Alexandria – Almost as soon as the Generals of started to claw back into Friday's Division 5 Northern Region semi-final against the Hayfield Hawks, the visitors from Arlington allowed the momentum to slip away, surrendering a touchdown on the ensuing kick-off return. The Generals were behind from then on and saw their season end at the hands of the Hawks, who advance to the regional final with the 28-7 victory.
Hayfield struck first in the contest when, on the game's opening drive, a quick slant on third-and-9 turned into a 40-yard score. Splitting Washington-Lee defensive backs Keesean Braithwaite and Anthony Taylor, Hayfield quarterback James Stewart hit junior Hayden Knudson as he cut in from the right and bolted into the expanse ahead for an easy touchdown.
Though both teams made progress on ensuing drives—including a devastating hit on Knudson as he fielded a Generals' punt that resulted in a Washington-Lee recovery in Hayfield territory—neither team threatened to score until Hayfield began to cede momentum with a turnover in the second quarter.
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On second-and-6 from the 45-yard line, Stewart took the snap for the Hawks and advanced toward the line. Facing stiff resistance, he turned and awkwardly pitched the ball to Hayfield's lead runner, Steve Lynch. The junior was under immediate pressure and coughed up the ball, which was recovered by the Generals' Marshall Anders.
Just four plays later, Taylor—the main running back for the Generals on top of his defensive duties—took the hand-off towards the left and made it to the outside for a 20-yard touchdown run.
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But at that moment when Washington-Lee looked to be on the ascendancy, Hayfield senior Cody Whitlow returned the kick-off for a touchdown. The score staked the Hawks to a 14-7 lead heading into halftime and effectively knocked the wind from the Generals' sail.
As Washington-Lee coach Josh Shapiro said of Whitlow's touchdown, "You know, that's a momentum-breaker, it's a game-changer. It turned out to be, you know, the turning point of the game."
Stewart echoed the assessment: "Yeah, I say the biggest play that turned us around was the kick return because our offense, we started off good but then we started struggling a little bit, and the kick return really boosted us, and that really just fired us up to go out and get after it."
In the second half, the Generals' defense was held under wraps by Hayfield's defense, resulting in scoring chances that the Hawks' offense converted.
Although Washington-Lee started the third quarter with the ball and quickly picked up a first down, the Generals would only pick up two others during the game's final 24 minutes. The Generals' six second-half possessions ended as: punt, interception, turnover on downs, turnover on downs, interception, interception. Only one of those drives made it into Hayfield's half of the field, and that one started on Hayfield' 48-yard line.
Stewart gave credit to his team's defensive effort.
"We knew [Washington-Lee] was gonna give Taylor the ball a lot, and I was real glad with the way our defense stepped up, especially in this cold weather," Stewart said.
Unlike the first half, Hayfield turned those second-half stops into points.
On the Hawks' first possession in the third quarter, the home team put together an 11-play scoring drive that started on its own 31-yard line. Hayfield converted on fourth-and-inches and fourth-and-5 to sustain the effort before a 32-yard run from Lynch set up his 6-yard touchdown run.
The Generals' next drive ended with junior quarterback Rigo Salguero's second interception—he would finish with four—and, leading 21-7 late in the third quarter, Hayfield looked to run the ball. The Hawks chewed time off the clock by way of six consecutive running plays. But then Stewart unleashed a 34-yard bomb down the right side of the field to senior Sean Townsend in the end zone.
By that point, Washington-Lee was out of its comfort zone. Normally a run-oriented attack, the Generals' offense was short on time and forced to turn to its passing game to attempt a comeback.
Shapiro explained, "[W]e can throw the ball but, you know, Hayfield did a great job of containing our quarterback on our bootlegs and our sprints 'cause they're fast and athletic, and we couldn't reach the edge. And it forces us into a position of, you know, trying to be pocket team, a three-step passing team, and that's just not our strength."
Hayfield almost added another score in the game's final minute when Salguero was picked off by Leroy Alexander, only for Salguero to slow the junior enough as he neared the goal line for his teammates to make the tackle. Hayfield knelt the ball to end the contest.
For Washington-Lee, the season ends with a 6-6 record, as well as the school's first win in 28 years over rival Yorktown to reach Friday's semifinal.
After the game, Shapiro said he had no regrets with his team's effort because "they left it on the field."
He added that "we didn't have any nonsense going on after plays, you now, and kids played hard between the whistles, and I'm proud of them and I thought the season was successful. You know, and I felt the kids showed a lot of resiliency and a lot of championship fight."
Hayfield coach Roy Hill was of a similar mind.
When asked about how he thought his team performed, Hill responded, "Well I'll tell you what, Washington-Lee is really a special team. They have come together and we knew we were going to have to play well, play hard against them. And the guys withstood the best, you know, the best punches and did a good job, so I'm very proud of them."
Hayfield improves to 9-4 with the win and advances to face Stone Bridge next Friday for the regional crown. The match is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. kick-off.
