Episcopal Edges St. Stephens in Barn-burner

After trailing their visiting intercity rivals Episcopal 14-6 for nearly the entire second half, St. Stephens/St. Agnes cut the deficit with just 1:35 remaining on Darius Lees 35-yard touchdown catch. The Saints two-point conversion attempt failed, but the ensuing onside kick did not. The hosts final drive went all the way down to the Maroons 24-yard line, where the 41-yard field goal attempt for the win missed wide and right, letting Episcopal escape with the narrow win.

Despite taking the lead in the first quarter with Jalani Winbushs 4-yard touchdown run, the Saints struggled on offense until the final period, allowing the Maroon to get back into the game and take the lead with two second-quarter touchdowns. Senior quarterback Hunter de Butts led the Episcopal offense yet again, rushing for 59 yards on 17 carries and going 4-of-11 for 81 yards passing. Winbush racked up 52 yards on 13 carries for the Saints.

Episcopal (3-4) has now won its last two games, ending a four-game losing skid, and hosts Bullis this Saturday at 2:30 p.m. They close the regular season in two weeks at home against Woodberry Forest.

St. Stephens (5-3) has lost its last two games and wraps up its regular season Saturday at St. Albans, with kickoff set for 1 p.m.

Ireton Falls to Friendship Collegiate

Deadlocked with the visitors 14-14 at halftime Saturday, Bishop Ireton was unable to put a stop to the Friendship Collegiate attack in the second half as they ended up losing 40-22 on Senior Day at Fannon Field.

The Cardinals went up 14-8 late in the second quarter senior tailback Doug Vines providing the two touchdowns and 2-point conversion but saw the Knights charge back down the field to level the score with seconds left until halftime.

The second half was all Friendship Collegiate (5-4), who routed the hosts with four touchdowns before the Cardinals got their last score, bringing the game to its final margin. Vines led the Cardinals with 102 yards on 11 carries and the two scores, while the Knights got more than 200 yards combined rushing from Albert Reid and Malcolm Crockett.

With just one game to go, the Cardinals (6-3) sit in fifth place in the Virginia Independent School Athletic Association standings, one spot outside of the VISAA playoff race. They travel to St. Marys Ryken this Friday at 7 p.m. in their first night game of the year.