Crushed

• SLIDESHOW Blue Devils vs. Osbourn Park

MANASSAS - Another week, another near miss for the Blue Devils.

After the Culpeper County High School had rallied to tie the game, Osbourn Park quarterback Aaron Lee ran in from five yards out with 22 seconds remaining Friday to give the Yellow Jackets a 28-22 win and leave the Blue Devils in disbelief.

"Words do not describe," said Culpeper defensive tackle Kris Stewardson. "… I don't know what happened. We were right there. Again this week, we were right there."

Just moments before, Steven Strother had run 48 yards down the sideline to tie the game at 22 with 1:47 remaining.

But the Yellow Jackets responded. They took over the ball at their own 30-yard line and needed only five plays to score the winning touchdown.

It was a scene that is becoming all too familiar for the Blue Devils (1-5, 0-3 Cedar Run District). The Blue Devils have led every game they've played this season, but have fallen apart in the second half.

This week, Culpeper twice rallied from deficits to tie the game, but in the end, the defense couldn't stop the Yellow Jackets. The Blue Devils had a shot against an Osbourn Park team that has struggled to a 2-4 record (2-1 Cedar Run district) record this season. The Culpeper players came into the game ready to turn their season around, but instead watched another one slip away.

"That game would have put us in the playoff race," linebacker Blake Smith said. "…We needed this game. It's tough, man."

The Culpeper offense, which has struggled to move the ball all season, finally got rolling. The offensive line, considered a liability at the beginning of the season because of inexperience, dominated the line of scrimmage and the Blue Devils finished with 342 yards of total offense.

Kyle Majors and Strother again led the way for Blue Devils. The duo flashed their athletic ability all night long. In the first half, Majors appeared to be wrapped up for a sack on third-and-9 from the Osbourn Park 11-yard line, but kept his balance long enough to throw to Strother, who scampered into the endzone.
In the fourth quarter, Majors took a bobbled snap 67 yards down the sideline for a score.

Strother finished with 137 yards on 17 carries. Majors threw for 111 yards and ran for 78.

"We did a better job of picking up and making plays," wide receiver Steven Reynolds said. "It was very productive and it showed on the scoreboard."

But the Blue Devils defense, which held C.D. Hylton to 15 points last week, couldn't stop the Yellow Jackets. Focused on stopping Lee, one of the top passers in the Cedar Run District, Culpeper gave up huge chunks of yardage on the ground.

Running back Shawn Khanamuenwai led the way for Osbourn Park, finishing with 219 yards on 35 carries. He also had a second-quarter touchdown. His running ability allowed the Yellow Jackets to control the clock and opened up the passing game for Lee, who finished with 189 yards passing.

"I want to see the ball move and I want to see the defense stop people," CCHS coach Greg Martz said. "We really haven't seen that happen yet."

Jason Simcoe can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 166 or

Osbourn Park 28, Culpeper 22

Culpeper 0 7 8 7- 22
Osbourn Park 0 12 3 13- 28

Second Quarter
OP - Aaron Lee 5 run (kick failed), 10:14
C - Steven Strother 11 pass from Kyle Majors (Carter Mills kick), 7:39.
OP - Shawn Khanamuenwai 15 run (2-pt failed), 5:57.
Third Quarter
OP -  FG Patrick Groundwater 33, :40.
C -  Majors 67 run (Strother run), :18.

Fourth Quarter
OP - Khanamuenwai 7 pass from Lee (Groundwater kick), 2:30.
C - Strother 48 run (Mills kick), 1:47.
OP - Lee 5 run (kick fail), :22.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Osbourn Park, Khanamuenwai 35-219, Lee 9-15; Culpeper, S. Strother 17-137, Majors 6-78, Rollins 3-18, Pollard 4-(minus 4), Blake Smith 1-(minus 1).
PASSING-Osbourn Park, Lee 11-19-2-189; Culpeper, Majors 8-17-0-111, Joey Powell 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING-Osbourn Park, Mason Baxter 4-71, Justin Tutt 1-9, Gary Jackson 2-46, Nelson Ward 3-56, Khanamuenwai 1-7; Culpeper, Steven Reynolds 1-22, Powell 4-44, Heath Brown 1-21, S. Strother 1-11, Maurice Strother 1-13.