To win the state title, Varina will have to snap its opponent's 48-game winning streak

Sometimes, the toughest steps in a climb to the summit come at the base of the mountain.

As the sun set over James Dawkins Stadium on Thursday afternoon, the Varina Blue Devils took to the field, laser focused on a mission to capture their second Virginia High School League (VHSL) Class 4 state football championship in four seasons. The Blue Devils face three-time defending champion Phoebus, winners of 48 straight games, Saturday at 5 p.m. at Williams Stadium at Liberty University in Lynchburg.

Before joining the practice, fifth-year head coach Marcus Lewis, a 2001 Varina graduate, took a moment to reflect on the adversity his team faced, and overcame, even before they scored a point in what has become a season for the ages.

“Myles Anderson didn’t play the first game, DaMari Carter sat out four or five games because he was hurt,” Lewis recalled. “It gave other kids the opportunity to get some quality reps, because you never know who you’ll need when your number is called.”

With opportunity comes growing pains. Varina lost its opener at home 37-31 to Indian River in a double overtime affair. Lewis admitted that one got away. The next game was out of everyone’s control.

That’s because it didn’t happen.

The Blue Devils were to face defending Class 6 state champion Freedom (Prince William). Just before the season began, Freedom announced they would only play a six-game district schedule due, in large part due to attrition the program suffered when head coach Darryl Overton moved to Hayfield High School, starting an odyssey that launched a VHSL investigation, and, eventually, the suspension of Hayfield’s season.

Varina tried to find an opponent, but that fell through. At 0-1, the young Blue Devils had to learn from the loss, which now, looking back, was very beneficial, thanks to some previous knowledge.

“On the back end, we’ve got a lot of young guys who worked their butts off over the summer,” Lewis explained. “A lot of them I’ve seen play since Little League, so I knew what they could do. I knew they weren’t scared, but I also knew they’d have to deal with our schedule, deal with some adversity, and they took it well.”

An 18-10 win over rival Hermitage began a winning streak that has now reached 12, with some sterling performances along the way, especially by the Blue Devil defense.

Varina’s coming out party was a 38-3 home dismantling of then unbeaten Glen Allen on October 11, putting Class 4, Region B on notice that the Blue Devils were a force.

“Glen Allen was senior heavy with a good quarterback, good linebackers, and big, and our kids took that challenge,” Lewis noted. “We told the kids, everybody’s doubting us, they’re coming to our house. To see how our kids performed, there were a lot of great things.”

Since then, Varina has held every opponent to under twenty points except high powered Dinwiddie and USC commit Harry Dalton in the Region 4B Championship, a 41-27 Blue Devil triumph which saw Carter score on three touchdown passes in the first half from sophomore Kaleb Wyche, who has played far beyond his years in this postseason run.

A dominant 28-0 win over perennial power Tuscarora in last Saturday’s state semifinal set up the game Lewis believed, in the back of his mind, would be inevitable for his squad to take the final steps to that aforementioned summit, and bring another state trophy home to Route 5.

“We knew that (Phoebus) was going to take care of business,” Lewis said of the Phantoms. “So we knew whoever came out of this area would see Phoebus.”

The Phantoms, 13-0, have won their last three playoff games via shutout. Their toughest test was a 27-17 win over rival Warwick on Nov. 2. 

Thus, Varina ends their season, in many ways, where they began it, flying under the radar, and in the eyes of many, not expected to reach the goals that this group set for themselves during those hot summer days.

There’s no pressure to continue a dynasty. There is the opportunity, however, to end one.

“They’re just ready to get to Saturday,” Lewis said about his team. “I’ve never been big on talking, that’s just not who I am, whether playing or as a coach. It’s all about suiting up and putting these pads on. You run your mouth with the pads, and the scoreboard.”

Note: This story has been updated to correct Phoebus' win streak, which is 48 games.