Moments after Friday night’s come-from-behind 26-22 victory over rival North Stafford, members of the Stafford High School football team took turns enthusiastically ringing the ceremonial Victory Bell on their rivals’ home field.
Indians head coach Jeff Drugatz wasted little time putting a stop to the ceaseless clanging.
“That’s the last time we ring the bell until we get it back to Stafford,” he said. “We expect to win now, and we do it with class.”
Drugatz didn’t have to remind his charges twice. They gathered together for a quick team photo with the bell, then headed to the locker room to put a bow on another successful business trip.
It would’ve been difficult for anyone not wearing North Stafford orange and blue to begrudge Stafford for its postgame euphoria. After all, the Indians had just defeated the Wolverines for only the 13th time in 43 meetings since the series began in 1982.
But Drugatz may be right. This Stafford program isn’t the same one that lost 12 straight contests to North between 2011-22. And it certainly isn’t the same one that’s finished above .500 just once in the last 13 seasons.
No, things are much different this fall. These Indians (7-0 overall, 3-0 district) are off to the best start in school history. And in the process, they’ve taken over sole possession of first place in the Commonwealth District.
“We absolutely expect to win every time we take the field,” Stafford running back Michael Creamer said. “And that’s much different than in years’ past. We’ve worked extremely hard to change the culture here, and we’re finally seeing all of that hard work start to pay off.”
Creamer, a University of Richmond commit, has been instrumental in the Indians’ breakthrough season. He entered Friday’s game with over 700 yards rushing, and added 133 yards on 27 carries against a Wolverines defense that keyed on him all night long.
Creamer’s final carry of the contest was his biggest — a 3-yard touchdown run that gave the Indians the lead for good with just 48 seconds to play.
“We knew [North] was good, and they did a great job defending us for most of the game,” Creamer said. “But our o-line was able to create some space when it mattered most.”
Creamer wasn’t the only beneficiary of the work Stafford’s offensive line put in, as quarterback Zion Gray ran for 95 yards and a pair of scores on 16 carries.
“[North] was really keying on Mike and I early on,” said Gray, who rushed for 69 of his yards after halftime. “But we believed we’d be able to break through eventually, and we did.”
Gray’s 34-yard touchdown run with 5:11 remaining in the third quarter pulled the Indians within 22-20, setting the stage for an eventful climax.
It looked as though Stafford was poised to take its first lead of the evening after putting together a drive that ate up nearly five minutes in the middle of the fourth period. The Indians moved the ball from their own 34-yard line to the Wolverines’ 36, but two penalties and an incomplete pass forced them to punt, giving the ball back to North at its own 11 with 2:37 to go.
The Wolverines (5-2, 2-1) opted for a conservative approach initially, but a pair of runs by Micah Brown resulted in a 3-yard loss. Chase Sullivan’s third-down pass fell incomplete, forcing the hosts to punt from their own 8 with under two minutes remaining.
Stafford’s KJ Morton hauled in a short kick by Brown at the North 38 and returned it 18 yards, putting the Indians in business at the 20 with 1:35 left. Carries of four and eight yards by Creamer and Gray, respectively, followed by a holding penalty by the Wolverines, moved the ball to the 3 and set up Creamer’s game-winner.
North began the ensuing drive with great field position at its own 49 after a short kickoff. Sullivan connected with Antwan Barnes for a 14-yard gain on first down, moving the ball to the Stafford 37 with 34 seconds to go. On the next play, he hooked up with Kenaz Sullivan on a crossing route over the middle, and the sophomore wide receiver raced down the left sideline into the end zone for an apparent go-ahead score.
Except it wasn’t. The Wolverines were flagged for holding, negating the touchdown. Another holding call followed, pushing North back to the Indians’ 43 with 17 seconds remaining.
On the ensuing play after the back-to-back penalties, Chase Sullivan was flushed from the pocket. His desperation heave was intercepted by Morton, and Stafford ran out the clock to preserve the victory.
Following wins over Colonial Forge and Brooke Point where the Indians allowed a combined 87 points, Drugatz admitted he was concerned entering Friday’s matchup.
“I was concerned about the defense the last couple weeks,” he said. “But they stepped up tonight and kept us in the game.”
Stafford’s defense held the Wolverines to just 235 yards of total offense. Although 148 of that came after halftime, North was only able to score once in the second half.
The Wolverines took an early 8-0 advantage on Kenaz Sullivan’s 75-yard punt return with 8:43 to go in the first period. Brown’s 2-point conversion run capped the transaction.
Sullivan struck again later in the quarter, hauling in a 25-yard touchdown reception on fourth-and-8 to make it 16-0 with 1:01 remaining in the opening stanza.
With their backs against the wall, the Indians responded with a 12-play, 78-yard march to get on the board. Gray capped the drive with a 1-yard tush push into the end zone, pulling Stafford within 16-7 with 7:14 left in the first half.
That score held until Gray’s 46-yard scoring pass to Morton made it 16-14 with 9:31 left in the third quarter.
North wasted little time responding to that score, taking the next possession 66 yards in just five plays. Chase Sullivan’s 20-yard scoring hookup with Ricky Adkins extended the home team’s edge to 22-14 with 7:12 to go in the third.
However, the Indians answered that score by one-upping the Wolverines with a four-play, 66-yard touchdown drive. Gray’s 34-yard scamper made it 22-20, and though his 2-point conversion pass misfired, the momentum had clearly shifted in Stafford’s favor.
“Tonight was a gut-check,” Drugatz said. [North] is a great team, and they had a great defensive scheme to slow our weapons down, but we still found a way to win. Last year or the year before, we wouldn’t have won that game. But these guys know how to win now.”
The Indians will try to keep their unblemished campaign alive when they visit Riverbend next Friday. Meanwhile, the Wolverines will attempt to get back on track when they host Massaponax.
| St | NS | |
| First downs | 17 | 11 |
| Rushes-yards | 44-245 | 26-118 |
| Passing yards | 106 | 117 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 8-13-0 | 11-22-1 |
| Punts-avg | 4-34.8 | 5-32.8 |
| Fumbles-lost | 3-1 | 2-0 |
| Penalties-yards | 7-50 | 12-95 |
