South Lakes varsity football lost to longtime rival Herndon High School in the Baron Cameron Bowl this past Monday, 33-7.
Exactly three minutes into the game a major injury occurred during a Seahawk running play. Junior defenseman Ryan Richards of Herndon suffered a left leg injury which caused a 30 minute delay of the game and Richards to be carted off the field into an awaiting ambulance.
The Hornets were the first to get on the scoreboard with a touchdown run by junior Kyren Gilmore Parrott a little under ten minutes into the first quarter.
During the second quarter, junior quarterback Rashaan Jones threw an interception, giving possession to Herndon. Two possession changes later, Herndon senior running back Josh Schow scored the first of his two second quarter running touchdowns.
Jones swiftly avoided defenders with a quarterback sneak running for South Lakes’ only touchdown.
With 3:14 left in the first half, Schow scored the second of his touchdowns, giving the Hornets a 13-point lead. Herndon missed the field goal leaving the game 20-7 at halftime.
Opening the third quarter, the Hornets quickly scored a touchdown with a run, raising their lead to 19 points after again missing the extra point. Following continuous switching of possession, the third quarter ended 26-7.
Having 6:43 remaining in the fourth quarter, Herndon closed the scoring with a long touchdown run from sophomore Darrius Hicks.
A game that begun with football had slowly transformed over the quarters to a battle of the hype squads and though South Lakes had been larger in numbers, and arguably in spirit, Herndon’s hype squad left feeling victorious.
“They were screaming some pretty nasty stuff,” said junior Walker Vaughn, “and even though we lost, I think we were the better, and classier, team.”