Blog Game Blog: Maury 40, Churchland 14 - FINAL

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Greetings from a chilly, windy Powhatan Field in Norfolk as the reigning Class 5 State Champion Maury Commodores (3-1) play host to the Churchland Truckers (3-0) in an Eastern District matchup with playoff implications.

Maury is trying to get one of the final spots in Region 5A, while Churchland with a win can lock up the top seed in Region 4A. The Commodores lead the all-time series 18-16 and have won four straight over the Truckers, including two in a row by shutout variety.

Updates to follow here on the Blog and on my Twitter feed @hatfieldsports

 

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The play that set up the score was Demonte Dunlap hauling in a screen pass from QB Eric Gibson worth 39 yards on the first play from scrimmage. A quick 4-play, 80-yard drive that took just 2:04 off the clock for the Commodores after Churchland's Brandyn Hillman put the ball in the end zone on a touchback.

Churchland takes over at their own 26 on the ensuing kickoff, which gained about 4 yards on the return, with 9:50 in the opening stanza.

 

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After Romero Hines gains just 3 yards and Brandyn Hillman, a sophomore with a promising future for Churchland, sees his first pass go incomplete, the Truckers find themselves in a key 3rd & 7 on their opening offensive series. They run to the trips side with Hines and gain 13 yards, approaching midfield at their own 42.

Maury is not as big defensively as they were in 2019 when they won the state title, but Jayden Hargett makes a stop behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of 1. Jordan Riddick then busts off a 25-yard run, again going to the trips side, as the Truckers are suddenly in Maury territory on the move.

 

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Romero Hines runs for 5 yards and Churchland is facing 2nd & 5 from the Maury 33. Then an excellent call by Dontrell Leonard and his staff as they go to the weak-side and do damage as QB Brandyn Hillman pulls it on the option as it sucks the defense in and he races to the end zone.




Of note - that 2-point play was not planned. The snap was bobbled, but Bunch alertly uses his speed to scoot into the end zone.

 

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Two explosive runs for the Commodores as they start their second series at their own 22 with 6:19 to go in the opening period. First it's Demonte Dunlap on the pitch taking it 26 yards near midfield. Then it's Ahmarian Granger - running from the QB spot instead of usual triggerman Eric Gibson - and he takes off for 14 yards into Churchland territory.

The Truckers lose outside contain again as it's Granger darting 11 yards to the 27 of Churchland. Formation wise, the Truckers appear a bit discombobulated. Dunlap adds 4 and Gibson rushes for 7 to move the chains to the Churchland 16.

 

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The Truckers defense holds Demonte Dunlap to a gain of 1 on 1st & 10, and then Eric Gibson's pass rolling out and intended for freshman Da'Vontae Floyd in the end zone is just a tad short. Churchland burns its first time-out with 2:59 to go in the opening period as they try to get a stop on 3rd & 9 with Maury threatening at the 15-yard line of the Truckers.

Maury Coach Dyrri McCain and his staff do a superb job attacking the weak-side with two receivers lined up on the strong-side, but going to the back side with a screen pass that Ahmarian Granger pulls in and basically walks into the end zone.




They ran Dunlap on a swing, the defense was baited to him, and that left Granger wide open.

 

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On its second offensive series, Churchland goes 3 & out. Senior linebacker Jackson Lott makes a tackle for loss on first down for the Maury defense and that set the tone. QB Brandyn Hillman ran for 4 on second down, but on 3rd & 9, his pass is incomplete. However, an excellent punt from Hillman, going out of bounds to the Maury for a net of about 38.

Maury takes over at their own 34 with 52 seconds left in the opening period.

 

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Maury's offense is moving the ball at will, doing so mostly via the ground attack.

 

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To begin the second period, Maury continues to move the ball with precision and great pace as Demonte Dunlap runs for 10 yards and then it's a simple flare as Ahmarian Granger finds sophomore Nathaniel 'Booga' Knox for a gain of 15 yards down to the Churchland 28.

The Truckers have not displayed great tackling, which is something they're going to have to clean up to keep this one close and have a chance to go to 4-0. Their defense was quite stout in wins over Norview, Norcom and Granby, holding all to single-digits... but this Maury offense has a lot more firepower.

 

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After failing to get a stop on the two previous third downs that Maury scored touchdowns on, the Churchland defense gets a much-needed tackle on 3rd & 8 from Tyler Edwards to limit Demonte Dunlap to a gain of 1.

Out of a Full House formation, Maury goes for it on 4th & 7 from the Churchland 25 as the clock ticks under 9 minutes to go. The pitch to Booga Knox gains just 4. Looked to be Xavier Barrett or Larry Campbell on the tackle for Churchland.

So the Truckers take over at their own 21, against the wind, with 8:46 to go in the second period. Here's a big chance to cut into the 14-8 Maury lead and gain some momentum.

