Sussex Central's defense cooled down the red hot offense of Altavista Friday night.
SUSSEX- The fog may have filtered the vision but it didn't cloud the excitement generated in this match up as both teams produced as advertised. Both teams filled with athletes and speed. Sussex Central coming in as the top seed while Altavista came in as one of the hottest teams in the 1A playoffs. In the playoffs, mistakes can be costly as both teams found out.
The Tigers started out driving the ball down the field with a strong rushing attack. The Tigers would find themselves consistently facing 3rd and shorts and converting until the first of many costly penalties set the Tigers back where they have to throw. Altavista would hold as the Tigers long drive would result in no points on the scoreboard. That wouldn't last long however.
Quarterback Jacob Adams would immediately come out passing getting the Colonels into better field position. Soon after however, Adams would be pressured and would fumble the football. Treyvon Hall would gather the loose football and rumble through the mist for the game's first points. Mack Prosise would go in for the conversion giving Sussex Central an 8-0 lead with 1:46 remaining in the 1st quarter.
Following a stalled Colonel drive, Sussex Central would on the move again. Running by quarterback Malik Delk, Trevon Hatch, and Prosise moved the Tigers in to scoring position again. This time however, the senior qb would dash in from 7-yards out to make it 14-0 Tigers with 5:00 before halftime.
Altavista needed a jolt to get them going as they had been manhandled up to this point. Following a big hands to the face penalty that extended Altavista's drive. Adams would deliver on a backside counter keeper as he high stepped to avoid a tackle, kept his balanced, and raced down the sideline to energize the Colonel faithful with a 47-yard touchdown run with 3:13 remaining in the 2nd quarter. That run let the Tigers know that this game wasn't over yet.
Adams takes advantage of some rare space to ignite his squad for the time being.
The Tigers would get down the field quickly by running the football. Some miscommunication with the referees on a timeout would cost the Tigers 11 seconds after a big run. With 0:09 before halftime, Delk would roll to his right and deliver a perfect pass over two Colonel defenders into the hands of Tyrese Rose. While falling back Rose would lose grip of the ball in the endzone and the score would be 14-7 Tigers at the half.
In the second half, the Tigers would be plagued with penalties the help move the Colonels deep into Tiger territory. Mateo Maulbeck would make several big catches included a grab that would set the Colonels up at the 1-yard line. Adams would then take a quarterback sneak while Nick Boley made the crucial extra point with 6:41 left in the 3rd quarter. 14-14 tie.
Sussex Central would then respond quickly. Rose would take a hitch and race down the sideline 46-yards setting the Tigers up to retake the lead. And that they would do. Prosise would race off the left side into the endzone from 10-yards out and get the conversion to give the Tigers a 22-14 lead with 4:21 left in the 3rd.
The foggy conditions didn't hinder Prosise from eating up yards throughout the game.
"I was so proud of my guys because we came right back and responded." expressed Tiger coach Curtis Jefferson. "They showed a lot of character and could've laid their head down but they didn't. They said let's go."
Getting into the 4th, Adams would start to get pressured on a drive they would be hoping to give them a chance to tie the game again. That would not happen. Safety Marvin Robinson Jr. came up big with a drive killing interception with more than 9 minutes remaining in the game. The turnover was the first interception for Adams.
The Tigers offensive line ushered a punishing attack down the field. More key runs by Delk, Hatch, and Prosise would set the Tigers up for the state playoff clinching score. Delk would cap off the drive on a sneak from a yard out making it 28-14 with 3:57 left to play. The Tiger defense would do the rest as Sussex Central would get the ball again and run the clock out on Altavista's season.
Trevon Hatch brings down Adams for no gain on the play for the Tigers.
Prosise led all rushers with 114 yards and a touchdown off 24 carries. The Tigers out rushed Altavista 230 yards to 96. Adams had 63 of the 96 yards rushing on the night. Both teams had 5 penalties but the Tiger's flags were big.
Altavista finishes the season 9-4 and will return quarterback Jacob Adams and will try to produce a similar season next year. The Dogwood district is 0-6 (0-3 vs. Sussex Central) on the road in the playoffs versus the Tri-Rivers district. The Tigers are the only Tri-Rivers team to win on the road (1-5) in the districts playoff meetings with came in 2003 at William Campbell when the Tigers last went undefeated for a title.
Sussex Central (12-0) will host the state semi-final match up with George Wythe (12-1) out of Wytheville next Saturday at 1pm.
ALTAVISTA 0 7 7 0 - 14
SUSSEX CENTRAL 8 6 8 6 - 28
SC- Hall 35-yard fumble return (Prosise run)
SC- Delk 7-yard run (run failed)
A- Adams 47-yard run (Boley kick)
A- Adams 1-yard run (Boley kick)
SC- Prosise 10-yard run (Prosise run)
SC- Delk run (run failed)
Lamar Lucas would hit paydirt in the 3rd quarter but it was too little too late.
RIVERHEADS 55 COLONIAL BEACH 20
Brett Hostetler was able to take advantage of a defense focusing on leading rushing Harrison Shaefer and scored for 4 touchdowns on the night. Shaefer did score 2 touchdowns which all came in the 1st quarter which gave the Gladiators a 21-0 lead to end the first. It was the one thing Colonial Beach had to avoid in order to have a chance. Hostetler would score 2 in the 2nd quarter including a 72-yard punt return and Chase Armstrong would throw to Forrest Shuey for a 36-yard reception. The big deficit took the Drifters completely out of their game plan and gave them a 41-0 lead at the half. Riverheads will travel to defending champion Galax on Saturday which is a rematch of last year's 1A title game. Colonial Beach finishes the season at 9-3.
