Greensville County's offensive weapons wore down Sussex Central.
SUSSEX- A perfect night for football between two highly improved programs that happen to be rivals faced off for their game with the district title on the line. Both teams have bigger goals but this was also for bragging rights as the regular season winds down and focus switches to the path to a championship. Which team wanted it more tonight?
The teams felt each other out early but Greensville would be able to strike first with Kamory Sykes capped off a solid drive going in from 8 yards out and Jayden White would get the conversion to put the Eagles up 8-0 with 4:48 left in the 1st quarter.
Late in the 1st quarter, Greensville would have a drive stall and they decided to punt to Tyree Rose. It would be a mistake! Rose would show his superb athleticism and bursted out on an 86 yard punt return for the touchdown. After several penalties on the conversion, Rose would find Imir Clark streaking for a perfect pass to tie things up 8-8 with 34 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Tyree Rose scrambles for a good gain for the Tigers.
After a short squib kick out of bounds it would be time for the Eagles to get back to work. Starting at the 44 of Sussex Central, the Eagles would hand off to Kendel Blue who would find an opening and race 44 yards for a touchdown. Sykes would get the run and Greensville County led 16-8 with 25 seconds left in the quarter.
Greensville would come up big at the 5:13 mark on the defensive side when Corey Simpkins would pick off a Rose pass giving the Eagles instant threatening position at the Tigers 34 yard line. Blue would break a 20 yard run moments later and run the conversion to make it 24-8 Eagles with 4:12 left before halftime.
Kendel Blue cuts back into the arms of Tyson Garrett.
The Eagles would hold Sussex Central and would get the ball back looking to possibly run the clock out. They would end up leaving the Tigers with 16 seconds before the half. Sussex Central would capitalize as Rose would throw a perfect pass to Imir Clark in stride for a 50 yard touchdown. Halftime score would be 24-14 Greensville.
No good offensive production for the Tigers in the second half as Greensville got it in gear late in the 3rd when Sykes would go in from 6 yards out and run the conversion. Greensville would extend their lead to 32-14 with 2:10 to play in the 3rd.
Zykeem Fields gets good yards on a return and is forced out of bounds.
Blue would give Sussex Central life after taking a big hit from Clark, the Tigers recovered a fumble at the Eagle's 25 yard line and then an unsportsmanlike penalty moved the ball to the 11 yard line early in the 4th. Sussex Central would not be able to cash in the gift and would end up going in the opposite direction as the home crowd could sense it was coming to an end. Blue would end all hope with an 11 yard run to make it a 24-point lead with 5:32 to play in the game.
Despite the Eagle fan's debates, it was clear that Blue fumbled the ball in the foggy 4th.
Greensville County was able to get plenty of pressure harassing Rose from the pocket. The Tigers were able to stifle the Eagles passing game but it was their ground game that was too much for the Tigers.
Next week Greensville County (7-2) will host and face another rival in Brunswick. Sussex Central (7-2) will face Surry County on the road in Dendron. Greensville should capture the 4th seed going into the playoffs for 2A while Sussex Central should retain the 2nd seed for 1B.
GREENSVILLE CO. 16 8 8 6 - 38
SUSSEX CENTRAL 8 6 0 0 - 14
G- Sykes 8 yard run (White run)
SC- Rose 86 yard punt return (Clark pass from Rose)
G- Blue 44 yard run (Sykes run)
G- Blue 20 yard run (Blue run)
SC- Clark 50 yard pass from Rose (pass failed)
G- Sykes 6 yard run (Sykes run)
G- Blue 11 yard run (run failed)
ESSEX 23 WASHINGTON & LEE 0
Known for their explosive offense, Essex reminded folks that they can play some pretty defense as well. Essex held Washington & Lee to only 89 yards rushing. Avante Banks was able to get the Trojans on the board with a 4 yard run and would run the conversion too to make it 8-0. Ashton Ashlock you find Banks on 34 yard touchdown pass in the 2nd. Takeyo Day Jr. broke loose for a 26 yard run in the 4th as Essex goes to 8-1 and will play in their very much anticipated game with Rappahannock.
WASHINGTON & LEE 0 0 0 0 - 0
ESSEX 8 8 0 7 - 23
E- Banks 4 yard run (Banks run)
E- Banks 34 yard pass from Ashlock (Day run)
E- Dat 26 yard run (Martin kick)
KING WILLIAM 41 WEST POINT 18
West Point took the lead early in the 2nd quarter when Shamus Simmons kicked a 20 yard field goal to be up 11-8. After that the Cavaliers awoke score 5 consecutive touchdowns to leave no doubt. The Cavaliers could have a chance to move up to the 5th seed where they would be likely to meet Greensville County. King William improves to 6-3 and will face King & Queen Central on Friday.
KING WILLIAM 8 12 14 7 - 41
WEST POINT 8 3 0 7 - 18
KW- Claiborne 28 yard run (J. Robinson run)
WP- Uzel 3 yard run (Gonzalez run)
WP- Simmons 20 yard field goal
KW- Claiborne 2 yard run (pass failed)
KW- J. Robinson 72 yard pass from Alfonso (run failed)
KW- Young 38 yard run (Claiborne run)
KW- Claiborne 53 yard pass from Alfonso (pass failed)
KW- Claiborne 58 yard run (Lynch kick)
WP- Bigham 20 yard run (Simmons kick)
COASTAL PLAIN PLUS SCOREBOARD
Ameila Co. 49 Cumberland 0
Arcadia 59 Washington (MD) 0
Brunswick 33 Surry Co. 8
Chatham 35 Altavista 34
Colonial Beach 52 Lancaster 8
Douglas Freeman 42 John Marshall 6
Franklin 34 Windsor 0
Goochland 61 Central Lunenburg 13
Madison Co. 42 Rappahannock Co. 0
Mathews 57 Charles City 20
Nandua 52 Northampton 12
Riverheads 49 Buffalo Gap 14
Southampton 28 Park View 15
