WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Long time Lafayette head football coach Andy Linn would be the first to tell you, he didn't know if this year's Rams would find their way to Lynchburg in December before the start of the season.
"We were like, I don't know", he said. Lafayette the past couple of years weren't the perennial favorites giving way to the Warhill Lions in the Bay Rivers District. Lacking experience and size coming into 2023, Lafayette (12-2) is now going after its first state championship since 2020 when they face Liberty Christian on Saturday in Class 3 from Liberty University.
Linn said their path to get to the finals wasn't done in an exciting way.
"We're obviously not the sexy pick to be in the state championship", he says. "You run the wing-t. You're small. You don't look like much when you come out of the lockeroom" he joked.
The Rams take on a Bulldog squad that averages just over 270 pounds on the offensive line while Lafayette barely touches 200. It hasn't stopped them from getting to their goal.
"We knew we were going to be here", says running back Nazeer Wolmart. "They thought it was going to be a bit of a rebuild year. We knew with the guys we had."
Fellow running back, Brayden Smalls feels it has more to do with the tradition that Lafayette High School has always lived by. "Lafayette's culture has always been about winning", he said. "As soon as I got here, I knew I was going to be in the playoffs".
And hopefully in this case bringing home another championship.