Friday Night Highlights: Lake Taylor runs away with a win, Western Branch’s daring decision pays off vs. Nansemond River
Bruins’ risky play call sparks outburst
A daring decision to go for a fourth-and-12 sparked No. 5 Western Branch to a 38-8 victory over Southeastern District rival Nansemond River in Suffolk. Taquan Trotman threw two touchdown passes, and Shimique Blizzard ran for two scores to pace the Bruins (3-0).
A large crowd came to King’s Fork, which was the venue because Nansemond River is getting a new field, and saw the Bruins go ahead 7-0 in the second quarter on CJ Fraser’s 26-yard touchdown run.
Midway through that period, Western Branch faced third-and-28 and got 16 yards on Trotman’s pass to Paul Billups. That set up fourth-and-12 at the Bruins’ 39, but instead of punting, coach Rashad Cook went for it. Trotman connected with Christian Copeland for a first down. Blizzard then ran for gains of 22 and 16 yards before scoring from the 4, and Riley Higgins’ second of five PATs put Western Branch ahead 14-0.
Billups’ 41-yard catch, Blizzard’s 15-yard run and Devin Cook’s 35-yard reception completed the Bruins’ scoring.
Nansemond River (2-1), which was outgained 288 yards to 50 from the 6:39 mark of the second quarter, got its points on quarterback Alkendric Overton’s 14-yard run and his conversion pass to Nasir Holland in the fourth quarter.
— Reported by Charlie Baumgardner
#757Teamz MVP
Lake Taylor’s Tarreon Washington-Jacobs runs wild
Tarreon Washington-Jacobs rushed for 265 yards and three touchdowns as No. 8 Lake Taylor ran away from Currituck of North Carolina for a 62-28 home victory Friday night.
Washington-Jacobs needed only 13 attempts to top 200 yards and finished with scoring scampers of 49, 48 and 41 yards. Washington-Jacobs also returned a fumble 3 yards for a touchdown.
“Every time I hit the hole tonight, I saw daylight,” Washington-Jacobs said.
The Titans’ Ryan Fisher added 75 rushing yards and a TD, Elijah Washington finished with six receptions for 102 yards and two scores, and Damien Hicks grabbed three receptions for 135 yards and touchdown.
Lake Taylor (2-0) led 41-20 at halftime and finished with 522 total yards.
— Reported by Gary Lassiter
Storylines
Cox dominates possession, tops Bayside
Cox scored two touchdowns during a one-minute span of the fourth quarter to pull away from Bayside in a 21-7 victory.
D.J. Johns finished with 50 rushing yards and scored on a 2-yard run, and Bubba Anderson added a 13-yard score a minute later — after Bayside failed to get to the ensuing kickoff. The Falcons (2-1) controlled the clock after halftime, owning the ball for 19:17 of 24 minutes in the second half.
Gage Trefry threw for 91 yards and a TD and rushed for 25 yards for the Falcons, while Bayside QB Mike Myers threw for 127 yards.
Cox limited the Marlins to 51 yards on 25 rushes and held Bayside scoreless in the three quarters.
Pretlow paces Rams to Bay Rivers win
Lafayette’s Jaylen Pretlow scored two touchdowns rushing and two more receiving and totaled 200 yards in a 48-0 victory over Grafton at Bailey Field. Dimarcus Lawrence ran 16 times for 148 yards and two touchdowns, and the defense pitched a shutout after not allowing the Clippers (1-1, 0-1 Bay Rivers District) a first down in the first half.
“We played good and the defense played really well,” said Lafayette coach Andy Linn, whose team improved to 1-1 overall in its Bay Rivers opener. “But we had too many penalties and we’ve got to clean that up before we play York.”
Lafayette and York, who shared the BRD title with Warhill last year, meet at Bailey Field on Friday.
Bruins’ coach gets first victory
Bethel won for the first time under new coach David Porter as it beat Gloucester 34-0 in their Peninsula District game. The Bruins (1-2, 1-1 district) scored in a variety of ways, including Jayden Coston’s return for a touchdown of a fumbled punt by the Dukes (0-2, 0-1).
Porter said Victor Romain and Kamare Dillard ran the ball well, and that sophomore quarterback Elijah Brown and the offense did a better job of sustaining drives because the offensive line made few mistakes. Marsay Philson and Keith Cherry had interceptions on a defense that got the shutout.
“It feels a lot better to be 1-2 than 0-3,” Porter said. “I’m more excited for the kids and the staff than for myself.”
Norcom’s Jones-Fugate connection shines
Cam Jones and Zion Thomas Fugate started the game with a 78-yard connection, then capped it with a 9-yard touchdown with two minutes left as Norcom knocked off Hopewell 20-17 on the road.
