Class 3A State Championship
Liberty Christian’s Davidson too much for Lafayette in 28-14 Bulldog State Championship win
Williams Stadium Lynchburg , Va – Liberty Christian’s secret weapon isn’t a secret anymore. Yes, RB/S 8 Gideon Davidson (Clemson commit) led the Bulldogs to the win with 306 yards and 3 touchdowns on offense, but that’s no secret. What some don’t realize is how good the Junior is on defense. At night’s end, Davidson had two interceptions, recovered a fumble and was in on a number of tackles. LCA Coach Frank Rocco put it succinctly, “He is a warrior. We ask him to do a lot.” With Clemson Tiger head coach, Dabo Sweeney, on hand Davidson didn’t disappoint. Another Clemson commit, Junior OL/DL 78 Easton Ware also made his presence felt along with Senior teammate OL/DL 56 Tyler Murray in the trenches. It took a herculean effort by all, as the Rams wing-t offense calls for an ‘all hands on deck” defense with good eye discipline.
LCA started fast with three Gideon Davidson TD’s in their first five possessions, all runs by Davidson – 5, 90, and 36-yards respectively. But Lafayette would settle down. Rocco knew this would be a four quarter affair, “They are a great team and well coached.” Lafayette scored on their first two drives of the second half. The first on an 11-yard scamper by QB 5 Hayden Oleksy (9/49,TD rush; 7/14,72,2 INTs pass), and the second on a 3-yard blast by RB/LB 6 James Spencer (14/96,TD) to tighten the margin to 21-14 at the start of the fourth quarter. From there, LCA did what champions do, drive for points. The Bulldogs marched 74-yards on 11 plays, weathering three holding calls. Facing third and fifteen, LCA QB 9 Jeb Moon pitched a reverse to back up QB 5 James Deyo and the left hander hit WR/DB 11 Dalton Nesselrotte in stride for the 44-yard TD. “We were going deep into our bag of tricks to just get one more score to put it out of reach, and that was the one that worked,” recalled Rocco. That it did. With the win, Liberty Christian becomes the first private school to win a VHSL state championship. – Cap’n Crunch
Scoring:
First Quarter-
LCA: Gideon Davidson 5-yard TD run; Ryan Petit PAT
LCA: Gideon Davidson 90-yard TD run; Ryan Petit PAT
Second Quarter-
LCA: Gideon Davidson 36-yard TD run; Ryan Petit PAT
Third Quarter-
Lafayette: Hayden Oleksy 11-yard TD run; Clarke Canova PAT
Fourth Quarter-
Lafayette: James Spencer 3-yard run; Clarke Canova PAT
LCA: Adam Deyo 44-yard TD pass to WR 11 Dalton Nesselrotte; Ryan Petit PAT
OFFENSE:
Rushing:
LCA– Gideon Davidson 24/306,3TD, Elijah Castenada 5/11, Adam Deyo 1/4, Jaden Cowart 1/3 Lafayette – James Spencer 14/96,TD, Nazeer Walmart 17/67, Hayden Oleksy 9/49,TD, Brayden Smalls 6/20
Passing:
LCA– Jeb Moon 6/12,55,INT, Adam Deyo 1/1,44,TD Lafayette – Hayden Oleksy 7/14,72,2INTs
Receiving:
LCA– Dalton Nesselrotte 3/52,TD, JD Murphy 1/13, Gideon Davidson 1/13, JC Beverly 1/12 Lafayette – Elijah Matthews 3/29, James Spencer 2/27, Daniel Jackson 1/13, Nazeer Walmart 1/3
Punting:
LCA– Dalton Nesselrotte 1/26 yd avg Lafayette – Spencer James 2/33 yard avg
Returns:
LCA– Gideon Davidson 2/44, Adam Deyo 1/21 Lafayette – Elijah Matthews 1/15, Tristin Harris 1/0
Defense-
Tackles: LCA– Nate Nodal 12 Tkls, Jaden Coward 9 Tkls, Weston Woodard 9Tks, Sack, TFL, Justis Belford 8 Tkls, TFL Lafayette – David Hassell 10 Tkls, 3TFL, Peter Cook 5 Tkls, Breon Stokes 5 Tkls, Erick Zeledon 5 Tals