Saturday morning, at 5:00 am, the Dominion Titans’ Football team will be starting their 4-hour bus ride to Salem Virginia, to face the Salem Spartans in the State Semifinal at 2:00 pm.

Salem are the defending State Champions, with a 11-1 record heading into Saturday, with their one loss on the year coming to Amherst County, a team the Titans beat two weeks ago.

The Titans had a nail biting victory against Woodgrove last weekend, a game that came down to a 31-yard field goal in the closing minutes. Woodgrove drove into field goal range, and then a game-sealing block by Vashon McCants and return for a touchdown by Billie Walker as time expired to seal the 30-23 win.

Kicker Ramon Blas, who had the game winner was met with a challenge before Saturday’s game, when he forgot to pack his personal kicking block used on kickoffs, extra points, and field goals. He then had to use the manual one that is taller than usual which plays a huge factor in the kicking game, especially on long field goals, but thankfully it didn’t mess him up.

“It was a scare, but he still has to pack it for Salem this week. It’s his responsibility,” Coach Karl Buckwalter said.

Dominion players are confident going into this game, but it wouldn’t be fair to overlook any team at this point in the season, especially not the defending 4A State Champs. “They’re a very skilled team, with talent at most positions, but they also play disciplined and don’t make very many mistakes,” wide receiver/defensive back Jayson Robinson said. “Keys to the game will be starting fast offensively, staying aggressive and being the more physical team.”

“They’re a good, disciplined, tough team, we’re going to have to block well and tackle better then we have,” Buckwalter said.

This week of practice has been a little different for the Titans as they got moved to the Redskins indoor practice facility in Ashburn in the middle of the week to prepare. “The players have stayed the course, and are enjoying their time together. The facility hasn’t affected them,” Buckwalter said.

“The Coaches have shown great attention to detail this week, and they’ve done a good job of not letting anything slip past them or let anything get sloppy because of the significance of Saturday’s game,” Robinson said.

History is in the Titans’ grasp, and this team is confident, focused, and ready for the task.