Essex wins the 1A East Northern Sectional (Region) Final to advance to the state playoffs[/B]
TAPPAHANNOCK- The 1A East Northern sectional final was a rematch of two teams that were both ready to extend their season a lot further. Next Saturday one of the two would be playing for the right to go to Salem and play for the goal that has been thought of before even the heat of August. Some of that heat would have been more than welcomed last night as for the third straight Friday it was bone chilling cold.
The action on the field however was hot. Colonial Beach deferred to the second half as they wanted to set the tone of the game with their defense. Unfortunately, that would not work out very well as Dominek Broaddus would look toward the home sideline and find Rasaun Monroe for a 50-yard touchdown to make it 6-0 with 10:19 on the clock in the first quarter.
Colonial Beach came out fully loaded and healthy. The Drifters ran the ball effectively gashing the Trojan defense for yardage. 3 minutes later, Cameron Headley would plow his way into the endzone from 2 yards out to lock everything up at 6 with 6:23 to play in the first.
The Trojans would try again to go deep on their next possession but couldn’t connect on a few connections and turned over the ball on downs. Colonial Beach would respond as Lamar Lucas got more into the mix and would score from 10 yards out, Turner would get the 2 point conversion and Colonial Beach was up 14-6 with 1:15 left in the 1st quarter.
Essex would turn to Rasaun Monroe getting his first carries in the backfield. Brandon Payne would cap off a solid drive with a 3-yard run but the conversion was no good. 14-12 Colonial Beach with 8:50 to play.
The rest of the quarter would be filled with big stops as Essex stopped Colonial Beach from getting on the board on a drive where they Lucas appeared to be injured which was a blow as they had lost Headley earlier. Little did many on hand realize that the Drifters rushing attack would never be the same.
Essex had an opportunity to take the lead before halftime but fumbled inside the Colonial Beach 10. The momentum appeared to have shifted to the Drifters heading into the locker rooms.
Colonial Beach got the ball to start the 2nd half and couldn’t really get things going as the strength of Essex defense began to show as Teshaun Nelson and Malik Martin would make solid tackles to stop the drive.
“With Lucas healthy it could have been a little different,” expressed Essex head coach John Fulks. “His a tremendous athlete and will be back a few more years.”
Looking to takeover the contest the Trojans would press more on offense. Broaddus would zip a pass to Monroe in between two defenders. Monroe would spin out the grasp of the would be tacklers and race into the endzone for the 32 yard score. Robert Umphlette would kick the extra point to make it 19-14 with 6:29 left in the 3rd.
After a big hit on the kick-off by Ranaz Newbill electrified the home crowd and sideline, the Trojans took the life out of the Drifters. When they got the ball, Malik Martin would begin to find more daylight. Broaddus would get a solid run off a broken play to get the Trojans into striking distance. Martin would go in from 6 yards out. The kick would be no good and Essex led 25-14 with 2:47 left in the 3rd.
Trojan supporters were loud in the 2nd half.[/B]
The 11-point lead would be expanded upon as Broaddus on a beautiful playaction face would find Markeith Lucas wide open for the 4-yard touchdown pass. Martin would race for the conversion and Essex was looking for next week. 33-14 all Trojans with 6:46 left to play.
Colonial Beach would get their best looking effort of the 2nd half as Dez’John Parker got quite a few effective runs. Parker was able to bang through the defense and set the Drifters up inside the 30 of Essex.
Dez' John Parker ran hard as Colonial Beach became plagued with injuries.[/B]
Something would go wrong a run to the Drifter side line and Malik Martin would scoop up a fumble and jog 73 yards for the touchdown as many people thought the play was died. No whistle had blew and Martin alertly continued with the play making it 33-14 with 2:37 left to play.
Fulks added, “Defensively we took a lot out of them. And with Leo Gaskins not getting a carry, Rasaun Monroe and Malik Martin played great. I was really excited the way those two young guys played.”
The duo had 8 carries each with Martin leading the way with 70 yards and a rushing score.
Colonial Beach had 62 carries for 221 yards on the night but only completed 1 pass on the night. Turner led team with 21 carries for 87 yards.
Broaddus was 5 of 12 passing for 105 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Malik Martin ran hard versus the tough Drifter defense.[/B]
Essex with the victory would move on to the state semi-finals which will not be at Essex High School but will be at either King George, King William, or Middlesex High School next Saturday at 1pm. Essex will face the lowest seed among the two west winners who play on Saturday.
Altavista pulled away in the 2nd half as well as they defeated Parry McCluer 35-10. The Colonels will travel to Southwestern Virginia next Saturday as a possible state title rematch looms.
COLONIAL BEACH 14 0 0 0 - 14
ESSEX 6 6 13 14 – 39
E- Monroe 50 yard pass from Broaddus (run failed)
CB- Headley 2 yard run (kick blocked)
CB- Lucas 10 yard run (Andrai Turner run)
E- Payne 3 yard run (run failed)
E- Monroe 32 yard pass from Broaddus (Umphlette kick)
E- Martin 6 yard run (kick no good)
E- Lucas 4 yard pass from Broaddus (Martin run)
E- Martin 73 yard fumble return (run failed)
NOTTOWAY 6 KING WILLIAM 0[/B]
This game was expected to be a low scoring game but for Cavaliers it happened to be just too low. King William gave up a 1 yard run to JuJuan Lawson right before the half that pretty much sealed their fate. The Cavaliers had an opportunity to get on the board in the 3rd quarter as they got stopped at the 1 yard line. Devin Berry-Tucker could not get across the goal line. The Cougars can host next Saturday in Crewe if Brunswick wins versus Wilson Memorial. King William had a great season in Dylan DeHarts second year as head coach.
Jacob Jones was 6 of 11 for 106 yards and 2 interceptions passing. Austin Simons had 3 grabs for 66 yards. Camajae Peatross finished with 10 carries for 48 yards rushing. Jones did pick off Nottoway for his defensive interception.
KING WILLIAM 0 0 0 0 - 0
NOTTOWAY 0 6 0 0 - 6
N- Lawson 1 yard (kick blocked)
EXTRA POINT[/B]
Region A 2A hopes now lay with the Tri-Rivers district champion Brunswick as they face off its Wilson Memorial and their top rated defense. The Green Hornets have only allowed 52 points all season long. Wilson has recorded 7 shutouts this season and only one touchdown this post season.
This post was edited on 11/29 9:28 AM by TheSel2
This post was edited on 11/29 11:43 AM by TheSel2
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