Cold and gray – described the weather, described the result as three costly second half turnovers and untimely penalties were more than the VISAA second-ranked Bishop Ireton could overcome in a 35-28 setback in Dumfries Saturday in the regular season finale for both squads. But it was part of a chaotic weekend in Division I VISAA football, one that saw the Cardinals upset, number 3 Collegiate School ousted from the playoffs by St Christophers, who earned a number 4 with their victory. Benedictine held serve with a win at home that sidelined #4 Liberty Christian Academy and opened the door for St John Paul the Great to claim a number 3 seed at the tourney to begin Saturday. And, to twist the story further, the Wolves will travel to Alexandria for a rematch with the Cardinals.
The game opened with Bishop Ireton driving 80 yards on the strength of sophomore Perris Jones rushing the ball and quarterback Joe Dickinson effectively tossing to Drew Smith and finally Brenden Peifer for 23 yards for the game’s first touchdown. A rare miss of the PAT left Ireton leading 6-0 at the 9:40 mark of the opening quarter. St John Paul the Great, however, responded with the single wing offense, one predicated on deception, misdirection, and counters. The Wolves executed the plan to near perfection and methodically drove 70 yards, aided by a Cardinal penalty on 4th down, culminating with a one-yard run by Michael Horan, the first of two he would score on the afternoon. The contest moved into the second period with the Wolves again threatening, leading 7-6. Junior Michael Foster dashed for 20 yards on the drive and Horan would again find pay dirt, this time on an 8-yard scamper. With 10:44 remaining in the opening half, the hosts had opened a 14-6 advantage. After the Cardinals gambled, and failed, on 4th and 1 on their own 28-yard line, the Wolves would quickly capitalize on their opportunity with Brandon Perroots pushing up the middle one yard for JPG’s third rushing touchdown of the half with 6:56 remaining until intermission. Ireton would be forced to punt on their next possession, but safety Chandler Wilder picked off a home team aerial near midfield and this time Dickinson and company went to work. Less than a minute remained until halftime, but it was enough time for Dickinson to toss to Sam Smith, then picked up 20 to Peifer getting Ireton to the 21. Back to well, Dickinson found Peifer one more time over the middle and lanky senior dragged a pair of tacklers into the end zone with :27 seconds to spare and the visitors had narrowed the lead to 21-13.
St John Paul the Great didn’t buckle coming out in the third quarter, however, and promptly drove 75 yards in their opening series of the second half, with Perroots lugging the ball the final yard for the score. It was Horan’s 71-yard sweep around the left end that capped the drive for the Wolves, who were ahead 28-13 with little more than 3 minutes gone in the third. And things were about to darker before the Cardinals mounted a furious comeback. Michael Nguyen snared a tipped Ireton pass over the middle and the Wolves again had the ball in great field position at the Ireton 45. Moments later, the home team’s apparent touchdown pass was called back due to a penalty and rather than ballooning their lead to 35-13, the Wolves faced a second down and more than 20 yards. The drive stalled and the Cardinals’ offense were back on the field at their own 21. Following a penalty, Dickinson found Peifer once again down the sideline for a 60-yard touchdown, his third of the day. A tricky 2-point conversation shovel pass from the holder, Andrew Latrash, to Alex Duke narrowed the Ireton deficit to 28-21 with with 4:08 left in the third.
The Cardinals were just getting warmed up. A short, bouncing kickoff was recovered by Ireton at the JPG 30-yard line. After an incomplete pass, Perris Jones took a handoff going right, cut back, stutter-stepped, and then outraced the Wolves’ secondary 30-yards for another Ireton touchdown 16 seconds after Peifer had scored. David Cooper’s PAT suddenly tied the game at 28-28 and momentum seemed to wear a white jersey. The Cardinals soon had the ball again, looking to regain the lead, but a fumble ended the Ireton drive as the third quarter drew to a close, though not before the Wolves returned the favor when Horan’s pass was intercepted by Josh Ammon. Ireton could not capitalize on the opportunity and turned the ball over on down at the JPG 46. The visitors’ defense rose to the challenge and forced a punt with just over 9 minutes remaining in the contest, only to see the third turnover of the afternoon prove to be one of the costliest. With the Wolves recovering the ball on the Ireton 18, the home team pushed the ball into the end zone, Perroots regaining the advantage for John Paul the Great with just under 8 minutes remaining in the struggle. Bishop Ireton’s last best chance followed. With Aaron Speight rushing for good yardage 
and Dickinson tossing a long pass to Drew Smith, the Cardinals were poised to score first and goal on the Wolves’ six-yard line. Four consecutive times the Cardinals battered the John Paul middle but could get no closer than the 2-yard line and turned the ball over on downs with 4:57 on the clock. The home team avoided a safety on two consecutive rushing plays before tossing for some breathing room and making a critical first down. The Cardinals finally forced a punt, but with the ball rolling dead on the visitors’ 30 yard line, it was a too far with only :36.9 left on the clock. DJ Stefonsky intercepted Dickinson’s final pass attempt of the afternoon and the ballgame was over. St John Paul the Great improved to 7-3 and earned the rematch in Alexandria on Fannon Field with Bishop Ireton (7-3) in the VISAA’s semifinal match up. Benedictine will host St Christopher’s in Richmond with the winners of these semifinals meeting on November 15th at the site of the higher seeded team. Gametime is tentatively set for 1pm. Admission is $10/person and no passes or student ID passes will be honored for this state playoff contest.
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