Jordan knew things were going to be chippy on Thursday.

The Warriors knew they were in for a fight for 48 minutes against a Richmond Foster team that was also fighting for its seasons life. That they would have to be at their best to advance and that there were no guarantees.

Jordan came out and fought for every inch on Thursday and in the end it worked, as the Warriors outlasted Foster 22-14 in the bi-district round and earned their first ever playoff win for the Jordan program.

“It’s something that we’ve been building towards these past four years and to finally get it is indescribable, it feels amazing,” said senior wide receiver Andrew Marsh. “the key for us today was to come out and execute. We were able to do that just a little more than they were.”

Jordan was down their starting quarterback in Beau Bryant in the game after he suffered a broken collarbone in the final game of the district season, but in his absence Dominic Cangolosi stepped up to help lead Jordan to its first playoff win, throwing for 224 yards and two touchowns 224 yards and two touchdowns, while Marsh caught 11 passes for 149 yards and two scores.

The Jordan offensive staff made a concerted effort to get the two going early and it paid off. The Warriors drove down the field in seven plays on their first drive of the game and made it to the endzone when Cangolosi found Marsh on a bootleg and hit him in the front corner of the endzone for a 16-yard touchdown pass.

The game stayed that way until the second quarter when Sebastian Baptista kicked a 35-yard field goal to make it a 10 point game, but Foster came back to trim the lead to three shortly before half, taking advantage of Jordan penalties before scoring on a on a 3-yard run from Addison Ojaku.

“It was huge to get both Dom and Andrew going early, they came out and executed the gameplan perfectly at the beginning of the game,” said Jordan head coach Mike Rabe. “It was really good for both of their confidence going into this game to have that and for both of them to settle in.”

Jordan added to the lead with another strong drive to start the second half as the Warriors marched down the field and scored on a back shoulder touchdown pass from Cangolosi to Marsh from 22-yards out and then Jordan made it a 13 point game when Baptista made a 25-yard field goal.

Foster though fought until the end. The Falcons got a huge play to get them back in the game when Kaleb Lawson connected on a 75-yard pass to Jack Den Herder and then after Jordan forced a safety on the next Foster drive, Jordan fumbled the ball and Foster had a chance to go down and tie the game in the waning moments.

But Jordan’s defense stepped up one more time. The Warriors put a halt to the drive at their own 29 yard line, forcing a turnover on downs and sealing the win.

“Our defense is amazing,” Cangolosi said. “It doesn’t matter what situation they are in, we have full faith and we know they are going to come through. As an offensive player it’s such a luxury, you don’t have to force anything, you play smarter and you know that you can count on your guys on the other side.”

Jordan will get the winner of Stratford and Westside in the second round of the playoffs. It will be another huge one as the Warriors try to continue to make history and put their stamp on this season.

“It’s all about stacking the days and making sure we improve and get better from this week,” Marsh said. “We have a team that can make a run, we just can’t get complacent and have to make sure we are ready for the next one.”

Jordan 22, Foster 14

First quarter

J: Dominic Cangolosi 16 pass to Andrew Marsh (Sebastian Baptisa kick) 8:43

Second quarter

J: Sebastian Baptista 35 field goal, 5:28

F: Addison Ojaku 3 run (Nick Lopez kick) 1:29

Third quarter

J: Cangolosi 22 pass to Mash (Baptista kick) 6:55

Fourth quarter

J: Baptista 25 field goal, 11:51

F: Kaleb Lawson 75 pass to Jack Den Herder (Lopez kick) 11:39

J: Kaleb Lawson sack safety 3:29

Team Statistics

Individual Statistics

Rushing – Jordan: Dominic Cangolosi, 8-110; Tanner West, 13-67; Zion Jones, 17-38; Foster: Byron Fantroy, 15-35; Addison Ojaku, 5-16-1; Oscar Bargas, 1-6; Kaleb Lawson, 2-8; AJ Akininbile, 1-1; Eli Smith, 1-0; Jordan Williams, 2-0; Kaleb Lawson, 1-(-7);

Passing – Jordan: Dominic Cangolosi, 16-23-224-2-0; Foster: Kaleb Lawson, 9-17-153-1-0; Seth Mercer, 0-1-0-0-1;

Receiving – Jordan: Andrew Marsh, 11-149-2; Landon Williams, 5-75; Foster: Jack Den Herder, 4-105; Daniel Humphrey, 2-32; Langston Hogan, 2-13; Tyson Hogan, 1-3;