Powhatan football coach Mike Henderson thought about going for a win-or-lose 2-point conversion in the first overtime against Clover Hill on Friday.
By the third overtime, with the last possession, he decided it was time.
Trailing 42-35 after Clover Hill’s Kendall Cross scored, Powhatan’s Mitchell Johnson scored from 2 yards out to make it 42-41. Henderson kept the offense on the field, told them during a timeout they were built to run the ball on short yardage, and called the same play.
Johnson (30 carries, 177 yards) scored from the 3 to give Powhatan a 43-42 victory and a chance in the Class 4, Region B playoff race.
Henderson said the decision to go for the win “was a combination of things.”
“I was concerned they were going to go for two [if they had the ball last],” he said. “Their [kicker] was hitting them straight and true, and we were getting a little bit of pressure on ours. I just felt like it was time for it. The other thing is we ran the ball for 301 yards.
“I just thought we could run the ball in for 3 yards, so I just decided to go for it.”
The top four teams in 4B make the playoffs, and a loss would have knocked Powhatan (2-1) out of the running in the shortened season. It now stands fifth on the Virginia High School League points scale with three games left in the regular season.
Monacan (3-0, 26.0 points) and King George (3-0, 26.0) are tied for the top spot. Patrick Henry (3-0, 24.66) is third, followed by Louisa (3-0, 24.0). Powhatan, with 21.33 points, likely needs one of those teams to lose.
“Once we lost to Manchester, we just need to keep winning and hope that things work out,” Henderson said.
