By Greg Taylor
Contributing writer

Entering the game against Chancellor, Powhatan knew it needed a big defensive effort to win the game. However, after a promising start and a 28-6 halftime lead, Powhatan’s momentum came to a screeching halt. The Chargers scored on their first four second half possessions taking a 35-31 lead before winning 42-31 thus ending Powhatan’s chance for a fourth consecutive Region I championship.

Through the first 24 minutes of the game, the Indians’ defense contained UVA-bound running back Dominique Wallace holding him to only 37 yards rushing, mostly on inside runs, as Powhatan jumped to a 22 point halftime lead. But the second half saw Chancellor switch Wallace to the outside on the speed option play with QB Micah Cunningham. Powhatan’s outside linebackers could not contain either player resulting in both Wallace and Cunningham running wild through Powhatan’s defense. Wallace ended the game with 26 carries for 224 yards and four second half touchdowns while Cunningham had 197 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns. Chancellor racked up 440 yards of total offense (438 on the ground) in the game, 261 of those yards came in the second half.

In one of the biggest comebacks against any Powhatan team, the Chargers outscored Powhatan 36-3 in the second half thanks in large part to Wallace. Though Wallace and Cunningham were the main characters, the game would not have been won without the play of Chancellor’s Roderick Spruel and Tony Russell.

Spruel got the momentum back to Chancellor’s sideline on the opening kickoff of the second half. Ellis Moore kicked the ball deep to Spruel instead of pooching it short. Spruel returned the kick to Powhatan’s 49-yard line. Three plays later, Cunningham is running into the end zone on a quarterback option right for a Chargers’ touchdown closing the gap to 28-12.

Meanwhile, Tony Russell intercepted three second half passes, including two in the fourth quarter. Chancellor converted two of those picks into touchdown runs by Wallace including the final touchdown with 1:03 left in the game.

Though you play all four quarters, almost no one in the stadium could have predicted this game’s outcome after watching the first half which Powhatan controlled with ease.

After a scoreless first quarter, Powhatan opened the scoring on a Shawn Henderson one yard run for a 6-0 lead just barely a minute into the second quarter.

Chancellor muffed the ensuing kickoff which Chris John recovered giving Powhatan another short field. Five plays later, Shawn Minor scored from three yards out on a bootleg. Minor hit Hunter Gordon for the two point conversion making it a 14-0 game.

Powhatan kept Chancellor off balance in the first half mixing up well timed passes with a powerful running game as Henderson consistently found space on the left side of the Chargers’ defense. Henderson (21 carries for 93 yards) scored his second touchdown of the game with four minutes left until halftime.

Powhatan capped off the half with Minor (8-13, 111 yards, TD, 3 int.) hitting Vance Hendren on a 23-yard seam pass for another touchdown pushing the lead to 28-6.

At halftime, the Chargers made the subtle changes that win ball games. The staff, led by Coach Bob Oliver, took notice of their one scoring play in the first half that saw Cunningham run a total of 64 yards on two consecutive plays using the quarterback option to the outside. The Chargers also found a way to stop their porous defense holding Powhatan to only 58 yards of offense in the second half and moreover only five offensive plays in the pivotal third quarter.

After the game, there were raw emotions out on the field as one team celebrated while the other commiserated. Speaking with senior Hunter Gordon after game, those emotions were evident in his words and expressions. “We didn’t come out with anything (in the second half)” said Gordon. “We didn’t come out the way we did in the first half. We just didn’t play as hard as they did.”

In his last game, he reflected on his time at Powhatan, “I had a lot of fun the last few years here. I love it. I enjoyed every second of it.”

Despite the loss, which is their first in Regional play since an opening round defeat to Grafton in 2004 (28-13), Powhatan has a bright future ahead of them as 14 of 22 starters return next year. For the seniors on the squad, they ended their careers at Powhatan winning four consecutive Southside District titles and three Region I titles while going 44-8 over that span, all accomplishments to be truly proud of.

Powhatan Vs. Chancellor:

P—Henderson 1 run (kick failed)
P—Minor 3 run (Gordon pass from Minor)
C—Cunningham 40 run (kick failed)
P—Henderson 1 run (Moore kick)
P—Hendren 23 pass from Minor (Moore kick)
C—Cunningham 15 run (Azzarelli kick)
C—Wallace 15 run (Azzarelli kick)
C—Wallace 13 run (Wallace run)
P—FG Moore 19
C—Wallace 11 run (Azzarelli kick)
C—Wallace 1 run (Azzarelli kick)