Once Again, Jessop Comes Through for Broad Run

Last-Minute Heroics Propel Spartans to Victory: Broad Run 17, Heritage 10

Broad Run had managed just one first down the second half when it took possession on the Heritage 47-yard line with just less than four minutes to play and the score tied at 10. The Spartans had struggled to establish the run and desperately needed a spark if they hoped to put together a drive.

Enter Chris Jessop.

On second-and-two, Broad Run's junior quarterback took a double reverse and stepped back into the pocket, delivering a perfect pass to junior running back Breon Earl down the left sideline for an 18-yard gain. The play sparked the Spartans offense, and five plays later junior Kenny McAdow plunged into the end zone from two yards out with 1 minute 22 seconds to play, and Broad Run (5-0, 2-0 AA Dulles) held on to win, 17-10.

"That's a once-a-year play, and you keep it in case you need it and you hope you never do," Broad Run Coach Michael Burnett said. "We probably practiced that play twice this year, but it's Chris. We put the ball in his hands, and we believe in him."

It is the second straight game in which Jessop has entered on offense for Broad Run and made an immediate impact. Last week against Briar Woods, Jessop converted a big fake punt and completed an 18-yard pass on third-and-goal from the 19.

"I don't know what to say about him, I really don't," Burnett said. "If you watch him play, you see he does it and he does it regularly. He doesn't get caught up in the emotion of the game; the game just slows down for him, and he's able to make big plays."

Up until Jessop's play, Heritage (3-2, 1-1 AA Dulles) had been able to keep Broad Run from making big plays. But when Coach Wes Driskill called for a fake punt on fourth-and-five from the Broad Run 40-yard line, a miscommunication caused the ball to be snapped to the punter instead of the upback.

"I said, 'Look guys, we're going to try to win this thing, we're going to take a chance,' " Driskill said. "You call a play like that, you're either going to be a goat or a hero. But you've got to execute it if you call it, and we failed on that part."

In the first half, Heritage moved down the field quickly on its first drive of the game, needing just four plays to take the lead. On third-and-one from the 22-yard line, senior quarterback Kyle Nelson found junior running back Ross Madison on a swing pass, and Madison powered the ball down the left sideline and into the end zone for the Pride.

Broad Run answered right back with a nine-play, 65-yard drive capped by quarterback Cole Shain's one-yard touchdown plunge. The Spartans then put together a 19-play, 63-yard drive that used nearly eight minutes in the second quarter and ended with Graham Allen's 40-yard field goal, giving them a 10-7 lead.

After halftime, Heritage's defense took control, and the Pride tied it when Josh Thiel hit a 22-yard field goal.

But the miscommunication by Heritage late in the game and Jessop's magic touch gave the Spartans the win. Still, Driskill said he is proud of what Heritage was able to accomplish against a Broad Run team that many thought would run over the Pride.

"I'm proud of my team," said Driskill, adding: "We've got nothing to hang our heads about. We're a good football team, and I think we showed it tonight."