TUESDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK: Asher takes place at the top

St. Anne’s victory over Blue Ridge and Covenant’s thrashing of Hargrave Military Academy set up a rematch between the Saints and Eagles in the VISAA Division II state semifinals, scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m.
Expect fireworks.
There aren’t many teams who know each other better than St. Anne’s knows Covenant. More young players play big roles on varsity because of the size of private school rosters, so several players have been going toe-to-toe on the varsity level for years, including Covenant’s Luke Heinsohn and Andy Colberg and St. Anne’s Howie Long and John Chambers.
The first matchup was deadlocked at the half at 14-14, but the Saints’ offense controlled the clock during a big stretch of the second quarter, allowing Covenant just a pair of
offensive plays in the frame. That set the stage for the Saints controlling the clock after the break, with a fresh St. Anne’s defense blitzing up the middle to disrupt the Eagles’ backfield and force Covenant into passing situations.
The key to stopping the Eagles is holding Heinsohn in control and wearing the senior down, and the Saints did a pretty solid job of that in the first meeting in late October.
Covenant, on the other hand, will also have to contain St. Anne’s
explosive rushing attack. Junior Will McGhee has been impressive in relief of Aaron Clark, who was on the Saints’ sideline in sweats at the Blue Ridge contest. McGhee piled up 278 yards and three touchdowns on 34 carries against Blue Ridge, good for a 8.2 yards per carry average.
If St. Anne’s gets Clark back, they’ll be even tougher to stop behind the Saints’ quick, strong offensive line. Look for more on these
running backs later this week in the run-up to the state semifinal.

Asher’s record-setting night
Alex Asher’s career began as an honorable mention All-Central Virginia freshman linebacker at Western Albemarle High. It’ll end for the St. Anne’s-Belfield pass catcher as the area’s all-time receiving leader after he broke former Monticello wideout Daniel Lieb’s record of 2,517 yards set in 2007.
“Howie ran down and gave me a big hug,” Asher said. “I told him he better give me a big hug as soon as I catch this ball. He’s responsible for about half my yards on this record.”
Asher had 1,914 yards at the start of the season, and had pushed that total to 2,434 yards coming into the Blue Ridge game. That left Asher needing just 84 yards against Blue Ridge to break the record. He got it on a 39-yard jump ball in the third quarter before finishing with 114 yards on the night.
“They were playing him a little man look and he got to the outside a couple of times,” said STAB coach John Blake. “Alex is a great player.”

Breaking down the record
What’s interesting to note is that despite taking a fifth year at STAB, Asher actually has had the opportunity to play in fewer games than Lieb, the former record holder. Lieb had the chance to play in 45 games during his four years at Monticello, including the run to the state title.
Asher, on the other hand, will get to 44 games if, and only if, St. Anne’s can get past Covenant in the state semifinals. So far, he’s had the opportunity to play in just 42.
Lieb caught just one pass as a freshman, then exploded over his next three years, catching 25, 34 and 84 passes over his final three years. Lieb’s senior campaign is particularly impressive considering how much the Mustangs ran the ball. That offense, as praised as it was during the run to the state title, may in fact be underrated. The numbers it produced were staggering.
Asher had around 300 yards as a freshman, then around 800 (and 13 touchdowns) as a sophomore. His first two games of his junior year at Western, before tearing his ACL, Asher had about 100 yards. So around half of his yards came before he even took a snap at St. Anne’s.
Chad Byers also took a fifth year while he was at Blue Ridge and he broke Central Virginia’s all-time passing record in 2007.
One record that likely won’t get broken any time soon is Takeem Hedgeman’s all-time rushing record. Odds are good that mark will be secure for at least the next few years.
For more on the significance of this and other area records, check out the Preps Plus blog at http://www.DailyProgress.com.