 

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After scoring on their first offensive series, Churchland goes 3 & out for the second straight possession. To make matters worse, the punt is blocked and recovered by Maury at the 19 (believe by freshman Lavonte Bond) of the Truckers with 6:10 before half-time.

Eric Gibson's first pass on the next drive is incomplete. Then there's a flag before 2nd & 10, the game's first penalty with 6:03 to go until intermission, and it's an encroachment penalty on Churchland. The defensive ends are constantly being put in a bind tonight with how Churchland is approaching this Maury attack. Nobody is in the boundary more times than not for the Truckers. But the Truckers dodge a bullet on a 2nd & 5 screen that is bobbled and incomplete.

Ahmarian Granger goes outside and gets just enough for a first down on 3rd & 5, down to the Churchland 9. Granger's next pass is incomplete, then Coach McCain goes back with Gibson in at QB before 2nd & Goal.

 

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Wild play ... and that could've been a huge break for Churchland had they been able to recover in the end zone for a touchback.

Churchland does have solid field position as the Truckers recover the ensuing onside kick at the 50 with 4:59 before half-time.

 

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Sophomore QB Brandyn Hillman with a solid run of 8 for Churchland to set up 2nd & 2, where tailback Romero Hines moves the sticks by picking up 4. Hines has been doing double duty all night, leading the Truckers in total tackles with 7 so far (5 solo)... and he appears to be cramping up or getting tired a little bit.

Another good run from junior halfback Jordan Riddick. He's got 33 yards on 3 carries and probably deserves more touches. But then Jackson Lott comes through with a tackle for loss of 5 as Hillman doesn't give it up on the option read and in pulling it sends his team backwards.

Riddick gains 4 on the next play to bring up 4th & 3 from the Maury 31, which the Truckers badly needs to get with 1:30 left on the clock until intermission. Remember, Churchland gets the ball first to begin the 2nd half.

 

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Churchland shows a Trips right look on 4th & 3, but before they can snap it and likely run to that side, the Truckers move up front and get whistled for false start. That backs them up 5, and Maury HC Dyrri McCain uses a time-out so that he and DC Mike Privott can get their defense set up right for what will probably now be a pass on 4th & 8 from the 36.

Before Churchland can snap it, Maury gets flagged for its first penalty of the night as the encroachment moves them up to bring up 4th & 3.

Brandyn Hillman throws it up to Key'shaun Boone with Casey Jones covering one-on-one and it looks like it might be a TD... but he's unable to haul it in on the long shot. So Maury's fifth series starts at their own 31 with 1:20 before half-time.

 

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A terrible series for Maury - up 21-8 with a minute and change to go in the first half - as they see QB Eric Gibson throw two incomplete passes that take basically no time off the clock. Then on 3rd & 10, out of an empty five-wide set, Gibson is sacked for a loss of 5 by Romero Hines. That allows Churchland to use its final time-out with 56 seconds to go and potentially get the ball back here with a chance to get some points before the break, plus Churchland receives the 2nd half kick-off.

Strangely enough... Maury is leaving its offense on the field here! Cannot believe what I'm seeing.

 

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Maury was just lining up to see if they'd get Churchland to jump, which did not happen. The Commodores used one of their two remaining time-outs before trotting out its punt team with 56 seconds left in the first half.

A magnificent 54-yard punt from Luca Weber, showing why he's been an All-State and All-Tidewater performer previously.

Churchland takes over at their own 20 with 44 seconds, not feeling as confident about getting points before the break now following that superb boot.

 

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Some numbers to come shortly...

 

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Stats at the Half:

Maury 21:
Eric Gibson - 2-8 for 54Yds. 1-0 TD/Int. ratio; 3Car. 9Yds.
Ahmarian Granger - 1-2 for 15Yds; 6Car. 73Yds. TD; 1Rec. 15Yds. TD
Demonte Dunlap - 8Car. 56Yds; 1Rec. 39Yds.
Nathaniel 'Booga' Knox - 1Rec. 15Yds; 1Car. 4Yds; 3 Tackles
Jackson Lott - 4 Tackles, 2 Solo TFL
Da'Vontae Floyd - 3 Tackles, fumble recovery in end zone for TD

Commodores - 28 plays for 211 total yards (18 rushes for 142 yards; 3-10 for 69 pass yards); 0 turnovers; 1 penalty for 5 yards


Churchland 8:
Brandyn Hillman - 5Car. 33Yds. TD; 0-3 passing
Jordan Riddick - 4Car. 37Yds.
Romero Hines - 5Car. 19Yds; 8 Tackles (6 Solo), Sack
Na'Shawn Bunch - 3 Solo Tackles
Tyler Edwards - 3 Solo Tackles

Truckers - 20 plays for 86 total yards (17 rushes for 86 yards; 0 of 3 passing); 0 turnovers; 2 penalties for 10 yards

 

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Maury kicks the ball out of bounds to begin the 2nd half, so Churchland starts at their own 35.

