CENTREVILLE, Va. - As the 10th annual Super 45 Maryland-Virginia All-Star Classic wound down last night at Centreville High School, the question was which tandem would come through bigger for its state - Maryland's Steve Lyons and Billy Gaines, or Virginia's B.J. Quigley and Mike Imoh?
All evening, and especially in the second half, those four players distinguished themselves from their counterparts with one big play after another.
In the end, it was the Maryland duo that proved too strong. Lyons completed 15 of 23 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown, and scored the game-winning touchdown on a 5-yard scramble to lead Maryland to a 27-20 victory before an estimated crowd of 5,000.
Lyons, a Damascus graduate who is heading to St. Peter's College in New Jersey, completed nine of 10 passes for 152 yards in the second half to lead Maryland. Gaines, a wide receiver from Urbana who is going to Pittsburgh, finished with eight receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown, including five catches for 101 yards in the second half.
"Nobody really knows this, but Billy and I work out together throwing-wise, so we really know each other very well," said Lyons, who was named Maryland's Offensive Most Valuable Player. "We're always on the same page."
Maryland trailed 20-14 late in the third quarter before scoring two touchdowns in the final four minutes to take the game previously known as the Super 44 All-Star Classic for the third straight season. Maryland leads the series 6-4.
With the score tied 20-20, Paint Branch's Tim Allen picked off Quigley (9-for-18, 150 yards, one touchdown, one interception) with 3:26 remaining to set up Maryland at the Virginia 35-yard line.
Seven plays later, Lyons avoided Virginia Tech-bound defensive lineman Darryl Tapp of Deep Creek and scampered 5 yards to the corner of the end zone.
Moments before Allen's interception, Maryland tied the score on a 12-play, 69-yard drive, capped by a 3-yard touchdown run by Good Counsel's Chris Peaks.
On the drive, Lyons hooked up with Gaines for a 13-yard gain on third-and-13 from the Virginia 48, a 21-yard gain on third-and-16 from the Virginia 41 and a 30-yard gain on second-and-22 from the Virginia 32.
Virginia's final hope ended when Quigley's pass bounced off the fingertips of Imoh (seven catches for 74 yards; 15 carries for 80 yards, one touchdown) at the Maryland 40 with 36.7 seconds remaining.
Earlier, Virginia took the opening kickoff and drove 85 yards on 10 plays, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Hylton's Ben Harrison, to take a 6-0 lead. On the drive, Quigley completed all four of his passes for 54 yards, including a 30-yard completion to Wakefield's Nick Gilreath on fourth-and-12 to set up the score.
Maryland's first possession was prolonged after an offside penalty on Virginia gave Maryland a first down on a punt. But Maryland eventually was held scoreless when Magruder kicker Corey Allen had his 41-yard field-goal attempt blocked by Tapp.
Maryland, however, took the lead, 7-6, on Virginia's second possession. Gaithersburg linebacker Ryan Frazier picked off Virginia backup quarterback Matt Kynes of Jefferson, who is headed to Florida, and returned the interception 30 yards for a touchdown with 8.9 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Maryland defense asserted itself throughout the rest of the first half, and went ahead 14-6 with 36.5 seconds remaining on a Lyons-to-Gaines 11-yard connection.
As for area players, Mount St. Joseph receiver J.J. Outlaw finished with three catches for 30 yards; Gilman's Napoleon Sykes had a 26-yard punt return after his 30-yard punt return was nullified by a penalty one play earlier; Mount St. Joseph linebacker Dan Michalowcz had a sack; and Milford Mill quarterback Andre Brown went 1-for-6 for 7 yards and threw an interception.
Maryland 7 7 0 13 - 27
Virginia 6 0 14 0 - 20
V-Harrison 1 run (kick failed) M-Frazier 30 interception return (Allen kick) M-Gaines 11 pass from Lyons (Allen kick) V-Imoh 16 pass from Quigley (pass failed) V-Imoh 4 run (Price run) M-Peaks 3 run (run failed) M-Lyons 5 run (Allen kick)