Hunter puts together a comeback
Quintin Hunter wasn’t content with his Orange team going quietly after a loss to Monticello in the Jefferson District opener for the Hornets. With Orange nursing slim playoff hopes, Hunter put on a show against Western Albemarle in the fourth quarter, connecting with budding star Amir Waller — a sophomore — for a 57-yard touchdown before scoring a two-point conversion on a quarterback draw to give the Hornets a 36-35 lead.
The final chapter in Hunter’s storied career as a quarterback may come Friday against Fluvanna County — but it’s been an awfully good two years for Hunter and the Hornets.

Gaskins’ grit keeps Tigers rolling
K.G. Gaskins, a senior at Woodberry Forest, has rushed for 100 yards or more in six straight games, as he racked up 106 yards on 11 carries in the Tigers’ 40-15 win over Norfolk Academy last week. Gaskins scored two touchdowns in the game, one of which was a 70-yard sprint.
On the season, Gaskins has rushed for 691 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Woodberry (7-1) plays host to Episcopal High in its season finale on Saturday.

Fond memories for Fischer
Louisa County freshman Andre Mealy put together an impressive performance this past Friday against in the Lions 42-3 win over Fluvanna County.
The 6-foot, 210-pound running back rushed for two touchdowns, including a 66-yard scamper in the third quarter. Mealy was the workhorse, as he toted the ball 19 times for a game-high 163 yards behind an offensive line that is improving.
It was a little like déjà vu for Louisa coach Mark Fischer.
Mealy wears No. 6, the same number that former Louisa standout Rontray Houchens wore during his career. Houchens, who is 10th on the area’s all-time rushing list, compiled 4, 298 yards from 2003-05, while helping the Lions to their first playoff appearance in 30 years.
“That’s what we were looking for — we wanted to see No. 6 running in the wind again,” Fischer said. “That was kind of a neat feeling watching him run with that 6 flapping in the background — it brought back some good old memories.”
On the year, Mealy has rushed 32 times for 211 yards this season. Louisa visits William Monroe in its Jefferson District finale on Friday.

Wilkerson good to go
Western Albemarle running back Schuyler Wilkerson, who had a solid senior season, was taken off the field on a stretcher Friday against the Hornets near the end of the third quarter. Thankfully, Wilkerson wasn’t seriously injured, and he was diagnosed with a spinal stinger later that night.
The Warriors ended their season with the loss to the Hornets, but a bevy of talent returns next year, including linebacker Mitchell Parks and junior quarterback Stephen Schuler. If the pieces fall in place, next year might be a big-time season for the Warriors.

Blue Ridge’s season ends
Blue Ridge, which displayed an immense amount of offensive firepower against St. Anne’s, ended their season just outside the playoffs, with Virginia Episcopal nabbing the fourth spot in the playoffs after the Barons’ loss to the Saints.
The Barons seemed to improve tremendously throughout the season under first-year head coach Del Smith, who came down from the collegiate ranks to take the Barons’ head job. Central Virginia likely hasn’t seen Smith’s best yet either — he hasn’t even had his program in place for a calendar year and the Barons scored 36 points against a talented St. Anne’s defense.
Things look solid for the future too, as junior quarterback Speedy McCauley as well as linebacker Roderick Holloway return to the fold. Holloway is quickly developing into a top tier defensive stopper, and he has yet to mine his talent completely. Not to mention, he caught a pair of touchdown passes for the Barons Friday night too.

Tough year-end schedule
Fluvanna County has had a tough stretch of games lately, with losses to Monticello and Louisa County at home. The Flucos played the Mustangs, the
defending state champions, close, two weeks ago, but got blown out by the Lions last week. It doesn’t get any easier for Fluvanna, as it visits Orange County in its season finale on Friday.
“We’re disappointed that we played well one week and didn’t play well the second. But that’s a credit to Louisa,” said Fluvanna coach Joel Gray. “They certainly had their act together — they blocked and they tackled and they ran the ball hard. Orange is a quality team too — those (Monticello, Louisa and Orange) are the big three in the Jefferson.”

Monticello keeps on rolling
There’s no question that Monticello could be well-rested going into the Reg. II playoffs. The Mustangs just have Charlottesville left on the schedule, a program that’s currently struggling to stay in games with a depleted roster.