Back-to-Back: Thomas Heyward repeats as SCISA Class A champs
Thomas Heyward Academy put 30 points on the scoreboard against Bethesda Academy at Charlie W. Johnson Stadium on Saturday.
But if you ask Rebels head coach Nic Shuford what propelled them to their second straight SCISA Class A state championship, it was the defensive unit in a 30-6 victory over the Blazers.
“Our offense put them in the position to get that six,” Shuford said. “If you ask me, the defense pitched a shutout today. They got after it, it wasn’t always pretty, but the effort was there.”
The Rebels, who fell 28-16 to Bethesda on Oct. 18, stuffed Bethesda throughout the game, as the Blazers mustered just 95 total yards and six first downs.
“They played their butts off,” Shuford said. “I’m just proud of these guys. They got after it and controlled the line of scrimmage. We rallied to the ball. We had six, seven guys around the ball all night long. It was something fun to watch on the defensive side.”
Thomas Heyward’s offense fumbled at the 5-yard line midway through the second quarter, which prompted Johnathan Joseph’s 2-yard touchdown run for Bethesda to cut the Rebels lead to 14-6.
But the Rebels (11-2) got two more scores from J.R. Patterson in the second half and with two-point conversions on both from Jaterrius Pusha and Patterson, in the second half.
Patterson proved to be the beast of the Rebels offense Saturday afternoon, with 18 carries, 173 yards, including a 60-yard scamper late in the first half.
“He went off,” Shuford said. “We had a lot of guys who had big games today. None more than the whole defensive unit.”
Thomas Heyward and Bethesda both spent much of the first quarter moving backward, either from the Rebels’ seven penalties — five false starts, a delay and a holding — or from the Blazers’ minus-9 rushing yards.
The Rebels caught a break when they backed up Bethesda on its own 5-yard line and the Blazers fumbled. Dalton Hayes pounced on the ball at the 2-yard line for Thomas Heyward, and Pusha darted into the end zone with 22 seconds left in the first quarter.
The two-point conversion attempt failed, but the Rebels evened things out on their next possession.
Thomas Heyward’s first quarter featured 10 rushes for 26 yard and 1-of-3 passing for 22 yards. But at the 8:30 mark of the second quarter, Pusha connected with Zack Black for a 59-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Peyton Bennet’s pass to Black on the two-point conversion gave the Rebels a 14-0 lead.
Bethesda’s only score made it 14-6 at the half, and by then the Thomas Heyward offense was clicking just enough to combine with its stingy defensive effort.
The Rebels finished with 45 rushes for 242 yards and 81 passing yards. Thomas Heyward held Bethesda’s offense to 15 rushing yards and 21 passing yards in the first half, and 16 on the ground and 43 through the air in the second.
The numbers were far from the first meeting between the two teams. Bethesda gained 428 yards back on Oct. 18.
“We learned that we didn’t really play that well when we played them,” Shuford said. “They’re a great football team and they have a lot of weapons. We needed to come up with a game plan and our defensive staff did. The boys executed it just perfect.”
HOW THEY SCORED
THA 6-8-8-8—30
Bethesda 0-6-0-0—6
First Quarter
T – Jaterrius Pusha 2 run (run failed) :22
Second Quarter
T – Zack Black 59 pass from Pusha (Peyton Bennett pass to Black) 8:30
B – Johnathan Joseph 5 run (kick failed)
Third Quarter
B – J.R. Patterson 16 run (Pusha run) 4:15
Fourth Quarter
B – Patterson 11 run (Patterson run) 3:19
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: THA – J.R. Patterson 18-173, Jaterrius Pusha 18-95, John Clark Tilton 7-29. Bethesda – Johnathan Joseph 8-13, Jaden Wright 9-31.
Passing: THA – Jaterrius Pusha 2-4-0. Peyton Bennett 0-3-0. Bethesda – Antjuan McKay8-17-2.
Receiving: THA – Zack Black 2-81. Bethesda – Johnathan Joseph 4-54, Treyson Speaks 1-1, Jaden Wright 1-6, Carlton Brown 1-12
This story was originally published November 23, 2019 at 5:07 PM.