Blog Game Blog - Indian River 20, Deep Creek 14

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Greetings from James L. Frye Stadium in Chesapeake. It's a Southeastern District tussle with major Region 5A playoff implications as the unbeaten Deep Creek Hornets (6-0) visit the Indian River Braves (4-2). It's Homecoming for the Braves tonight.

Quite a bit of next-level talent on the field with LaMareon James, Cam Hunter, Lincorey Lucas and Tyrell Sprill among the stars for the host Braves. Deep Creek counters with Antoine Flora (3TD's a game), Ali Brooks (7INT's) and Liberty commit Gabe Fuster at linebacker, among others.

We'll have updates here all game long + on Twitter @hatfieldsports ...

 

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Before we kick-off, let's go through a bit of the pregame preview from earlier...


Deep Creek (6-0) at Indian River (4-2) . . . Two seasons ago when Deep Creek came to James L. Frye Stadium with an unblemished record under then first-year Head Coach Andre Twine, the Hornets erased a 19-7 deficit. They beat the Braves that night 22-19 and did it with a quarterback switch due to injury in the second half. Indian River got revenge last season with a 36-0 shutout. But this game is pivotal for both squads, given that each is jockeying for positioning in next month’s Region 5A playoffs.

Matt Says: Indian River 22-16
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Indian River 21-20
Coach Young Says: Indian River 30-21

 

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A deep squib kick by Deep Creek's Palmer Smith on the game's opening kickoff, and for some reason Indian River decides to field it inside their own 5. Ali Brooks drills the return man. So the Braves start at their own 5.

Quarterback Zakai Minggia hits LaMareon James on a quick inside screen and it appears that he may go the distance. That is until James fumbles around the Braves own 35, a teammate appeared to hop on it, but then it's Jaylen Jones of Deep Creek recovering.

Officials huddle and decide it's Deep Creek ball.

The Hornets start at the Indian River 46 with 11:43 to go in the opening period.

 

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Antoine Flora gained 15 yards on his first three runs, one of which was a pitch. But the Hornets pass on 3rd & 7 - a quick hitter to Braxton Williams - only gained 2. LaMareon James delivered a big hit. Then it was QB Jayden Bailey of the Hornets getting sacked.

 

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Huge run by Highter - nearly to the house - put the Braves right in business to where Minggia could keep it himself and find the end zone.

 

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After Indian River decides to kick it straight up in the air, Deep Creek begins its second offensive series at their own 37 with 8:08 left in the opening period. The Hornets looked to be going 3 & out, but on 3rd & 8, the Braves get flagged for pass interference.

On the two plays prior, Antoine Flora gained 2 and 0 yards. Kyontay Stephenson from his DE spot along with Teon Coston up front and LB Joseph Jackson all made key stops until that flag.

 

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While Deep Creek is massive up front, particularly on the right side of their offensive line with Toriano Combs and Jaron Concepcion, the interior of that unit is having a hard time keeping the Braves pass rush at bay. So on 3rd & 8, QB Jayden Bailey throws a pass that had practically no hope of being caught.

Fortunately for Deep Creek, an outstanding punt will pin Indian River at their own 5 for the second time in three possessions, here at the 4:13 mark of the opening stanza.

 

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Indian River's first play from their own 5. They get nothing on the run with Tony Highter. However, the next play is a completion over the middle to Tyrell Spurill, the Navy commit, from QB Zakai Minggia.

Minggia runs out of bounds for 5 and Highter picks up 4 to set up 3rd & 1. While the Braves move the chains on third down, the combo of Braxton Williams and Gabe Fuster drop them for a loss of 2 on first down. Then on 2nd & 12, it's incomplete. The 3rd & 12 pass to Spruill results in a no gain.

Indian River punts it away and Jalen Jones returns it to their own 40 with 48 seconds remaining in the opening period.

 

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Antoine Flora rushes for 3 to midfield to move the chains as the first quarter comes to a close.

 

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A superb pass breakup by former UNC commit LaMareon James of Indian River - easily one of the best plays I've seen him make... and he's had a lot of special moments in his HS career - is wiped away on 2nd & 6 because a teammate is called for pass interference.

That gives Deep Creek the ball at the 31 of the Braves. The Hornets get called for false start, and on the next play it's Teion Coston - the Norcom transfer lining up on the d-line for the Braves - sacking Jayden Bailey for a loss of 7. It takes away some of the run element for Deep Creek now on this series, looking at 2nd & long.

