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JUNIOR'S NEWS |
2009 Western Division Champions
| Last Updated: October 25, 2009 Head Coach: Jim Dunkum
Team Mom: Lynne Pollard
Assistant Coaches: Gary Hingst, Greg Kohler, Chris Law, Craig Coles
Announcer: Bob Relyea
Reporter: Jeff Stoner
Photographer: Deborah Wells
Chain Crew: Jamie Wells, Ken Kessler, NEED A VOLUNTEER
Clock Operator: NEED A VOLUNTEER
Spotter: NEED A VOLUNTEER
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| Virginia Randolph Rams vs Kanawha Redskins
Playoff Semi-Finals (Third Round)
November 28, 2009
Falcon Field, New Kent Virginia
The mercury was barely topping 40 on a cold November morning as the 9 and 0 Western Division champion Kanawha Redskins took the field against the 5th seeded Virginia Randolph Rams, sporting a 9 game winning streak of their own, at distant New Kent's Falcon field.
After the Rams won the toss and deferred to the second half, Kanawha received the opening kickoff and returned it out to their own 30. They quickly faced third and long, failing to gain ground yards against the swarming Ram defense. Chase Pollard took the third down shotgun snap and rolled right, drawing the linebackers up, the heaving a pass deep downfield towards wideout Jay Riggs who had turned towards the post.
The Randolph safety made a great break on the ball and leapt up high enough to get a hand on the pass, but couldn't swat it away, and Jay Riggs watched it into his outstretched hands then raced downfield and into the end zone to draw first blood just over a minute in the game.
Pollard hit Riggs on the extra point try and the Skins were up 8 early.
The Skins's advantage didn't hold long, however. After recovering Kanawha squib kick at their 46, the Rams took just two plays to score on a 30 yards run down the home sideline. The Rams added an ace on the extra point and the game was nearly even at 8 to 7.
After bringing the Ram's deep kickoff to the Kanawha 30, the Skins set off on the longest drive of the game, gaining two first downs, the second on a 4th and 4 crossing pattern reception by Jacob Kessler that picked up 15 yards.
The Skins were pushed to forth down on the next series and looked to have gained the first down on a beautifully executed screen play, but a wretched spot gave the ball back to the Rams at the Randolph 30.
The Randolph offense picked up a first down on three plays, then, facing third and long, broke another huge run for a touchdown, putting them up 13-8. Their extra point run failed, but they held the lead early in the second quarter.
Kanawha's offense couldn't get a first down on their next series and had to punt the ball away. The Rams once again broke a long run, then converted their gain into a touchdown to go up 19 -8 as time ran out on the first half.
The game's second half was a brutal stalemate as the Kanawha defense found its' footing. The teams battled back and forth between the thirties, but neither could add another score, and the Redskins undefeated run came to an end on the short end of a 19 to 8 score.
The victorious Virginia Randolph squad now moves on to meet the East End 400, who defeated the Parham Cherries in the other semi-final game, at Hermitage High School this Saturday.
And for the Redskin juniors who put on the Kanawha uniform for the last time and their faithful fans, a long drive home filled with melancholy thoughts of what might have been. That's natural but those "what if's" should be quickly replaced with the reality of what this group and their head coach, Jim Dunkum, accomplished over the past 4 seasons:
35 wins
4 consecutive Western Division titles
4 consecutive wins over the Western Wildcats
3 undefeated regular seasons
2 perfect seasons
2 Metro Championships
1 tradition of winning...the right way...The Kanawha Way
Reporters Note
Does it matter that much?
Where we live, We could have signed up at Tuckahoe, or Western, or Glen Allen...maybe even Goochland, but we signed up at Kanawha because Andy Melvin convinced me at an Indian Guides camp out that Kanawha was different. Said it was like a family.
Five years and 4 months ago Ian and I walked down the sideline at Short Pump Park for the first time. Ian ran out to join the Pee Wee JV's squad, having missed the first week of conditioning for a week in Ocean City.
I hadn't been there watching but about a minute when big-old Miller Trevett walked up and asked if I was Ian Stoner's dad. I said "yeah". He held out his hand, I reached out mine, and he shook it for all it was worth, and exclaimed in that booming Virginia voice of his, "Boy are we glad to see him!"
I knew right then that we had come to the right place.
