The Lord Botetourt football team is in the state “Final 4” for the third time in a row and the fourth time in the past six years. LB will host Liberty Christian Academy in Daleville this Saturday at 1 p.m. with the winner advancing to the Class 3 state championship game.
Lord Botetourt is 8-0 after a 26-8 win over Abingdon in Daleville last Friday night in the Region 3D championship game. LCA is 6-1 after beating Heritage in the Region 3C championship, 30-14, at Liberty University.
The Bulldogs opened the season with a 25-14 loss to Brookville on February 25 but have rattled off six straight wins since. Wins have been against William Fleming, 36-6, Rustburg, 41-12, Liberty, 49-7, Amherst, 56-0, and a win over Brookville in a rematch, 42-14. Last week’s win over Heritage ended the Pioneers’ season at 6-2 and prevented what would have been a third straight LB-Heritage state semifinal game.
LCA will be a big test for the Cavaliers. As a private school the Bulldogs play in the Virginia High School League but don’t have to abide by all VHSL rules. They’ve gathered some impressive talent over the past couple years and should give the Cavaliers their toughest game to date.
“It will be a bear,” said LB coach Jamie Harless. “They’re big and they’re fast. LCA has a very good football team.”
Botetourt is hoping to have standout tailback and linebacker Hunter Rice back for this game. Hunter banged up his knee in the first half of the playoff opening win over Christiansburg on April 10 and sat out last week’s game with Abingdon.
“He’ll play, but I don’t know if he’ll play on both sides of the ball,” said Harless.
Meanwhile, senior receiver, defensive back and punt returner Kyle Arnholt is out for sure with a torn ACL, also suffered in the first half against Christiansburg. That leaves a huge void in the passing game as Arnholt had nine touchdown receptions in LB’s first seven games before the injury, averaging over 13 yards per reception.
“We survived,” said Harless. “At this point of the season you just want to survive from week to week and advance, and we were able to do that.”
Abingdon had 114 yards rushing against LB, which is a higher number than usual against the stout Cavalier line. The Falcons had over 230 yards total and a dozen first downs in the loss, their third playoff loss to the Cavs in the past six years.
“They’re always good,” said Harless, who played for Abingdon in his high school days. “To beat them three times in a row is a great accomplishment.”
The winner of Saturday’s game will advance to the state championship game on May 1 against the winner of this week’s other semifinal, matching 7-0 Lafayette and 5-1 Independence. That winner of that game will be the host for the Class 3 championship game.
