Brethren Christian Bottles Up Village Christian, 19-0

Tarik Blair must have felt like a guy who fell through a crack in the ice and couldn’t find his way out.

He searched fervently Friday night for an opening in the Brethren Christian High defense, but each time he thought he had found one, he was quickly drowned in a sea of green-and-white tacklers.

Blair’s Village Christian teammates weren’t accorded much breathing room, either; Brethren Christian held the Crusaders to two yards and two first downs in a 19-0 Southern Section Division X quarterfinal game at Kennedy High.

Brethren Christian (9-3), the Olympic League champion, swarmed over Blair, Village Christian’s primary offensive threat, holding the usually explosive senior running back to minus-15 yards in 14 carries.

“It was their defense . . . they were everywhere I’d go,” said Blair, who entered with 1,135 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. “It was a little frustrating, but I tried to keep my composure.”

Village Christian Coach Mike Plaisance, whose team lost only twice on the field but forfeited four victories because of an ineligible player, believed a lack of blocking was more to blame for Blair’s unproductive effort.

“I have a sign in my locker room that says that all running backs look alike if nobody up front is blocking,” Plaisance said. “We could have had Jim Brown and Walter Payton back there and it wouldn’t have done any good.”

Brethren Christian, which recorded its second consecutive shutout, converted two Village Christian turnovers into touchdowns.

The Warriors scored the only points they needed after Village Christian quarterback David Treanor missed a first-period handoff to Blair and Scott Thomas recovered at the Crusader 34-yard line.

Four plays later, Keith Washington (63 yards, 12 carries) scored the first of his two touchdowns on a 22-yard run. A bad snap on the conversion forced holder Jesse Mullen to throw, and his pass was intercepted by Kris Lyman.

Early in the fourth quarter, Treanor tossed the second of his three interceptions and Tim Jackson returned it 14 yards to the Crusader 20. Washington scored from four yards out with 9 minutes 24 seconds left.

James Harris, who led all rushers with 117 yards in 23 carries, added a one-yard touchdown run with 1:28 remaining.

Treanor, who was sacked five times for minus-43 yards, completed six of 16 passes for 47 yards.

Village Christian fell to 6-6.