 

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It'll show up in the box score as an ordinary 12-yard run, but the play Antoine Flora just made for Deep Creek was tremendous. He slipped away from a potential tackler in Ryan Pyles and then got the second level of the defense where Joseph Jackson finally brought him down.

It turned what would've been 3rd & 27 into 3rd & 10. Indian River is then called for their third pass interference of the ballgame and we haven't even played 16 full minutes of action. Braves Head Coach Marcus Ferebee cannot be pleased with those mistakes, particularly two coming on third downs to extend drives.

 

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Gabe Fuster had an 18-yard reception on 4th & 20 for Deep Creek. That didn't hurt the Hornets going for it because they were past the Indian River 35 when they did so. Coach Andre Twine is playing field position right now.

The Braves go 3 & out. The accuracy out of the passing game was a bit spotty accuracy-wise on that series. They punt it and Deep Creek won't have to cross midfield to get a touchdown on the board.

The Hornets begin their 4th drive at the IR 38 with 5:51 till half-time.

 

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Deep Creek had a couple of solid completions with Jayden Bailey finding Braxton Williams. Yet, the Braves got the necessary stops and Deep Creek didn't help themselves with 2 penalties totaling 20 yards.

 

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Indian River starts their 5th series at their own 20. Tony Highter gets stopped for no gain, but on second down he shows some nifty running, weaving his way through the defense for 15 yards to move the chains. A quick pass to LaMareon James from Zakai Minggia nets 6. On 2nd & 4 though, the Deep Creek defense with junior LB Josh Jack sends Highter backwards for a loss of 3.

Coach Andre Twine of Deep Creek burns a time-out with 43.6 seconds till intermission as Indian River looks at 3rd & 7 from their own 38.

 

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So after the Indian River punt, the Braves got hit with a 15-yard penalty, then another 15-yard penalty moments later. Instead of the field goal try, the Hornets go to the air and the screen to Antoine Flora...

 

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Some numbers at the break...

HALF:

Indian River 7:
Zakai Minggia - 4-7 for 56Yds; 3Car. 10Yds. TD
Tony Highter - 8Car. 82Yds.
LaMareon James - 2Rec. 36Yds. (lost fumble)
Tyrell Spruill - 2Rec. 20Yds.
Teion Coston - 7 Tackles (4 Solo), 3TFL, 2 Sacks
Joseph Jackson - 5 Tackles (4 Solo)
Cameron Hunter - 4Tackles, 0.5TFL

Braves - 19 plays for 146 total yards (4-7 for 56 pass yards; 12 rushes for 90 yards, 1 lost fumble); 1 turnover; 5 penalties for 70 yards


Deep Creek 0:
Jayden Bailey - 6-9 for 66Yds; 4Car. Minus 16Yds.
Antoine Flora - 13Car. 59Yds; 1Rec. 11Yds.
Braxton Williams - 3Rec. 30Yds; 4 Tackles (3 Solo), 0.5TFL
Gabe Fuster - 1Rec. 18Yds.
Ali Brooks - 1Rec. 7Yds.

Hornets - 28 plays for 106 total yards (6-9 for 66 pass yards; 19 rushes for 40 yards); 0 turnovers; 3 penalties for 25 yards

 

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Deep Creek begins with possession to start the 2nd half, at their own 31 following Jalen Jones' kickoff return.

Andre Twine and company are content to play ball-control as their first four plays of the second half are all runs with Antoine Flora. He mixed in gains of 9 and 5, while the other two were runs where he got stopped behind the line of scrimmage.

On 2nd & 12, they go to the air with QB Jayden Bailey finding Braxton Williams, escaping a tackle, for a pick up of 15 into Indian River territory. That's a good job of staying patient to set up the pass.

 

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A well thrown ball by Bailey, finding Flora in a one-on-one matchup where he stutter-step at the end of the route, locate the ball and go get it before racing to the end zone for the last 20 or so yards of the play.

 

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Consecutive turnovers on possessions on fumbles - the first being forced by Deep Creek's Antoine Flora and the second on an errant pitch recovered by Indian River's Brent Stukes - keeps the score tied at 7.

We've got a good battle here nearing the midway point of the second quarter. Indian River is trying to pick up the pace offensively a bit as they face a 1st & 15 from their own 23. Deep Creek is liking the grind-it-out style, yet they aren't afraid to go to the air by any means.

