The Colonial Forge High School football team’s Stafford County revenge tour is complete.
Just one week after avenging a narrow regular-season loss to Stafford with a first-round playoff win over the Indians, the visiting Eagles turned the tables on North Stafford for a 17-6 Region 6B semifinal victory Friday night.
Sixth-seeded Forge (9-3) advances to next week’s region championship game, where it will visit No. 5 seed Patriot (9-3). The Pioneers upset top-seeded and previously unbeaten Battlefield 10-7 in Friday’s other semifinal.
While the Eagles showcased a balanced offensive attack in last week’s 45-24 win at Stafford —passing for 205 yards and rushing for 226 — they took a much more grounded approach against the host Wolverines.
Quarterback Brock Brimhall churned out 131 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, as Forge opted to throw the ball just eight times. That approach worked well on a damp field with temperatures dipping into the low 40s.
“Our coaches had a great game plan,” Brimhall said. “We felt like we could establish the run, and the o-line opened holes for me all night.”
Brimhall had five runs covering 10 yards or more, including jaunts of 45, 29 and 25 yards. He found the end zone on a 14-yard scamper that pushed the Eagles’ slim 10-6 halftime lead to a 17-6 advantage with 10:01 remaining in the third quarter.
And when he was called upon to put the ball in the air, Brimhall made it count. His three completions totaled 51 yards, and he did not throw an interception.
In the previous meeting between the two squads—a 27-17 North victory on Nov. 8—Brimhall threw a pair of interceptions.
“I just tried to do my job,” the junior left-hander said. “Despite losing to them the first time, we knew we were the better team. We’re the best team in Stafford, and I feel like that’s obvious now.”
Not to be overlooked, Forge’s defense harassed Wolverines QB Chase Sullivan for much of the evening. While the sophomore signal-caller completed 16 of 29 passes for 203 yards, he was intercepted twice and sacked four times.
“Our defense has been getting better and better each week,” Eagles head coach John Brown said. “As a whole, I thought we played a lot more physical on both sides of the ball compared to the first time we played them. I’d say that was the difference.”
Forge built a 7-0 lead courtesy of a 4-yard scoring run by Josiah Bryson with 6:47 to go in the opening stanza. Brimhall’s 25-yard sprint on the first play of the drive got the ball rolling, and Bryson chewed up the final 17 yards to pay dirt on four straight carries.
North (9-3) got on the board on its third possession of the game when shifty running back Micah Brown took a handoff from Sullivan, sidestepped an Eagles defender and raced 67 yards for a touchdown.
However, in a harbinger of things to come for the Wolverines, the extra-point attempt misfired, leaving them behind 7-6.
North also missed a prime opportunity to take the lead just before intermission.
Trailing 10-7, the Wolverines chewed up the final six minutes of the half on a 13-play drive that moved the ball deep into Forge territory.
Kenaz Sullivan caught three passes for 46 yards during the march, the last of which covered 16 yards to the Eagles’ 1-yard line. But Brown was dropped for a 3-yard loss on first-and-goal, North committed two penalties totaling 30 yards, and Sullivan was sacked on the final play of the half.
The Wolverines finished the contest with 12 penalties for 90 yards.
“We just didn’t execute,” North head coach Marquez Hall said. “We got behind the chains early, and when you do that against a good team, they make you pay for it.”
North Stafford quarterback Chase Sullivan reacts to his team’s 17-6 loss to rival Colonial Forge in the Region 6B semifinals Friday night. (Photo by Devin Payne)
Reflecting on a year in which he led the Wolverines to a share of the Commonwealth District title and their first postseason berth since 2019, Hall expressed pride in his team’s accomplishments.
“They’ve been grinding and working for three years,” said Hall, who took over the program in 2022. “I played a lot of freshmen during the first year I was here, and they got valuable reps. We took it on the chin the last two years, going 1-9 and 0-10, but they kept grinding and building brick by brick. This season was the beginning of the fruits of their labor, and I’m so proud of them.”
Across the field, Brown looked ahead to the impending regional championship showdown with Patriot, which will be a rematch from Week 4 of the regular season. Forge won that matchup 35-27 at home, though the Pioneers’ Jackson McCarter rushed for 275 yards and a pair of scores.
“I expect [Patriot] to be well-coached like always and prepared,” Brown said. “We have a lot of respect for their program. They’re physical and have a lot of pride. I expect it to be a great game.”
The Forge-Patriot game is scheduled for Friday, though a kickoff time has yet to be announced.
Score by quarters
Colonial Forge 7 3 7 0 — 17
North Stafford 0 6 0 0 — 6
Scoring summary
First quarter
CF—Josiah Bryson 4 run (Landon Walker kick).
Second quarter
NS—Micah Brown 67 run (kick failed).
CF—Landon Walker 28 field goal.
Third quarter
CF—Brock Brimhall 14 run (Walker kick).
Individual statistics
Rushing: Colonial Forge — Brock Brimhall 12-131, TD; Josiah Bryson 13-38, TD; Team 1-(-3). North Stafford — Micah Brown 18-89, TD; Ricky Adkins 1-(-1); Chase Sullivan 8-(-24).
Passing: Colonial Forge — Brimall 3-8-0, 51 yards. North Stafford — Sullivan 16-29-2, 203 yards.
Receiving: Colonial Forge — Darion Majeed 1-29; Caleb Cleveland 2-22. North Stafford — Kenaz Sullivan 6-120; Jaron Osusu Ansah 3-28; Antwan Barnes 3-27; Adkins 2-18; Joshua Keefer 2-10.
