on the ground.

On 2nd & 6 Young picks up 3 yards but Zion Dean of TJ comes in for the stop.

On 3rd & 3 Demond Claiborne grabs 2 yards off the ground.

It all comes down to this, 4th & 1, ball at the 10... get the first and you have 4 more opportunities to win the game. But the Vikings defense brings it and stops the Cavaliers short of the first!

Game over! TJ's defense comes up with two huge stops in the late stages of the fourth quarter to seal the Vikings first region title. It is pandemonium on the sidelines of TJ as the coaches and players celebrate and the ensuing celebration among their fans is one of the best I've seen.

Thomas Jefferson now moves to their first state semifinal where they will go to Stuarts Draft.

On the King William side of the ball I am going to give it up to Demond Claiborne. Although Lance Alfonso was impressive tossing the ball around I felt Claiborne set the tone early with his moves in the ground game. This young man created fits for the TJ defense early and unofficially I have him with 2 touchdowns and nearly 100 yards rushing.

On the Thomas Jefferson side it is just as tough... Shamar Graham rushed for over 100 yards himself but he did turn the ball over twice. Ron Rhone on the other hand had nearly 200 yards with 177 yards of offense between running and passing including a rushing touchdown and 2 touchdown passes. Rhone who is in for an injured Jaylen Tyler quietly put together a solid game.