We greet you from The Kennel in Suffolk, where the King's Fork Bulldogs (3-0) play host to the visiting Nansemond River Warriors (3-0) in a Southeastern District showdown between two teams ranked in our VaPreps Class 5 Top Ten.
King's Fork checks in at No. 4 in the latest VaPreps Class 5 Top Ten, while Nansemond is No. 8.
Here's our Preview / breakdown of the game along with Predictions...
Nansemond River (3-0) at King’s Fork (3-0) . . . Coming off a 42-28 win over Oscar Smith where they piled up 475 yards of offense, including 242 on the ground, the Nansemond River Warriors enter this Suffolk rivalry matchup with plenty of momentum. Of course, a season ago the Warriors erased a double-digit deficit to stun King’s Fork in overtime, 21-20. That one has certainly been sticking in the crawl of King’s Fork, making this game they’ve circled for about ten months.
While Nansemond River comes in with a prolific offense that’s balanced and putting up 45.3 points per game, the Bulldogs counter with a stingy defense yielding just 6.7 PPG with a shutout to its credit against Western Branch, which won the Region 6A crown last year. This game has some star power with King’s Fork led by junior running back JaVon Ford, who has rushed for 315 yards and 4 TD’s on 35 attempts to go with 10 catches for 110 yards and another score. From the QB spot, sophomore D’andre Artis-Boone has quietly completed just over 67% of his passes for 453 yards and 9 TD’s to go with 123 yards and a couple of rushing scores.
The Nansemond River offense features one of the most dynamic dual-threat QB’s in the area in Alkendric Overton, who transferred to them a year ago from Lakeland and is a four-year starter. Overton completed 21 of 36 passes for 318 yards and 4 TD’s two weeks ago in a romp of Deep Creek, plus ran for 110 yards and two more scores on 13 attempts that night. Three of his touchdowns in that game went to JMU commit Manny Ezeogu, who is just as much of a force on defense rushing the passer as he is catching balls offensively. Perhaps the x-factor is RB Nick Grier, who not only had an 83-yard kickoff return for a score vs. Deep Creek, but broke off TD runs of 73 and 45 yards vs. Oscar Smith.
Where this game could ultimately be decided is up front in the trenches. Roman Soriano is a beast for the Warriors, but King’s Fork is up to the challenge on the line of scrimmage with a host of players, such as Cameron McDaniel (7 TFL, 2 sacks) and the back end of their defense can do damage with Green Run transfer Kaevon Blanding, who has eight pass breakups on the year, and Darryl Wilson. Whichever defense can make the other offense more one-dimensional should hold the upper hand by night’s end.
Matt Hatfield Says – King’s Fork 20-13
Coach Ed Young Says – Nansemond River 28-24
... Updates to follow tonight here and via 'X' or Twitter as most of you know it @hatfieldsports
King's Fork checks in at No. 4 in the latest VaPreps Class 5 Top Ten, while Nansemond is No. 8.
Here's our Preview / breakdown of the game along with Predictions...
Nansemond River (3-0) at King’s Fork (3-0) . . . Coming off a 42-28 win over Oscar Smith where they piled up 475 yards of offense, including 242 on the ground, the Nansemond River Warriors enter this Suffolk rivalry matchup with plenty of momentum. Of course, a season ago the Warriors erased a double-digit deficit to stun King’s Fork in overtime, 21-20. That one has certainly been sticking in the crawl of King’s Fork, making this game they’ve circled for about ten months.
While Nansemond River comes in with a prolific offense that’s balanced and putting up 45.3 points per game, the Bulldogs counter with a stingy defense yielding just 6.7 PPG with a shutout to its credit against Western Branch, which won the Region 6A crown last year. This game has some star power with King’s Fork led by junior running back JaVon Ford, who has rushed for 315 yards and 4 TD’s on 35 attempts to go with 10 catches for 110 yards and another score. From the QB spot, sophomore D’andre Artis-Boone has quietly completed just over 67% of his passes for 453 yards and 9 TD’s to go with 123 yards and a couple of rushing scores.
The Nansemond River offense features one of the most dynamic dual-threat QB’s in the area in Alkendric Overton, who transferred to them a year ago from Lakeland and is a four-year starter. Overton completed 21 of 36 passes for 318 yards and 4 TD’s two weeks ago in a romp of Deep Creek, plus ran for 110 yards and two more scores on 13 attempts that night. Three of his touchdowns in that game went to JMU commit Manny Ezeogu, who is just as much of a force on defense rushing the passer as he is catching balls offensively. Perhaps the x-factor is RB Nick Grier, who not only had an 83-yard kickoff return for a score vs. Deep Creek, but broke off TD runs of 73 and 45 yards vs. Oscar Smith.
Where this game could ultimately be decided is up front in the trenches. Roman Soriano is a beast for the Warriors, but King’s Fork is up to the challenge on the line of scrimmage with a host of players, such as Cameron McDaniel (7 TFL, 2 sacks) and the back end of their defense can do damage with Green Run transfer Kaevon Blanding, who has eight pass breakups on the year, and Darryl Wilson. Whichever defense can make the other offense more one-dimensional should hold the upper hand by night’s end.
Matt Hatfield Says – King’s Fork 20-13
Coach Ed Young Says – Nansemond River 28-24
... Updates to follow tonight here and via 'X' or Twitter as most of you know it @hatfieldsports