When Marilyn Collins came around and asking if anyone wanted to be the team's game reporter. I hung back not saying anything and waited to see if anyone else wanted the job since we were the newbies and all, but on the inside, I wanted to be jumping up and down like the class toady at school, throwing my hand up and shouting "Pick Me! Pick Me! Pick Me!". Oddly, no one else volunteered and after Marilyn got that look she gets when there's a box not checked on her form, I lean in and say "I'll give it a try".
My father was a doctor up in Baltimore County where I grew up. I didn't play football, I played baseball. Because of my dad's schedule and on-call responsibilities he didn't always make it to my games. I remember taking the field and looking over and scanning the stands during the game to see if he was there. Alot of times he wasn't there, but when he was there, in his tie and sport coat, smiling back at me, it meant everything to me.
I thought if I wrote the game reports, someday Ian might go back and read one, and remember that I was there, watching him play his game.
So I am thankful to have had the opportunity to write these game reports the past six season.
I've always said that the boys write the story for me, and it's true. There's something magic about how these boys leave it all on the field every Saturday in the Fall.
You just have to be willing to open your eyes and see it. You have to be willing to go "all in" and not care whether other people might think you take it all too seriously.
Once you do, making your son "gameday" pancakes becomes a bonding experience.
Blasting Van Halen on the way to the game isn't just a way to get junior pumped up, it's a tradition.
Caring more about whether your kid wins a game means more than what the "real" Redskins, or whatever team you follow does on Sunday becomes natural.
That's when it starts to matter that much.
Get enough people together who feel the same way, and you've got Kanawha football.
It is like a family (with no shortage of crazy uncles and aunts).
There isn't any way for me to properly thank all the people who have made this such a wonderful experience for us, but there are a few I would be remiss if I didn't mention.
First is Jim Dunkum. It's his coaching and leadership that propelled his teams to achieve what no other Kanawha teams have achieved, and his dedication to helping the boys improve as players and, more importantly, as young men that's made them all better for having been on his teams.
Next are Jim's assistants Gary Hingst, who was there every season to help build the team from the first day of conditioning to the final snap, and Craig Coles, who lit a fire under the boys that struck fear into the hearts of opponents.
WHOSE HOUSE IS THIS! OUR HOUSE!
WHOSE HOUSE IS THIS! OUR HOUSE!
TWO TIMES!
Finally, I'd like to thank Kanawha's board. The time and effort they put in to make Kanawha the organization it is often goes unheralded, but it's their dedication that makes it all possible.
Over the past several weeks, facing the inevitability of writing this final game report, I've asked myself which moment I would hope to keep if all the others were lost. As I sifted through the memory rolodex, one kept coming to the fore. Not one that I would have picked if you had asked me in passing 3 months ago or even a year ago.
It wasn't a memory that I had hoped would happen, like watching my son run off the field with his hat held high after winning a championship. It was unexpected, but, as his playing days with Kanawha come to an end, captures so much about what this experience meant.
Three years ago, the Midget JV had just won Kanawha's first Metro championship. My son ran off the field a champion, holding his helmet high into the late afternoon sky. The trophies had been handed out to the runners up Varina Blue Devils and then to the champion Redskins.
The team had gathered up for pictures with Coach Dunkum and the championship trophy, and then it was time to go.
I picked up Ian's gear and we began walking towards the car.
I looked over at Ian as we walked, expecting to see elation on his face.
Instead, his big blue eyes were filling with tears.
He wiped them away with the back of his still gloved hand.
I didn't have to ask why.
So now, it's with a tear in my own eye that I say to all of you "thank you and farewell."
And to my son, Ian, who reads every game report as soon as I post it...I love you. Whatever happens, remember I was there. Be there for your kids.
Does it matter that much?
Yeah...it matters that much.
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| Schedule |
Welcome to the 2009 Football Season!
Practice Once School Starts
Regular practice (optional) will follow the regular Kanawha schedule on Tuesdays and Thursdays (6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.). Mandatory practice will be on Mondays from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. to allow players time to get to Kanawha from other practices.
Regular Schedule:
09/05 - Charles City (W 20 to 7)
09/12 - New Kent (W 41 to 0)
09/19 - Western (W 37 to 0)
09/26 @ Parham (W 8 to 0)
10/03 @ Sandston (W 20 to 13)
10/10 - Tuckahoe (W 28 to 0)
10/17 - BYE
10/24 @ Glen Allen (W 30 to 6)
10/31 @ Goochland (W 27 to 8)
Playoff Schedule:
11/07 - BYE
11/21 - W 18 to 0
11/28 -
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