VHSL CLASS 1 BASEBALL: Patrick Henry Rebels get state championship gold in their grasp with 4-1 win over Rappahannock (copy)
Patrick Henry High School on the VHSL Class 1 State Championship 4-1 over Rappahannock.
Patrick Henry's Eric Rutherford stands with Blake Johnson at third base during the state championship game.
Patrick Henry's Connor Brown (15) and Porter Blackwell (9) celebrates as they come in to bat in the state championship.
Patrick Henry's Connor Brown celebrates as he enters the dugout after scoring for the Rebels.
Patrick Henry's Carter Brown smiles to the dugout after he scores a run for the Rebels on Saturday.
Patrick Henry's Connor Brown celebrates as he goes to score for the Rebels in the VHSL Class 1 State Championship.
Patrick Henry's Kolby Hicks throws a pitch for the Rebels during the state championship game against Rappahannock.
Patrick Henry's Porter Blackwell throws the ball to first base after getting the out at second on Rappahannock's Davis Richardson.
Patrick Henry's Connor Brown celebrates at second base to the dugout in the VHSL Class 1 State Championship.
Patrick Henry rushes the field after the last out of the VHSL Class 1 State Championship game on Saturday in Salem.
Patrick Henry coach Eric Rutherford celebrates to the fans with the state championship trophy after their 4-1 win over Rappahannock.
Patrick Henry's Hank Rutherford swings for a hit during the Class 1 state championship on Saturday.
Patrick Henry congratulates Aidan Monahan (14) after his home run hit against Rappahannock.
Patrick Henry's Porter Blackwell throws to first base for an out against Rappahannock.
Patrick Henry principal Tim Duncan shows off the state championship trophy to fans Saturday morning in Salem.
Patrick Henry celebrates with Aidan Monahan (14) after his home run hit against Rappahannock.
Patrick Henry's Aidan Monahan pitches for the Rebels Saturday in the state championship game.
Patrick Henry's Aidan Monahan celebrates by throws his glove aside after the final out in the Class 1 State Championship game.
Patrick Henry celebrates with the state championship trophy after they defeated Rappahannock 4-1 in the VHSL Class 1 State Finals.
Patrick Henry catcher Hank Rutherford tags a Rappahannock runner at home plate for an out.
Patrick Henry's Aidan Monahan swings for a hit against Rappanhannock on Saturday.
Patrick Henry fans cheer on the Rebels during the Class 1 State Championship game on Saturday.
Patrick Henry celebrates after their 4-1 win over Rappahannock in the VHSL Class 1 State Championship game on Saturday at Kiwanis Park.
Patrick Henry's Kolby Hicks celebrates after their 4-1 win in the VHSL Class 1 State Championship game.
Patrick Henry's Kolby Hicks swings for a hit against Rappahannock.
Patrick Henry stands with the state championship trophy after they won the VHSL Class 1 State Championship 4-1 over Rappahannock.
SALEM, Va. – Patrick Henry senior Aidan Monahan clutched the championship trophy with two hands against his chest with a vice-like grip a good half-hour after the prize had been presented to his team on Saturday.
“I ain’t letting it go,” he said. “Too excited to let it go.”
He eventually had to relinquish the hardware because that monumental memento is going to end up behind glass in the school’s trophy case and signifies a special season by a terrific team.
PH recorded a 4-1 win over the Rappahannock Raiders in the VHSL Class 1 baseball title game at historic Kiwanis Field to clinch the crown as Monahan went 3-for-4 with a home run and also got the final two outs on the mound to notch the save.
How big of a deal was this for the Rebels?
Indoor track and field (2018) and outdoor track and field (2017, 2022) had been the only other male sports squads at the Washington County school to secure state gold.
“It’s really an unreal feeling,” said PH sophomore leadoff hitter/shortstop Connor Brown. “Everybody kind of checked us out at the beginning of the season and here we were on top.”
The Rebels were actually picked to win the Hogoheegee District in the preseason coaches poll, but there probably was some skepticism back in March.
