Lord Botetourt rushes past
Hidden Valley 41-6 in playoffs
Dwight Bogle Stadium, Roanoke, Va – A Titans team coming off one of their best seasons in recent memory and a Cavs squad on a five-game win streak faced off to start the post-season. It was an interesting matchup of Hidden Valley’s pass heavy offense led by QB 16 Sam Dragovich versus Botetourt ‘s power ground game with quick QB’s 13 Jakari Nicely and 7 KJ Bratton. True to form, LB and their explosive QB’s picked up the first score of the contest with a shifty fifty-seven-yard Nicely TD. 
Hidden Valley was quick to strike back. On the following drive Dragovich hit three separate Titans receivers before finding his fourth, WR 1 Braxton Dunnings, for a thirty-yard touchdown pass on the right sideline. The ball game wasn’t tied yet. Cavalier DB 4 Joey Isaacs influenced the Titan’s PAT making it 7-6. From here on out LB continued the ground assault. For each stop Hidden Valley pulled off, the Cavs struck back with a big run. Botetourt charted 543 rushing yards on the night along with six TD’s as they advance to the next round against Christiansburg. Botetourt Coach Jamie Harless had nothing but praise for his opponent, “It really benefited us to play this game. Coach Weaver and these guys always do a great job at figuring out how to get to your soft spots. We’ll prepare for Christiansburg just like we did this week.”
Carroll picks up yards after the catch
First Quarter – Both teams came out the gate ready to play, putting up twenty points between the two of them. LB got the ball first but the Titan defense had their number. Nicely carried twice, picking up a paltry two yards for his efforts thanks to Hidden Valley’s H/LB 15 Ashton Carroll. The Cavs opted to pass on third down. However, gaining yards through the air isn’t their forte and it didn’t work for them tonight. 3 K Bryce Harvey used his cannon of a leg to send Hidden Valley back sixty-one yards before Carroll hustled his way back to midfield on the return. It’s no secret that this group of Titans like to keep the football in the air and the Cavs were ready. Dragovich targeted Dunnings three times in row but the ball never found it’s mark due to pressure from LB’s 72 OL/DL Hunter McLain and tight coverage from 11 RB/DB Cade Lang. The Cavs started their drive at their twenty-five and sliced through Hidden Valley’s defense with a combination of Nicely and Bratton sprints. Reliably picking up around five yards per carry, Nicely broke away on third down scoring the first TD of the night with a fifty-seven yard trip. The Titans started at their thirty after another Carroll return and Dragovich got to work. In six plays the Titan QB facilitated his team’s score, completing five passes in row. Two of which were a twenty-three-yard line-drive to 20 WR/DB Joey Strong and a thirty-yard TD to Dunnings. The PAT went wide solidifying LB’s lead. Things wouldn’t go so smoothly on offense for the Cavs this time as they would again opt for passing. Soon enough, Harvey launched another sixty-yard punt grounding Hidden Valley Behind their twenty. The Titan drive was cut short with a pivotal sack by LB’s 9 TE/OLB Gunner Givens, forcing a 8 K Brody Layman punt. The explosive QB duo of Nicely and Bratton got the job done this time, ending the quarterwith a twenty-seven-yard Nicely TD.
Botetourt QB 13 Jakari Nicely takes off for a score
Hidden Valley H/LB 15 Ashton Carroll stiff arms a defender
Second Quarter – The Titans picked up where they left off in the second quarter, ad-vancing through the air. While every play has its risks, passing against a defense like LB’s is particularly dangerous. Sure enough, Botetourt’s 21 WR/DB Hayden Smith picked Dragovich’s pass off and secured fifteen yards on the return.
Titan WR 1 Braxton Dunnings gets HV on the board with a TD catch
LB got back to their run game but an untimely sack from Titan 3 WR/DE James Fitzgerald on third down stopped the Cav’s promising drive. LB’s aggressive defense and previous interception didn’t faze Dragovich as the Titan QB hit Carroll with a bomb of pass, picking up forty-four yards before being taken down by Cav’s 4 WR/DB Joey Isaacs. HV picked up one more 1st down before LB’s 2 FB/LB Bryce Harrison stopped 22 RB/DB DJ Banks short on third down. The Cavs took over, putting together another quick score with a fifty-nine yard Nicely dash and a twenty-seven-yard Bratton trip to the end zone, pushing LB ahead 21-6 to end the half.