 

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Fuster read the screen all the way and the pick-six could very well be the Play of the Game.

Deep Creek now has 3 takeaways this evening, two of them here in this period.

Remember coming in, this Hornets defense was giving up just 8.7 points per game. So there may not be a ton of opportunities to strike for the Indian River offense.

 

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Indian River is not playing around now -- they've motioned their most explosive weapon, LaMareon James, into the backfield and a couple of runs by him move the chains near midfield.

Tyrell Spruill then gets in the backfield and he breaks off runs of 13 yards on a pair of plays into Deep Creek territory. An even nicer gain by Spruill is called back on a holding penalty.

Minggia, while he has been mistake-prone this evening, has done a good job of selling the run with the fake and keeping it himself, scooting to the outside. But on his latest scramble, the Braves get called for their 10th penalty of the night for 105 yards.

 

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Wouldn't have a problem if Marcus Ferebee calls a sneak here with Minggia right behind the center to open the 4th period.

 

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Quick correction that was a 74-yard drive, not 82-yard drive.

Wonderful play by James to spin off a tackler and find paydirt. Putting together a long drive like that on the Deep Creek defense is no easy task. Job well done.

 

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Action getting intense and exciting here in Chesapeake... buckle up!

 

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They went with runs using LaMareon James and Tyrell Spruill, but then when they made the stop on 3rd & 2, the Braves decided to keep it on the ground with the QB. The Hornets were ready.

 

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Rolling in the pocket, Deep Creek QB Jayden Bailey finds Braxton Williams for a completion of 17 along the sideline. Hornets move the chains to their own 40 as we tick under 3:40 to play.

A toss to Gabe Fuster results in a loss of yardage as LaMareon James found him space with his closing speed.

 

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Deep Creek is in disbelief on 3rd & 11 that the movement up front is a penalty on the Hornets - false start - rather than encroachment on the host Braves. The toss to Antoine Flora gets nothing as Noah Wallace, Ryan Pyles and crew are there to stop him.

 

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Now the Hornets coaches are extremely hot as they felt LaMareon James touched the ball on the punt return that Deep Creek recovered. The officials say he didn't and their word is all that matters.

Indian River has it at the 50 with 1:22 to play and we're tied at 14-all.

 

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Zakai Minggia dodged a bullet as he nearly threw his second pick-six of the night to Deep Creek LB Gabe Fuster on 1st & 10 from the 50. They decide to go to the ground with LaMareon James and he gets about 7.

 

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31.9 seconds left - Indian River 14, Deep Creek 14. Braxton Williams stops QB Zakai Minggia for a loss of 1 to set up 2nd & 11 from the Creek 41.

 

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It was almost as if Spruill came out of a dark tunnel and suddenly put the jets on to the end zone. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was called on Indian River after the score and it'll be administered on the ensuing kickoff, which is critical because the Braves had their PAT blocked.

 

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Deep Creek - down 6 with 20.1 seconds to play - begins at their own 33. Five-wide formation.

Jayden Bailey completes it to Antoine Flora, who gains 9 and is tackled by Ryan Pyles. The Hornets burn a time-out and have 12 seconds remaining from their own 42.

 

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Here we go ... another 5 WR set.

 

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Do the Hornets have some magic left to get to 7-0 and stun this Homecoming Indian River crowd? About to find out.... Braves in total prevent mode.

 

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Brent Stukes with is 4th tackle of the game on Braxton Williams, who got the lateral after QB Jayden Bailey found Ali Brooks on the initial completion.

 

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Postgame Video Interview with Indian River's Tyrell Spruill:


Indian River's Tyrell Spruill chats after his team's 20-14 win over Deep Creek on Friday, October 18, 2019 in Chesapeake.

Committed to the Naval Academy, Spruill broke off the game-winning 41-yard touchdown with 21 seconds remaining in regulation.

With the victory, Indian River moved to 5-2 overall before traveling to Western Branch on October 25th.



Postgame Video Interview with Indian River Coach Marcus Ferebee:


Indian River Coach Marcus Ferebee chats after his team's 20-14 win over Deep Creek on Homecoming on Friday, October 18, 2019. His Braves scored the go-ahead touchdown with 21 seconds left as they knocked the Hornets from the ranks of the unbeaten.

With the win, Indian River ups its record to 5-2 overall and improves its chances of hosting a first round game in the Region 5A playoffs.