Jones threw for 261 yards and completed 10 of 14 passes, and Fugate caught five of those passes for 182 yards and two scores.
The Greyhounds’ defense had its share of standouts too: Paul Battle collected nine tackles and two sacks, and Kendall Hall Edwards and Jaden Ratliff added seven tackles each.
Woodside clobbers Crabbers
Woodside won for the second consecutive week, beating Hampton 43-0 in their Peninsula District game at Darling Stadium.
Coach Danny Dodson said his team played efficiently throughout on offense and defense. He cited the play of Iziah Emery, Christian Greenlaw, Mustapha Coley and Jamiyah Mandell on the defense that has allowed just six points in two games.
Dodson added that the play of offensive linemen Greenlaw, David Applewhite, Dequan Cobb and Deshaun Jackson was important to big nights rushing for Ri’jon Hammond and Paul-Stephen Davis. Hammond scored three touchdowns,
“We played well on both sides of the ball,” Dodson said. “We know Hampton is not as big or strong as the past couple of seasons, but to beat them and get the shutout is good.”
Warhill breaks through for victory
Quarterback Chase O’Neil’s 1-yard keeper for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter gave Warhill a 7-0 win over Tabb in their Bay Rivers District game at Bailey Field on Thursday.
The victory was the first for the Lions (1-2, 1-0 district), who were picked as the district favorite prior to the season. Taviyon Blockett had two interceptions for Warhill, while fellow defensive back Liam Francisque led the defense with 11 tackles against the Tigers (0-2, 0-1).
Taylen Eady led Warhill’s rushing attack with 79 yards. Francisque ran for 68.
“I thought we grew some,” Warhill coach Jerome Rhodes said. “We have the potential to be a good football team and we took a step forward in this game.”
He said it
“The linebackers stepped up, tackled well in space and put pressure on the edge. We were able to run the ball because the offensive line had a great game.”
— Smithfield coach Tracey Parker after his first victory with the program, 51-7 over Jamestown.
Running back Chris Dennis paced the rushing attack, scoring five touchdowns, and William Flythe and Messiah Jones also ran for TDs.
Parker said his linebacker corps of Karon Navin, James Taylor, Christian Velez and Kevin Parker were the standouts on a defense that held the Eagles (0-3, 0-1) in check.
Extra points
Deep Creek blocked a field-goal try late in the fourth quarter to preserve a 22-19 come-from-behind win over Hickory.
Cooper Tyszko threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score and Kaleb Doyle and Andrew Grubb added TD runs in Norfolk Academy’s 42-14 victory over longtime rival Catholic.
Top-ranked Oscar Smith scored 35 points before halftime on the way to a 54-0 victory over Grassfield.
Menchville rebounded from its 63-point loss to Phoebus last week by beating Denbigh by the same 63-0 score in their Peninsula District game at Todd Stadium. Isaiah Page filled in for quarterback K’Saan Farrar, who was sidelined by a minor injury, and scored one touchdown for the Monarchs (2-1, 1-1 district), along with Darien Parker, Jasiah Hales, Shane Reimann, Sincyr Williams and Evin Wells.
Napoleon Ellison completed 18 of 33 passes for 203 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another 75 yards and a score in Portsmouth Christian’s 40-18 win over Perquimans of North Carolina. Collins Redd and Marion Gholston rushed for two TDs each, and Tramari Weathers caught seven passes for 62 yards.
Ameer Ali scored five touchdowns — two on receptions, two on runs and one on an interception return — to guide Atlantic Shores to a 53-12 triumph over host Norfolk Christian. Emmanuel Williams ran for 78- and 13-yard TDs for the Seahawks.
Friday night’s scores
#1 Oscar Smith 54, Grassfield 0
New Bern (N.C.) 21, #3 Maury 14
#4 Green Run 56, Kellam 8
#5 Western Branch 38, Nansemond River 8
#6 King’s Fork 28, #11 Indian River 0
#7 Kempsville 44, Ocean Lakes 0
#8 Lake Taylor 62, Currituck (N.C.) 28
#9 Woodside 43, Hampton 0
#14 Landstown 29, Tallwood 25
Atlantic Shores 53, Norfolk Christian 12
Bethel 34, Gloucester 0
Booker T. Washington 42, Lakeland 6
Cox 21, #15 Bayside 7
Deep Creek 22, Hickory 19
First Colonial 40, Princess Anne 21
Great Bridge 20, Manor 13
Holmes (N.C.) 48, Norview 26
Lafayette 48, Grafton 0
Menchville 63, Denbigh 0
Middlesex 43, Windsor 28
Norcom 20, Hopewell 17
Norfolk Academy 42, Catholic 14
Portsmouth Christian 40, Perquimans (N.C.) 18
Smithfield 51, Jamestown 7
York 25, Poquoson 13