Brandyn Hillman does a really good job of pulling on the option read and gains 4 yards, plus a personal foul is called on Maury, so that'll put Churchland on the other side of 50 before even running their second play from scrimmage of the half. On the next play, while it appears Keith Anderson has a tackle for loss for the Maury defense, it's a face-mask penalty that puts the Truckers to the 33.

Then the offensive line gets great push and Churchland finds the end zone.

 

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Penalties by Maury really aided the Truckers getting their second touchdown of the night. If Churchland sticks the running game, particularly between the tackles, they can hang around all night long. It's all about avoiding those negative plays that put them in 2nd & long as well as 3rd & long situations.

 

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Ahmerian Granger continues to have his way slicing the Churchland defense as he darts for 20 more yards, nearing midfield and approaching 100 yards rushing on the evening himself with most of the carries coming on direct snaps. A pitch to Demonte Dunlap gains 14. No one accounts for the pitch man and now Maury is at the Churchland 38.

Granger gains about 4 or 5 to the outside opposite side, but a holding will bring it back for Maury. The Commodores are looking at 1st & 17 from the Churchland 45.

 

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Potential game-changing play there. Can Churchland capitalize?

 

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Churchland is starting to grind it out with the running game and the methodical attack is working and using some clock. Sheldon Carter gains 4 to bring up 3rd & 4 at the Maury 34. But out of shotgun, Brandyn Hillman doesn't pull it and Carter is dropped for a loss of 3 as the Maury defense buckles down after struggling to begin the drive.

Churchland leaves the offense on the field for 4th & 7 from the 37 of Maury, ticking under 5 minutes to go in the 3rd period. Dontrell Leonard doesn't like what he sees and uses time-out with 4:56 to go in the period.

 

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A host of Maury defenders make the stop on 4th & 7, wrapping up Brandyn Hillman right away for no gain or maybe 1 at the most.

On the very next play, the Commodores strike with a quick screen as Ahmarian Granger finds talented freshman Da'Vontae Floyd for 23 yards into Churchland territory. A few plays later on 3rd & 8 from the 25, Eric Gibson is in at QB and hits KT Seay for a completion worth just enough yards to move the sticks. They cap the drive with a touchdown run right up the middle to acquire some breathing room.

 

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That's the Championship caliber response shown by the Commodores just when Churchland was looking to drive for a game-tying or go-ahead score. The defense stops Churchland on 4th down and the offense pays them off with one of their best drives of the evening, mixing the run and pass nicely.

 

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Tayuon Reid drops Na'Shawn Bunch for a loss on the ensuing kickoff, and with 1:06 left in the 3rd period, Churchland starts at their own 20.

Junior Patrick McDowell applies pressure on 1st & 10 on QB Brandyn Hillman, whose pass is incomplete. The Truckers are still looking for their first completion of the night. Without much confidence in the air attack on this windy night, the Truckers stick to the run and Maury's defense is able to get a number of hats on the ball carrier on back-to-back plays to bring up 4th & 5 as the third period expires.

 

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A workmanlike drive for Maury as they begin at the Churchland 49 and Eric Gibson hits Ahmarian Granger for 11. Demonte Dunlap runs for 14, then 5 and then Maury goes to the air on 2nd & 5. Gibson hits freshman Da'Vontae Floyd - who is going to be a double-digit offer kid I do believe - for a 20-yard completion at the 1. Floyd did a good job of hanging onto the pigskin with Kaleb Gallop right on him. Dunlap finishes off the drive.

 

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And with Tallwood beating Bayside tonight on a pick-six from Xavier Jackson, literally moments after the Marlins defense came through with a stand on 4th & Goal, that means that Maury has clinched a playoff berth in Region 5A this evening.

Whether they go in as the No. 3 or No. 4 seed (likely depending on Deep Creek's result with Western Branch on Friday night), one can safely say that Maury enters the regional playoffs as the favorite in Region 5A.

 

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Churchland's running game is getting neutralized really well by the Maury defense here over these final 17 minutes of regulation. Jordan Riddick and Romero Hines had moderate success earlier, but several defenders are getting ot them.

However, a nice run of about 25 yards from Brandyn Hillman keeps the possession alive for Maury as we tick under 2 minutes left in regulation. Riddick adds a 10-yard run for his longest rush of the 2nd half. The game clock ticks under a minute to go in the 4th period. A holding penalty on Churchland and time runs out before they get one more score.

 

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More to come later...

 

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The title score is wrong

 

[matthew328826]

The title score is wrong

Fixed.