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Skyline deep ball too much for Tigers at homecoming
At least the atmosphere was nice.Even with all of the spirit and excitement showing in the stands and around the Tigers’ side of the playing field, Brentsville District came up short for the sixth time this football season, losing its homecoming game in Nokesville to visiting Skyline, 26-7.
Skyline quarterback Nathaniel White devastated the Brentsville secondary with the deep ball, hooking up with senior wide receiver Andrew Thorne for three touchdown passes in the first half at distances of 20, 24 and 42 yards.
For each of those receptions, Thorne had enough time to completely turn his body toward the ball, back pedal, and bring in the catch.
“It wasn’t really beating it,” said Thorne of the Tigers’ coverage. “It just, they were pressing me, and I just kind of got past them a little bit. They had great [defense]; they just double-covered, and I was just lucky enough to go make some catches.”
Brentsville defender and Homecoming King Mike Tudor noted the Skyline (6-2 overall, 3-2 district) wide receivers were bigger and faster than the Tigers’ defensive backs.
For example, the 6-foot-3 Thorne stood a full six inches taller than his defensive counterpart Chris Spinks.
“They had a good relationship with the quarterback, too,” Tudor added.
“They were fast, but they had one good athlete. But other than that, I thought we matched up okay,” said the Tigers’ Scotty Crane.
Skyline’s offensive attack came by air and land. On the first play of the first quarter, a direct snap to Kieren Caison resulted in a 33-yard gain, effectively ending whatever momentum Brentsville (1-6, 1-3) may have had from the game simply being homecoming.
Five plays later, Thorne registered his first of three touchdowns.
Caison then proved to be a double threat to Brentsville as he picked off a pass thrown by Tiger quarterback PJ Borko on Brentsville’s ensuing drive, returning the ball to the Tigers’ 38 yard line.
Though White immediately capitalized with a 24-yard pass to Thorne, a Skyline penalty and a botched snap forced the Hawks into a third-and-goal situation from the 24 yard line.
But in one fell swoop, Thorne caught what amounted to the game-winning touchdown with 6:54 remaining in the first quarter, hitting pay dirt in the front left corner of the end zone on a 24-yarder.
“He read [the field] better than other quarterbacks we’ve played,” Tudor said of White.
Brentsville had one real opportunity in the first half to put points on the board in the final minute of the first quarter.
Carries by Borko and running back Philip Johnson then gave the Tigers first-and-10 from the 25. But after an incomplete and two 4-yard rushes, the Hawks stopped Johnson on a fourth-and-two rush about one chain-link short of a first down.
“When we get in the red zone, we just die,” said Crane.
By the time Johnson finally put Brentsville on the board, the Tigers were already down 26-0 with 3:22 left in the fourth quarter.
Johnson (25 rushes, 138 yards) led the ground game for Brentsville, carrying the ball 17 times in the final period alone, a fact not lost on Skyline.
“They've got a good running team,” said Thorne. “You can see that; they kind of ran on us a lot. And we just had to tighten up a few times. Sometimes, it looked like we slacked up.”
Brentsville’s offense is designed around consistent small gains instead of pass completions. In this case, Borko’s first completed pass came in the third quarter.
“If everyone blocks and does their jobs right, we have a pretty good running offense,” said Tudor.
As for now, the Tigers are searching for at least one more win before the regular season ends Nov. 7. Their best bet may be on Halloween night, when cellar-dweller Central (1-7, 0-5) comes to town.
“We’ve got to play hard. We’ve got to play as a team for four quarters of football,” said Tudor.
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