K.J. Bratten scores for Lord Botetourt
Second Half – HV started the latter portion of the game with their largest gain on a single play. Dragovich hit Carroll down the middle for sixty yards, immediately putting the Titans in scoring territory. They very well might have capitalized on the opportunity if it weren’t for Givens. The senior burst through the Titan line, wrapping up Dragovich for a bone-chilling sack. Despite the hard hit, the HV QB almost found Dunnings for another TD but Lang’s tight coverage prevented the score. With the Ball back in Cavalier hands, Bratton headlined the drive. He picked up yards on a sweep to the right, then left, then right again before reaching the promised land. Banks got a hand on Harvey’s PAT, keeping the score at 27-6.
VT signee, DL 9 Gunner Givens applies pressure to Titan QB 16 Sam Dragovich
After a squib kick HV gained momentum off a costly pass interference penalty and willed their way inside the LB ten. On the five, disaster struck in the form of a fumble quickly recovered by McLain, cutting short another prime scoring opportunity for the Titans. Botetourt advanced to midfield and Bratton slipped through the HV defense and turned on the gas for a quick fifty-three-yard TD. The Harvey PAT was true bloating the Cavalier lead to 34-6. After a well-placed kick-off, HV got back to work from their thirteen. All of the gains were through Dragovich’s arm and the Cav’s D backs were hip. On a Dunnings target Lang found gold, picking off the pass. Botetourt switched up their ball carrier this time, trusting 32 FB/LB Andrew Gilbert. Gilbert didn’t disappoint, punching his way into the end zone for LB’s sixth TD on their first drive of the fourth quarter. The passing hardship wasn’t over for the Titans yet. Dragovich sunk into the pocket on fourth down and let it fly. It was a good ball, but the catch was bobbled right into the hands of LB’s 21 WR/DB Hayden Martin, effectively ending the contest. Dragovich threw for 283 yards on the night pushing his season passing total to upwards of 2,700 yards, the most of any QB in his school’s history, capping off an unprecedented season with a school record that will be tough to beat.- Graham Whitaker
Lord Botetourt FB/LB 32 Andrew Gilbert seeks out the end zone
Offense:
Rushing: Lord Botetourt – Jackari Nicely 25-280yds 2 TD’s, KJ Bratton 14-193yds 3 TD’s, Andrew Gilbert 3-21yds 1 TD, #5 4-28yds, Bryce Harrison 2-15yds Hidden Valley – Jadon LaTempa 5-23yds, DJ Banks 4-13yds, Sam Dragovich 7-6yds
Passing: Lord Botetourt – Jakari Nicely 0/2-0yds, KJ Bratton 0/1-0yds Hidden Valley – Sam Dragovich 23/42-283yds 1 TD 3 INT
Receiving: Hidden Valley – Ashton Carroll 5-122yds, Braxton Dunnings 7-78yds 1 TD, Joey Strong 3-43yds, Landon Blackshear 3-18yds, DJ Banks 4-17yds, Jadon LaTempa 1-5yds
Punting: Lord Botetourt – 3/57yd avg. Hidden Valley – 4/35yd avg.
Scoring
1st Quarter
• Lord Botetourt: Nicely 57 yd rush: PAT Harvey (7:31)
• Hidden Valley: Dunnings 30 yd pass from Dragovich: PAT failed (6:11)
• Lord Botetourt: Nicely 27 yd rush: PAT Harvey (0:48)
2nd Quarter
• Lord Botetourt: Bratton 27 yd rush: PAT Harvey (0:49)
3rd Quarter
• Lord Botetourt: Bratton 10 yd rush: PAT failed (7:17)
• Lord Botetourt: Bratton 53 yd rush: PAT Harvey (2:53)
4th Quarter
• Lord Botetourt: Gilbert 3 yd rush: PAT Harvey (5:59)