After all, PH compiled an 11-12 record last year, finished third in the district tourney, was bounced in the quarterfinals of the Region 1D tournament and never won more than two straight games.
This year the Rebels went 25-2 and closed the season with 19 consecutive victories.
“Same team,” said Patrick Henry coach Eric Rutherford. “The talent’s been there. They just finally started believing. Once they started believing it’s been like a runaway train. … It’s just a different vibe this year. We had some great senior leaders and a lot of kids that have played a lot of baseball. It all clicked this year.”
Many players say an 8-2 loss to Gate City on April 10 was a turning point.
The Rebels weren’t particularly sharp that day and a defeat like that in 2025 might have lingered or led to a lengthy tailspin.
This year was different.
This time Patrick Henry didn't lose for the remainder of the season.
“We realized that it wasn’t just for fun,” said PH junior pitcher Kolby Hicks. “We wanted to win ballgames and winning is fun.”
That businesslike approach carried over in every phase. The Rebels were patient at the plate, they made the routine plays and the pitching was on point.
“We learned from a lot of the mistakes we made last year,” Brown said. “Playing better defense and executing with runners in scoring position.”
Things were done right by Patrick Henry on Saturday.
The Rebels trailed 1-0 after four innings and had squandered some opportunities against hard-throwing sophomore right-hander Dayne Keyser from Rappahannock.
“I saw a lot of us swinging at bad pitches,” Monahan said. “Swinging at pitches high and popping them up or watching good pitches go right down the middle for strike three. We decided to hit like we know how. We just needed a boost of energy.”
Hank Rutherford provided that jolt.
With two outs in the top of the fifth inning, he hammered a two-run double that turned that one-run deficit into a one-run lead.
“I was kind of out of the game a little bit,” Hank Rutherford said. “My first two at-bats were bad. I sat on the first-pitch fastball and kind of expected it.”
Rutherford, a junior and the coach’s son, went 8-for-13 in Patrick Henry’s three state tourney wins.
His hit highlighted a fifth-inning rally that had begun when Blake “J.J.” Johnson – the ninth hitter in PH’s order reached on a single after a seven pitch at-bat. Brown and Rutherford followed with doubles.
“Everybody is so clutch in big moments,” Hank Rutherford said. “There isn’t anybody where you’re like, ‘Oh crap, this guy’s up to bat, he isn't going to do anything.’ Everybody on this team can hit and everybody can mash.”
Brown finished 3-for-3 but it was a defensive play that he made that was the most notable.
Rappahannock’s Chase Self walked and Davis Richardson was hit by a pitch to open the fifth inning as the Raiders looked to steal back the momentum and finish strong like they did in a 5-3 semifinal win over Chilhowie on Friday.
However, Hicks struck out Carter Sullivan and then got Dan Morrison to hit a grounder that resulted in an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play started by Brown and completed by second baseman Porter Blackwell and first baseman Carter Brown.
“We really needed to get out of that inning,” Connor Brown said. “If we didn’t you don’t know which way that game could have went.”
The momentum shifted even more to the PH dugout when Monahan led off the sixth inning with a no-doubt home run that hit the scoreboard beyond the left-field fence. It was his ninth longball of 2026.
“As soon as I hit that,” Monahan said. “I said 'This is over.' ”
Eric Rutherford didn’t dare mutter those words, but the thought certainly crossed his mind.
“That kind of sealed the deal there,” the coach said.
Hunter White added an RBI groundout later in the sixth for another insurance run.
“Everything went smooth sailing,” Hank Rutherford said.
Rappahannock coach Jim Bieger was left with a refrain used by skippers whose teams faced the Rebels this spring.
“Patrick Henry is a very good baseball team,” Bieger said. “They hit the ball.”
The Rebels can pitch it very well too and the Rebels got another sterling showing from their ace pitcher in Hicks.
The right-hander allowed five hits over 6 1/3 innings while walking one and striking out five. Rappahannock (23-4) scored its only run in the third inning on an error.
