J.R. Tucker’s mission was simple: beat Glen Allen to have a shot at the last berth in the Class 5, Region B playoffs.
No one would have guessed two teams that rely so much on their running attacks would end up in a ground-game shootout on Friday night at Glen Allen.
J.R. Tucker won 63-56, but the victory was all for naught. Mills Godwin’s shutout win over Deep Run and Meadowbrook’s surprising victory over Hopewell were enough to keep the Tigers (5-5) out of postseason play.
“We weren’t sure earlier in the week what that magic number was going to be. We didn’t think it would be 63. We did what we had to do and put ourselves in position to control the only thing we could control,” Tigers coach George Earle said. “We had to play the next play and keep scoring.”
The Tigers and Jaguars (2-8) combined to rush for 1,102 yards. Tucker senior Keyonte Thompson (5-11, 210) set a Richmond metro area record with 467 yards on 31 carries. The previous single-game mark was established by Paul Robertson (426 yards) of L.C. Bird in 2012.
Thompson scored seven touchdowns, one more than Glen Allen’s Devin Flowers (6-1, 230, sophomore) who carried the ball 33 times for 380 yards before being injured on a failed two-point conversion in the third quarter.
After Flowers was taken to the locker room in a cart, Jaguars quarterback Donovan Riddick finished with 131 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. He had just 5 yards on two carries in the first half.
Neither team’s defense had much luck in tackling Thompson or Flowers, the area’s leading rusher who finished the season with 2,121 yards on 292 carries.
The last four touchdowns by Thompson were 60-, 54-, 54- and 53-yard bursts through gigantic holes in the Glen Allen defense.
“I was just playing for my team. They were helping me with the blocks. Everything was just open tonight,” Thompson said.
A victory was “running through all of our heads. We had to come out strong. We didn’t come out as strong as we wanted to, but we got the work done,” he added.
Flowers scored from the 1-yard line with 3:04 left in the first quarter to open the scoring. A Tucker fumble on a handoff recovered by Glen Allen led to a 66-yard drive. Aiden Spitler booted the first of six extra points.
The flood gates opened in the second quarter with Thompson scoring from 8 and 11 yards and Jaivon Henley from 12 yards for the Tigers. Flowers scored from 7 and 57 yards. The score was 21-21 at the half.
Thompson, then Flowers, added to their TD count to start the third quarter. Tucker’s Patrick Taylor returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown before Flowers and Thompson alternated the next four scores.
Flowers was injured with 1:51 left in the third quarter. Thompson and Riddick alternated scoring the game’s final four touchdowns.
Asked after the game if he was tired, Thompson said, “No, I still want to play, to be honest with you
No one would have guessed two teams that rely so much on their running attacks would end up in a ground-game shootout on Friday night at Glen Allen.
J.R. Tucker won 63-56, but the victory was all for naught. Mills Godwin’s shutout win over Deep Run and Meadowbrook’s surprising victory over Hopewell were enough to keep the Tigers (5-5) out of postseason play.
“We weren’t sure earlier in the week what that magic number was going to be. We didn’t think it would be 63. We did what we had to do and put ourselves in position to control the only thing we could control,” Tigers coach George Earle said. “We had to play the next play and keep scoring.”
The Tigers and Jaguars (2-8) combined to rush for 1,102 yards. Tucker senior Keyonte Thompson (5-11, 210) set a Richmond metro area record with 467 yards on 31 carries. The previous single-game mark was established by Paul Robertson (426 yards) of L.C. Bird in 2012.
Thompson scored seven touchdowns, one more than Glen Allen’s Devin Flowers (6-1, 230, sophomore) who carried the ball 33 times for 380 yards before being injured on a failed two-point conversion in the third quarter.
After Flowers was taken to the locker room in a cart, