Terrell, Hilliard carry the load
MANASSAS After Osbourn Park standout Roland Hilliard suffered a bout with cramps near the end of the third quarter on Friday night, the Yellow Jackets found his replacement, Richard Terrell, was more than adequate.
The Jackets needed Terrell. Woodbridge has its own outstanding running back in James Terry, who’s capable of erasing another team’s lead in a heartbeat.
On Friday night, Hilliard helped put the Jackets on top, and Terrell helped make sure they stayed there. The two combined for 123 rushing yards in OP’s 14-0, non-district win over the Vikings.
Hilliard went down near his own sideline and didn’t get up as the third quarter wound down. Although he walked off, he never came back into the game. Instead, the job of primary ballcarrier fell to his backup, Terrell, who responded with 51 yards on 13 carries.
That took the ball out of the Vikings’ hands and ate up much of the game’s final 12 minutes. In the fourth quarter trailing by two scores, Woodbridge (1-2) possessed the ball for just one series. The drive ended when Viking quarterback Andre Bratton was intercepted on a fourth-and-seven play inside the OP (2-1) red zone.
“Richard stepped in and did a tremendous job,” said Jackets’ coach Brian Beaty.
Although Hilliard touched the ball just three times in OP’s first two possessions which accounted for 15 plays from scrimmage he got going later, and made his presence known on the Jackets’ two scoring drives.
As the first period wound down, the Jackets mixed their offense, running with Hilliard and throwing with quarterback Doug Suliga. From their own 18-yard line, OP’s first scoring drive started with a 15-yard completion from Suliga to Bryan Lewis, one of four different receivers to catch a pass on the drive. Two Hilliard runs gained seven yards, and the drive was aided by a Vikings’ personal foul. With the penalty, the Jackets neared midfield in just two plays. Inside Woodbridge territory, they moved slower but no less steadier towards the goal line. The ground game didn’t prove fruitful, but the passing game did: Suliga gained 35 yards on his next two throws, to Alex Blan and Chris Johnson. After a pair of runs by Hilliard and Suliga, Suliga hooked up with Andrew Dykstra for a 5-yard touchdown.
OP’s second scoring drive didn’t look much different. Starting near midfield, Suliga handed off to Hilliard on seven of the drive’s first eight plays. That moved the Jackets to the Vikings’ 5-yard line, and Suliga found Bryan Lewis for the game’s final touchdown.
On the other side, Terry finished with a game-high 90 yards, but never really got going. The Yellow Jackets were able to get penetration up front, which slowed the running game and often forced Bratton to shuffle around the pocket when he dropped back to pass.
Terry’s rushing accounted for nearly two-thirds of the Vikings’ yards from scrimmage 150.
“The kids were excited. We knew [Terry] was their money man and we played some good defense,” said Beaty. “We knew we had to stop 28, and we knew he was going to carry them. The kids did a fantastic job.”