That came on the heels of a strong performance by senior left-hander Trajan Cannon in Patrick Henry's 13-1 semifinal rocking of Riverheads.
“They’re amazing,” PH catcher Hank Rutherford said of the team's pitching staff. “They can shove, they listen, they’re not selfish, no egos. Great to be around. If I tell them something and it doesn’t work out, they don’t get mad at me.”
It usually always worked out.
Monahan was summoned to get the final two outs in relief of Hicks and as usual he wasn’t overwhelmed by the magnitude of the moment in the ultimate save situation.
“Honestly, I didn’t think about nothing,” Monahan said. “I was singing a song by Calvin Harris called ‘Slide.’ They were playing it earlier and that’s probably why it was stuck in my head. I was just singing that in my head on the mound.”
The tune was drowned out by the roar of approval from the large Patrick Henry contingent in attendance when Monahan struck out Carter Sullivan to end the game, quite the capper as his teammates mobbed him and formed a dogpile in the infield.
After being handed the championship trophy, Eric Rutherford shared the moment with the fans who made the journey up Interstate 81 to root on the Rebels.
Those folks were certainly treated to a memorable postseason ride by the group of talented teenagers.
A six-run fourth inning powered Patrick Henry to an 11-5 victory over Cumberland District champion and reigning Region 1D winners Eastside in the semifinals of the regional tournament.
The Rebels scored twice in the bottom of the eighth inning on a hit by Monahan to collect an 8-7 walk-off win over Chilhowie in the Region 1D finals. They trailed 6-0 at one point in that game.
White delivered a walk-off hit as PH outlasted defending state champion Auburn for a 6-5, 11-inning victory in the state quarterfinals.
That was followed by victories in Salem over Region 1B champion Riverheads and Region 1A titlist Rappahannock.
“We’ve had great support,” Coach Rutherford said. “It’s been like living a dream. I hate to use the word destiny, but it just felt like it was going to happen. We kept winning during some times when we didn’t think we would. Almost like it was meant to be. We’re very blessed.”
The gold is indeed in the grasp of the Rebels.
“Everybody did what they were supposed to do and everybody played a role in it all year,” Brown said. “We all wanted it and we got it.”
Patrick Henry 000 022 0—4 11 2
Rappahannock 001 000 0—1 5 0
Hicks, Monahan (7) and Rutherford. Keyser and Self. W – Hicks (9-0). L – Keyser. S – Monahan (3). HR – Monahan (PH), 6th, none on.
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VHSL Dingers
The following is a look at some hitters from far Southwest Virginia who have homered in a VHSL state baseball championship game since 1971:
In a Win
2026 – Aidan Monahan, Patrick Henry (Class 1)
2021 – Anthony Houchins, Lebanon (Class 2)
2021 – Nick Belcher, Lebanon (Class 2)
2011 – Chaz Miller, Honaker (Group A, Division 2)
2001 – Blake Brooks, John Battle (Group A)
1991 – Jamie Bryant, J.J. Kelly (Group A)
1989 – Mike Hurt, J.J. Kelly (Group A)
1984 – Scott Slemp, J.J. Kelly (Group A)
1981 – Chris Johnson, J.J. Kelly (Group A)
1981 – J.W. Smith, J.J. Kelly (Group A)
1981 – Brian Kirk, J.J. Kelly (Group A)
1979 – Geno Gibson, Coeburn (Group A)
1975 – Greg Ringley, Coeburn (Group A)
1975 – Jeff Adkins, Coeburn (Group A)
In a Loss
2012 – Aaron Conley, Chilhowie (Group A, Division 2)
2011 – Nick Sturgill, J.J. Kelly (Group A, Division 2)
1985 – Greg Turner, Virginia High (Group AA)
1985 – Jeff Shelton, Virginia High (Group AA)
1984 – Jeff Necessary, Abingdon (Group AA)
Source: Bristol Herald Courier archives
