AAA DIVISION 5
Eagles Are Grounded By Five Turnovers
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Sunday, November 30, 2008
DINWIDDIE, Va., Nov. 29 -- Each time Liberty looked as if it would overcome its mistakes and rally from its early blunders, the Eagles dug themselves a deeper hole en route to a 42-21 loss at Dinwiddie in a Virginia AAA Division 5 semifinal.
"Any time you give a good football team five turnovers, you're not going to win that game," Liberty Coach Tom Buzzo said as he marched the Eagles off the field.
Liberty fumbled twice and had three passes intercepted.
Dinwiddie (12-1) made No. 20 Liberty (10-3) pay on each of its first two turnovers -- interceptions on back-to-back possessions that Generals quarterback Adam Morgan turned into touchdown passes of seven and nine yards. Dinwiddie took a 14-0 lead with 9 minutes 54 seconds left in the first quarter.
"Their turnovers early put us up on the board really quick," said Morgan, a dual-threat player who threw for 225 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for another score. "It was really a great spark for us and we got that momentum early."
Liberty rallied on a 15-yard touchdown run from University of Virginia-bound senior Corey Lillard and a 75-yard touchdown pass from Nick Potts to Derrick Lee, but Dinwiddie's Corey Marshall stripped a Liberty player and raced 28 yards for a second-quarter touchdown that put the Generals up, 21-14.
Morgan, a 5-foot-11 senior who entered the game with Virginia High School League career passing records in touchdowns (111) and completions (640), became the VHSL's career leader in passing yards (8,895 yards) with a 56-yard throw that gave Dinwiddie a 28-14 lead before halftime. Morgan tied the VHSL's single-season record for touchdown passes (46) with a five-yard strike that made it 35-14 in the third quarter.
"He could draw out, sprint out and just throw or run, so it kept you on your heels," said Lillard, who will play linebacker at Virginia. "Dual-threat quarterbacks do that to you so it's kind of hard."
Dinwiddie, which averages 42.5 points per game, pushed its winning streak to 12 by holding the Eagles 17 points below their season scoring average.
Morgan used six different receivers and hit four different targets for touchdowns, including Quintaze Jackson (six catches, 148 yards), Jerrell White (3-26), Terron Adams (1-44) and Mark Bevile (5-39).
"In games like these," Lillard said, "you can't make mistakes."
Dinwiddie 42 No. 20 Liberty 21 Up Next: Dinwiddie will play Phoebus in the Virginia AAA Division 5 final at noon Saturday at Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium in Blacksburg. Record-Breaker: Dinwiddie QB Adam Morgan tied the VHSL's single-season touchdown passing mark (46) in one less game than Landstown QB Terry Mitchell, who also threw 46 scores in 2003.
