Landrum handled business on Friday, Oct. 21 against Blacksburg to remain unbeaten and now will face Christ Church for the Region II-1A championship on Friday night.
For the Cardinals, the dream season continues.
It didn’t start well for the Cardinals on Friday, however.
The Wildcats offered up a heavy dose of Ray Ellis in the first two quarters and the Landrum defense was having a hard time slowing the tailback up. On Blacksburg’s second possession, Ellis ran the ball eight times in a 19-play drive that ended with quarterback Treyvon Parker scoring a touchdown from the one-yard-line.
Landrum answered with a different type of drive. Brandon Cannon led the Cardinals downfield on a three-play drive that ended with a pass to Peyton McCarter for a 66-yard touchdown.
With two blocked extra point attempts, the game was 6-6 at the half.
The Wildcats forced a three and out to start the second half on defense. On their next drive, Ellis ran the ball four consecutive times for 24 yards before Deandre Surratt punched the ball in from the 16-yard-line to give Blacksburg the lead. Ellis ran in the two-point conversion to put Blacksburg up 14-6.
The Cardinals, interrupted by a Parker injury, drove down the field and McDowell ran a touchdown up the middle of the Wildcat defense from the 10-yard-line. A two-point conversion failed, leaving the Wildcats with a 14-12 lead.
On the next two Blacksburg drives, the Cardinals defense finally applied the pressure that was shown in previous games this season. Black jerseys met Wildcat runners in their backfield instead of downfield.
The biggest defensive play of the night came with just over nine minutes remaining. Landrum’s Chasten Thomas blew up the Wildcat line and stuffed Marcus Ellmore in the backfield for a five-yard-loss. The play forced Blacksburg to punt.
“It was a big play,” Thomas said. “They were a good running team.”
The Landrum offense responded appreciatively.
Tailback Aaron Bryant ran for 17 yards on the first two plays of the drive. McDowell followed with an 11-yard run. Blacksburg called a timeout with 7:20 left in the fourth quarter.
On the next play, Cannon found Jacob Lindsey in the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown. Cannon then handed the ball off up the middle to Bryant who punched in the two-point conversion.
The Cardinals now turn their focus to the region championship.
“It’s been real tough to keep their eyes off (Christ Church),” head coach Russell Mahaffey said. “We’ve tried not to talk about them until it’s time to talk about them.” He stopped, smiled and said, “It’s time to talk about them.”
Landrum plays at Christ Church at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28.