色多多

Gathering on the field at Robert A. Patterson Stadium during the holiday would mean they have something left to play for, and that their season isn鈥檛 quite finished.

Well, it isn鈥檛.

Behind a five-touchdown performance from quarterback Israel Hairston, throwing and running the ball, the Terriers stifled Lord Botetourt for the second time this season and earned a berth into the Region 3D championship with a 41-14 victory in Vinton.

鈥淭hese kids are incredible,鈥� Byrd head coach Brad Lutz said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e top-notch on and off the field, I鈥檓 just proud of them. They鈥檝e worked so hard over the last couple years to get an opportunity to earn this, and they did a heck of a job tonight.鈥�

The Terriers (11-1) made program history with the win, securing their first-ever 11-win season and grabbing back-to-back playoff victories. They鈥檒l travel to Ridgeway next week to take on undefeated Magna Vista (12-0) for a spot in the state tournament.

鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing, especially with what this program has been through the past few years,鈥� Hairston said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just great to see the hard work that got us here is amazing.鈥�

Hairston tallied three touchdowns in the air. He hit Cooper Minnix on a 76-yard strike on Byrd鈥檚 first drive of the game, then gave his team a two-possession lead at halftime on a 29-yard toss off his back foot to Dominic Dulak with less than 90 seconds remaining until the break. Four plays after the Terriers defense forced a turnover-on-downs in the third quarter, Hairston connected with Jerrett Shepherd on a 54-yard score for a 27-7 advantage.

The senior finished 5-of-10 for 162 yards.

鈥淗e had the best week of practice he鈥檚 had all year,鈥� Lutz said of Hairston. 鈥淲e felt really confident going into this game, because of the week he had, that he would do really well in the passing game. With that being said, the O-line did a great job in protection, we had some really good route-runners and we got the ball to a lot of different guys.鈥�

On the ground, Hairston was just as effective, collecting 150 yards on 12 carries and another two touchdowns, including a 63-yard burst that came two plays after the Cavaliers scored to cut their deficit back to 13 in the fourth quarter.

Two plays after he did that, he intercepted a pass on defense, which led to a game-sealing 2-yard scoring run by Brayden Andrews.

鈥淸We] just kept our mindset going, what we鈥檝e done all year,鈥� Hairston said. 鈥淗ard work has gotten us here and we can鈥檛 step away from that. Just because we鈥檝e won some games doesn鈥檛 mean that we can get complacent, and they hammered that into us during this week and that鈥檚 what got us this win.鈥�

With the loss, Lord Botetourt (9-2) snaps a streak of six consecutive region championship appearances. The Cavaliers were without quarterback Jakari Nicely, who was sidelined with an injury. Sam Grooten went 13-of-23 in his place, throwing for 104 yards with a 16-yard touchdown strike to Ben Gilbert and two picks. Tristan Overbay ran for 104 yards, including an 87-yard scamper on a first-quarter scoring drive, and picked up a touchdown.

The Cavaliers end their season with an all-time program record above .500, the first time they鈥檝e done so since 1965. They鈥檝e recorded 12 straight winning seasons since Jamie Harless took over as head coach.

鈥淐ongratulations to Byrd. This is a pretty historic year for them. I don鈥檛 begrudge them anything,鈥� Harless said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e got a good football team and they鈥檝e done a good job developing them and getting where they need to be so they can be in this position.鈥