Brookville knocks rival JF out of Region III playoff picture

FOREST — Early in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s Seminole District finale at Sabre Stadium, Brookville’s Deshon Foxx took a pitch from quarterback Kendall Becraft, just like he had three times before.

He had turned one into his second first-half touchdown, slanting inside the left pylon on fourth-and-goal from Jefferson Forest’s 2.

But this time, with the game tied at 20 and the Bees facing third-and-8 at JF’s 28, Foxx rolled to his right and unleashed a 30-yard spiral that hit Alec Thompson in stride in the right side of the end zone for the winning touchdown in a 27-20 triumph.

“Deshon plays quarterback for us, too, so we feel we can ask him to throw the ball when we put him in a Wildcat situation,” Brookville coach Jeff Woody said. “We felt like the play was going to be open. I felt like we had set it up. They were coming up strong on the outside, they were very aggressive on defense … and they came up to stop that run and Alec was able to sneak behind them. Hallelujah. We had the right time to call it and credit the kids for executing it.”

Foxx, who rushed 34 times for 146 yards and scored the first two touchdowns for the Bees (8-2, 4-2 Seminole), was confident Thompson (six catches, 65 yards) would come down with the ball.

“It was Alec so you just throw it up to him and he’s going to get it,” Foxx said.

Thompson said Foxx made it easy for him by putting it on the money, just as Becraft had done on a 55-yard scoring strike to Lorenzo Smith that tied the game at 20 in the third quarter.

“Deshon’s a great athlete,” Thompson said. “He can run the ball, throw the ball and catch the ball. He’s really versatile and he just threw a pass for me to catch.”

Bees defensive back Holton Walker intercepted Hunter Hannell’s pass three plays later, but the Cavaliers got the ball back at their own 21 after finally stopping Foxx on a fourth-down pitch with more than two minutes left in regulation.

But after Rashad Hall (24 rushes, 157 yards, two TDs) picked up 22 yards on two carries and Hannell connected with Harrison Loy for a 25-yard pass play that gave Forest a first at Brookville’s 36, Bees defensive end Zack McCray sacked Hannell for the second time for a 10-yard loss.

“It was just a big night,” said McCray, who nearly forced a safety with his first-half sack. “We’re playing JF, it’s a big rivalry, so it was definitely time to step up and come after them.”

Thompson then sealed the win by picking off Hannell’s final pass over the middle, on third-and-20 from the 46.

“They were definitely in a passing situation and all I was doing was playing centerfield back there reading the quarterback,” Thompson said. “He just happened to overthrow his receiver a little bit and I was there.

JF coach Don Rice knew the back-and-forth battle was going to come down to the final drive.

“We put ourselves in position to tie it up or win it at the end of the game and we just didn’t follow through,” he said. “We didn’t capitalize on a couple things, but we had a chance at the end of the game. We just didn’t do it.”

Brookville’s win secures its third-place standing in next Friday’s Region III, Division 3, playoffs — it likely will host sixth-seeded Alleghany — and puts the Cavaliers (5-5, 3-3) on the bubble for returning to the postseason in Region III, Division 4.

“We needed three teams to lose,” Rice said. “Staunton River lost (to Northside), Broadway lost (to Spotswood) and if William Byrd lost to Alleghany, we’re definitely in and if not, it’ll come down to points.”

Byrd did beat Alleghany, 22-21, moving it ahead of JF for the sixth and final playoff spot. The Terriers finished rated at 21.2 in the VHSL power point rankings while the Cavaliers dropped to 20.9.

Meanwhile, Staunton River (21.3) stayed in the No. 5 position despite its 51-26 loss to Northside in a showdown for the Blue Ridge District title. The Golden Eagles (5-5), making the playoffs for the first time in 12 years, will travel to fourth-seeded Spotswood (8-2) next Friday night for a Region III, Division 4, quarterfinal.