The knock against Varina in recent years is that they never seem to win the big games... Henrico, Highland Springs, playoff games, etc... Last night was expected to be a test and if it was... the Blue Devils passed with flying colors.

Varina dominated Lake Taylor in every facet of the game.

The defense was impressive... their speed on display, they swarmed to the ball... the reaction time was insane, Lake Taylor had little time to make a play before they had a Blue Devil wrapped around them. That defense also took advantage of huge blunders by Lake Taylor, particularly in the early parts of the game that helped Varina build an early lead.

On offense big plays doomed the Titans. When Varina had the ball they were destined for the end zone more times than not, rarely were they kept out of the end zone.

Varina played a clean game for the most part unlike Lake Taylor. Varina did not turn the ball over until the second half when Bobby Dunn threw an interception. Lake Taylor on the other hand turned the ball over often in the first half as ball security proved to be an issue.

The Blue Devils were well in control of this one in the second quarter when the leading rusher for the Titans, Malik Newton left the game. Newton appeared to injure his leg late in the second quarter and although he returned briefly, he did not play in the second half.

The night could not have gone any worse for the Titans or any better for the Blue Devils as Varina looked like a legit contender in Region 5B with the performance we saw on this night.

It took Varina less than three minutes to get on the board in this one. Lake Taylor won the coin toss but deferred to the second half. Bad move for the Titans as the Blue Devils scored in 5 plays with Isiah Paige on the receiving end of a Bobby Dunn 32-yard pass to cap off an 85-yard drive. Just like that the Blue Devils had served notice, 7-0.

On the kick return disaster struck for Lake Taylor as the ball was fumbled but the Titans retained it thanks to Isaiah Thompson. Backed up at their own 6 the Titans were unable to convert a first down putting the ball back in the Blue Devils hands.

On the first snap, James Reid put his speed on display with a 54-yard run to make it 14-0 at the 8:22 mark. Just like that the Blue Devils had a 14-0 lead.

The Titans again fumbled the return only this time the Blue Devils came up with the loose ball. For the second straight possession the Blue Devils scored on the first snap, Isiah Paige scored from 38 yards out and boom! Varina was up 21-0.

That defense that swarmed to the ball was on display when Quenton Baylor and Barry Hill broke up a pass intended for Darious Speight on a third down pass.

After the Titans defense held Varina to their first 3 & out the Titans nearly shot themselves in the foot again when they fumbled the return once more. Chuck Fisher recovered the loose ball. Malik Newton, the leading rusher for the Titans showed off his athleticism and size by trucking through the Varina defense and leaping over defenders for a gain of 25 yards. The Titans were moving the ball and pushed it out to the Varina 14... a score appeared imminent but on 4th & 1 the Titans could not convert and Varina dodged a bullet as the shutout was still in play.

After the Blue Devils were penalized for too many men on the field, Dunn handed the ball off to James Reid who flew down the field for with an 88-yard run putting the Blue Devils up 28-0 and the first quarter was just winding down.

After the Blue Devil defensed forced the Titans to a 3 & out the Blue Devils went back to work with the ball being spread around 4 different players but it was James Reid scoring from 32 yards out for this third touchdown of the night that capped the drive.

The Titans were looking up at 35 on the board and nothing for them. Malik Newton was again making plays trying to will his team to get back in the game by hurdling Varina defenders. The Titans moved the ball inside the ten of Varina and twice Jeff Foster set his sights on a Titan receiver only to have it fall incomplete. Fourth down did not fare any better and the Blue Devils got the ball back.

Backed up their own 8, Varina's Isiah Paige picked up 2 yards on a short run but when bonkers on the next play catching a pass from Dunn and scoring his third touchdown of the night on a 90-yard play that saw Paige flying down the field! 42-0 Varina, there was still more than 5 minutes to go in the first half.

The next series was a mixed bag for the Titans... Jeff Foster and Eric Floyd hooked up twice to get the Titans the first down, Malik Newton carried the ball four consecutive times to move the ball out to the 31 totaling 22 yards on the four carries. That would be the last we would see of Newton. Newton left the game with an apparent injury to his leg. I did not see him on the field after this.

The Titans did however end the shutout when Jeff Foster scored from 27 yards out on a quarterback keeper to finally get the Titans on the board with 1:11 to go in the half.

Foster almost came up big for the Titans on defense when he almost picked off Bobby Dunn. That 'almost' came back to burn the Titans who would see the Blue Devils James Reid score score his fourth touchdown of the night with another big run, this one of 62 yards! 49-7 Varina... that is how the half would closeout.

Lake Taylor had the ball to open the second half but it would not be for long... On 3rd & 8 the Titans would fumble and Lorenz Terry who just this week committed to UVA was there to recover the fumble.

With the ball back in their grasp the Blue Devils were looking to add to their score. The Blue Devils however could not overcome a holding call, a pass that went in and out of the hands of James Reid or a Bobby Dunn fumble on third down. With the ball at the Lake Taylor 18 the Blue Devils went for the field goal but the Titans came up with a big block avoiding another score.

The Titans put together a rather long drive highlighted by Eric Floyd and Jeff Foster carrying the bulk of the load as the Titans methodically moved down the field. With the ball at the 29 the Titans appeared to have fumbled the ball but the refs did not see it that way and Lake Taylor retained control. Recovered the ball they did, recover as far as momentum... no. On two consecutive pass attempts from Jeff Foster the Titans could not advance the ball and would turnover on downs.

Lake Taylor would not have to wait long as Pierre Royster would intercept Bobby Dunn, the first turnover of the game for the Blue Devils. Now Lake Taylor had a fresh set of downs and the ball at the Varina 24. With Malik Newton out, Chuck Fisher got the bulk of the carries but a false start call on 4th & 1 hurt the Titans. That is when Lake Taylor chose the pass over the run and it fell incomplete. Another missed opportunity for the Titans was squandered as the Blue Devils would take over on downs.

With a running clock this game well well at hand and the Blue Devils 2nd string went in with Dorian Fleming now in at quarterback. Fleming hit Linard Scott with an 82-yard pass to put the icing on the cake as the lead for Varina was now 56-7.

Lake Taylor's ball control problems continued to plague the Titans... Lake Taylor would fumble on third down with Kenneth Lowery recovering for Varina.

From here the Blue Devils could run off a few plays and run out the clock... Victory was theirs as they made a big statement with this victory.

You could honestly give it up to most any number of players on offense for the Blue Devils but for me it is James Reid. This young man was electric with that ball in his hands with 240 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns on the night! He was a big play waiting to happen every time he touched the ball.

Going to send a little love the way of Quenton Baylor as well... I have him down for 5+ tackles plus a pass break-up. Baylor was just the tip of the spear of a defense that shined on this night for the Blue Devils.

As for Lake Taylor... I am going to go with Jeff Foster. He was the one constant on offense especially with the loss of Malik Newton. You certainly cannot go defense given the fact that the Blue Devils could score at just about anytime during this contest. Jeff's night finished with roughly 80 yards of offense, most of that on the ground with over 50 yards plus the lone touchdown of the night for Titans.

Game footage courtesy of RVA Sports Production from Varina / Lake Taylor can be seen above.

Varina improves to 3-0 against Eastern District teams overall.

This was the most points given up by a Lake Taylor team since Freedom scored 58 on them on Sept. 9th, 2017.

Lake Taylor is now 6-4 against Richmond Region schools and 2-3 playing within the 804.

Varina improves to 5-1 whereas Lake Taylor falls to 4-2 on the season.