Westfield quarterback Rehman Johnson hit Sean Eckert for an eight-yard touchdown on a throw Coach Kyle Simmons called “a rocket.” Earlier in Saturday’s Virginia 6A North region final against South Lakes, the senior had flipped an 80-yard hitch-and-go to Eckert for another score and found Ivory Frimpong for a 35-yard touchdown.
In all, Johnson threw for four scores and ran for another. It was an atypical performance for the Bulldogs’ signal caller, but it was one that helped move them within one win of a second consecutive state championship.
The 42-12 win over No. 5 South Lakes did not feature the Westfield team that fans had watched for the previous 13 weeks, the one whose defense kept games close until the offense finally got its act together.
In the region semifinal against Madison , it took until the fourth quarter for the Bulldogs’ offense to blow open a game held steady by their defense. On Saturday, Johnson and his offense started early.
“We had this mind-set that we were going to score every drive,” he said. “We weren’t going to wait to get hot.”
By the end of the first quarter, that was clear. No. 10 Westfield went up by 21 points and then tacked on seven more.
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Johnson was rolling with 232 passing yards by halftime.
“Rehman was on a new level today,” Eckert said.
At that point, it was clear. Westfield, the reigning state champion, will play for another title, again against Oscar Smith, which the Bulldogs vanquished a year ago in the championship game, 49-42, in three overtimes. Oscar Smith rallied past Colonial Forge, 27-20, in the 6A South final.
“When you get to the playoffs, it’s about being in the best possible place you can be,” Simmons said. “We just keep getting better.”
“Our confidence has come back as an offense,” Eckert said.
The Bulldogs (12-2) slogged through the first six weeks of the season with an offense that crept through games. Against rival South County, in a game normally billed as a shootout, Johnson completed a single pass.
Slowly, Simmons spoon-fed his quarterback more responsibility in the huddle.
The quick screens Johnson completed to Eckert and Frimpong on the outside are option plays. If defensive backs are pressing up on the wide receivers, Johnson hands the ball off to the tailback; if they’re playing back, he throws it. Simmons wouldn’t have called those plays for Johnson at the beginning of the year. Against South Lakes (12-2), it was the foundation of the game plan.
Once the cornerbacks started cheating up on Eckert and Frimpong, two of the region’s most feared receivers, they ran by them for deep balls.
“You know you can take advantage of the defense when you have those guys,” said Johnson, who finished 11 for 14 for 274 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.
Albert Mensah rushed for two fourth-quarter touchdowns to account for the only South Lakes points.
After Johnson hit Eckert for a score on the Bulldogs’ first drive — one that lasted 11 plays for 80 yards — Hunter Lydic tipped Seahawk quarterback Devin Miles’s pass into the air, then dove and picked it off.
Two plays later, Frimpong beat his man inside for a deep touchdown and a 14-0 lead, a margin more than large enough for the Westfield defense to protect. It hasn’t allowed 13 points the entire postseason. By halftime, it had surrendered only 91 yards. And for the first time in a long time, Westfield’s defense answered to its offense.
“You work on your craft since August,” Johnson said, “and it’s great to see it pay off.”
Jacob Bogage 