The Shadow
COVINGTON – Alleghany’s football program is a win away from a trip to the state tournament.
The No. 3 seeded Cougars blew past No. 6 Wilson Memorial 44-14 in a Class 3, Region C quarterfinal on Friday night in Covington at Casey Field.
It was talked about in their preview last week, that the only way for the Green Hornets to have a chance with the Cougars was if they could keep the game within single digits or have led at halftime.
Neither happened.
Alleghany, like they have done all season long, controlled the tempo of the game and for an 11th straight time this season the Cougars led at halftime as AHS built a 22-0 advantage.
When the Cougars are out in front by that much, game over.
The memories of the home regional quarterfinals loss to Rustburg last year are exactly what they are, memories. A much forgotten one as Alleghany is now a win away from reaching the regional finals and also earning a trip to the state tournament.
If you were a team that finished 6-8 in the regional rankings to end the season, you were going to be dealt a bad draw regardless as you were going to potentially face three different undefeated teams; No. 1 Liberty Christian Academy, No. 2 Turner Ashby, and No. 3 Alleghany.
For Wilson Memorial, they earned the No. 6 spot after jumping then No. 6 Staunton following their regular season finale victory over Stuarts Draft. Instead of facing Turner Ashby, they were dealt with another formidable task of playing Alleghany, who will be their new Shenandoah District opponent come next Fall.
Des Jordan kicked off his junior regional playoff campaign by balling out with five total touchdowns. Jordan threw for three touchdown passes and rushed for two more. The flashy and dynamic quarterback was nearly perfect in the air as he went 18-for-22 on pass attempts and rushed 64-yards.
Jordan connected on his touchdown passes to three different targets: Jay Godfrey, Xzavier Hayslett, and Sarge Persinger. Hayslett led the way in receiving with 97-yards on five catches and also had a forced fumble on the defensive side of the football. Both Godfrey and Persinger reeled in four catches apiece.
While Jordan was a problem for Wilson Memorial both in the air and on the ground, so too was Carter Nicely as the junior led the way in rushing with 14 attempts for 93-yards.
Nick Frye, who has been turning it up a notch in the last few weeks, continued to be a problem for opposing teams as he returned a 93-yard kickoff to the end zone midway into the third quarter. This came off of a Green Hornets touchdown, which halted their momentum.
Alleghany didn’t get on the scoreboard until a little less than three minutes remaining in the first quarter when Jordan rushed for the first of his two touchdowns on the ground.
It would be the only points put up by the Cougars in the quarter. The second quarter would be better for AHS as they added 14 points coming on the second rushing touchdown from Jordan and a 21-yard touchdown reception by Persinger with seconds remaining in the first half.
Wilson Memorial would gain some ground early in the second half. Keyvon Jones picked off Jordan in what was a rare interception thrown as it was only his third of the season.
A few minutes later following the interception, Clinfton Coffey would put the first points on the scoreboard for Wilson Memorial as he scored from 3-yards out.
Following a converted two-point try, the Green Hornets were now only down 22-8.
In a game all about momentum, Wilson Memorial’s momentum would be wiped away in seconds as Frye on the ensuing kickoffs bursted through up the middle and returned a 93-yard kickoff to the end zone and kept Alleghany’s lead intact by a wide margin.
The Cougars would score twice more in the fourth quarter coming on touchdown passes from Jordan to Godfrey and Hayslett.
The Green Hornets would get a late scoring touchdown drive in the final minute of the game from Jones as he scored from 9-yards out.
Coffey led all runners with a game-high 98-yards rushing coming on 16 attempts.
No. 3 Alleghany (11-0) will now travel to Bridgewater on Friday for a regional semifinal showdown with unbeaten No. 2 Turner Ashby (11-0). The reigning Valley District champion Knights defeated No. 7 Staunton 48-7 in a regional quarterfinal.
Wilson Memorial 0 0 8 6 – 14
Alleghany 8 14 6 16 – 44
First Quarter
AHS – Jordan 6 run (Godfrey pass from Griffith), 2:37
Second Quarter
AHS – Jordan 1 run (Hale kick), 7:52
AHS – Persinger 21 pass from Jordan (Hale kick), 0:06
Third Quarter
WMHS – Coffey 3 run (Podgorski run), 4:29
AHS – Frye 93 kickoff return (2pt fails), 4:16
Fourth Quarter
AHS – Godfrey 14 pass from Jordan (Hayslett pass from Jordan), 11:53
AHS – Hayslett 19 pass from Jordan (Hayslett pass from Jordan), 5:42
WMHS – Jones 9 run (PAT no good), 0:34
