Charles Mills big night ignited the Royal Tigers in their big match up with Middlesex.
SALUDA- Perfect weather for an excited crowd, with the smell of a cookout in the air, and music with yells of excitement through out the stadium. Two undefeated teams with each specializing in their part of the game. Middlesex with a superb defense and King & Queen's efficient offense. When the action got started it seems like they were trading places.
The atmosphere was pumped up for the big game in Saluda!
After penalties derailed King & Queen's opening drive efforts, Middlesex marched the ball down the Tigers throats with the running of Matthew Hart. Hart's dual threat ability got the Chargers inside the 5 yard line. King & Queen's defense stepped up and forced coach William Jarvis to call timeout to get his line ready to convert and 4th and goal from the 1-yard line.. They did just that creating a seam for Hart to exploit and get in giving Middlesex a 7-0 lead at the 4:17 mark of the first.
Matthew Hart got his squad moving down the field quickly to open the game.
Freshman quarterback Malik Holmes was hurried, harassed, and sacked in the first half. The Charger defense was doing as advertised recording 2 interceptions and forcing Holmes to fumble. Adam Smith and Legend Watson were able to get the interceptions to haul in the interceptions. The Chargers couldn't turn those turnovers into points and that would come back to haunt them. Middlesex took their 7-0 lead into halftime.
Malik Holmes couldn't escape the clutches of Chargers' Landon Norwood.
Coach Kenny Waters would get the team focused and settled down for the second half. After holding the Chargers offense, Holmes would begin to catch fire with a short pass game. Later in the drive Holmes would roll to his left for a perfect pass to DeAndre Hill for a 40-yard touchdown to tie the game up at 7-7 with 2:11 left in the 3rd.
Brandon Ward turns upfield for extra yardage after making a catch.
The Royal Tiger defense would then get an interception shifting the momentum but the Chargers were able to turn their offense back. Middlesex would then get a chance to extend their lead. They would nail a 28-yard field goal with 9:18 left. The crowd was pumped as the Chargers knew they were a few stopped possessions from going 5-0. Things looked good for them going midway of the 4th.
King & Queen's defense rose to the occasion in the 2nd half.
After facing a 4th and 8 from their own 21, Middlesex would punt a 25 yard punt giving the Tigers the ball on the Chargers 46 yard line with 4:35 to play. From there Coach Waters would turn to their power back Charles Mills. He would carry 3 times on the drive as the 3rd carry would be the charm. Mills gashed the Charger defense giving the Tigers first lead with an 15-yard run. 14-10 with 3:28 left to play.
Mills lead taking touchdown run gave the Tigers the lead.
Middlesex had plenty of time to respond but an errant pass would fall into the hands of Hill who would return it to the Middlesex 2 yard line. Mills would power in from their to ice the game. 21-10 King & Queen with 2:40 left to play. Middlesex would fail to convert on 4th down and the Tigers would kneel down to the chants on their fans repeating 5-0! 5-0!
Mills finished with 9 carries for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns and Hill had 7 catches with 119 yards and a touchdown. Holmes went 13 of 21 for 175 yards and touchdown but had two interceptions and a fumble.
King & Queen (5-0) is the leader of the Tidewater district for now being undefeated and will go into their bye week. They will travel to Mathews on October 11th. Middlesex (4-1) will host Northampton on Friday.
KING & QUEEN 0 0 7 14 - 21
MIDDLESEX 7 0 0 3 - 10
M- Hart 1 yard run (Akers kick)
KQ- Hill 40 yard pass from Holmes (kick)
M- 28 yard fg by Akers
KQ- Mills 11 yard run (kick)
KQ- Mills 2 yard run (kick)
Demond Claiborne rallied the Cavaliers but they couldn't hold on. (Pic courtesy of Chris Rose)
WASHINGTON & LEE 32 KING WILLIAM 29
Special teams were big as Craig Shepherd Jr. got the Eagles believing with a 90 yard kick-off return. Then when the Eagles thought they may have had the game in hand, Demond Claiborne struck with a 97 yard punt return for the go ahead score. However Eagles would answer fulfilling the upset quest over the Cavaliers when Christian Mountjoy hit Shane McNeil for the 29 yard touchdown to pull off the upset. King William's passing game wasn't as sharp in this game as Eagles defense forced Cavalier quarterback Lance Alfonso into throwing 3 interceptions on the night. Claiborne had a big game in the losing effort with 21 carries for 158 yards and 4 touchdowns.
WASHINGTON & LEE 12 6 0 14 - 32
KING WILLIAM 6 0 15 8 - 29
KW- Claiborne 70 yard run (run failed)
WL- Shepherd 90 yard kick -off return (kick failed)
WL- Reynolds 2 yard run (kick failed)
WL- Kelly 16 yard run (kick failed)
KW- Claiborne 15 yard run (J. Robinson run)
KW- Claiborne 4 yard run (Lynch kick)
WL- Kelly 2 yard run (Kelly run)
KW- Claiborne 97 yard punt return (Shelton run)
WL- McNeil 29 yard pass from Mountjoy (kick failed)
RIVERHEADS 55 COLONIAL BEACH 15
Don't let the offensive wow fool you....the defending champions are defense first. The Gladiators starting defense kept the Drifters in check as they didn't allow the Drifters 5 yards. Zac Smiley scored 4 touchdowns on the night and Braeson Fulton added 2. Riverheads gets to flex their strength versus Skyline on Friday.
COASTAL PLAIN PLUS
Brunswick 30 Windsor 15
Central Lunenburg 47 Cumberland 0
Essex 60 Charles City 0
Greensville Co. 62 Surry County 19
Gretna 48 William Campbell 20
John Marshall 12 JR Tucker 6 2OT
Nandua 56 Lancaster 8
Nelson Co. 58 Altavista 42
Park View 14 Franklin 12
Rappahannock 55 Mathews 0
Sussex Central 40 Southampton 32 OT
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