NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Three area high school football teams punched their tickets to state semifinals, claiming region championships Friday night.
Indian River, Maury and Poquoson are all headed to the state semifinals in their respective classes.
Sophomore kicker Noah Martinez played the hero for the Braves, booting a 28-yard field goal with eight seconds left to give Indian River the 10-7 victory over Green Run to win the Region 5A crown, ending the Stallions' two-year reign atop the region. Each team scored a first quarter touchdown, but could not put any additional points on the board for the rest of the night until Martinez's game-winner. It marks the Braves' first region crown since 2015.
Indian River will face Maury, which topped Warwick, 48-20, to win its sixth consecutive Region 5B title. Au'Tori Newkirk tallied five total touchdowns to pace the Commodores, who continue to tear through their schedule and improved to 13-0. They'll advance to host Indian River next week, looking for a third straight trip to the state title game.
Poquoson can call itself back-to-back Region 2A champions after a 57-18 win over Amelia County. The Bull Islanders jumped out to a 15-0 lead and never looked back, opening up a 37-6 lead by halftime. They'll look to get over the hump and punch their ticket to the state title game next Saturday.
Saturday's region title games include Phoebus hosting Warhill in Region 4A and Heritage traveling to Lafayette for the Region 3A championship game.
