Delaware State News photos/Marc Clery

GREENWOOD — Woodbridge High had spent most of the second half pounding the ball, trying to bleed some clock.

But when the Blue Raiders saw a chance to likely put the game out of reach, they jumped on it.

Troy Haynes connected with Michael Brewer on a 44-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter to seal a 21-6 victory over Caravel in the Division II football state championship semifinals on Friday night. The Blue Raiders (12-0) will face the winner of today’s contest between St. Georges and Wilmington Friends in the state championship Dec. 3 at Delaware Stadium.

It is the first time Woodbridge, the tournament’s top seed, has reached the title game in school history.

The Blue Raiders had run the ball on all 16 of their offensive plays in the second half before Brewer’s touchdown grab.

“It’s exciting and it means a lot,” Brewer said. “I told coach, and he probably already knew, that they were going man-to-man and when they do that I knew I could beat them off the ball.”

Haynes took the snap and faked another handoff. By the time he turned around to chuck the ball upfield, Brewer was way behind the Caravel secondary as the Buccaneers were crowding the line of scrimmage.

“We just saw the opportunity,” said Woodbridge coach Ed Manlove. “Their kids were just standing there. They weren’t even paying attention. We had them beat on it so we certainly went after it.”

Brewer also had a key interception for the Woodbridge defense just before halftime. Richard Massey also picked off a pass for the Blue Raider defense which led to the drive with Brewer’s touchdown.

Woodbridge, which has not let up more than 12 points in a game this season, held Caravel to a pair of field goals.

The Blue Raiders got some valuable breathing room when sophomore Jamon Kane scored on a 60-yard touchdown to go up 14-3 with 4:27 to go in the third quarter.

Kane’s score came after the Woodbridge defense forced a three-and-out by Caravel. He needed just one play to find the end zone.

He broke a pair of tackles to find space on the right sideline before sneaking through a narrow hole. That left Kane with one man to beat and he evaded that tackle too.

“He’s been doing that all year,” Manlove said. “He’s a tough kid and he’s hard to bring down.”

Woodbridge battled back from an early 3-0 after struggling in the red zone. The Blue Raiders made it inside the Caravel 10-yard line twice in the first half but turned it over on downs once and threw an interception the other time.

The third trip inside the red zone was the charm.

Haynes earned the first touchdown on a quarterback sneak from a yard out. That was set up by a 37-yard rush by Terrique Riddick, which brought the Blue Raiders into the red zone.

Woodbridge clinched things by forcing back-to-back three-and-outs by Caravel on the Buccaneers’ final two drives.

“It was two good teams going at it,” Manlove said. “I think we wore them down a bit which was nice to see. We just made the plays and got it done.”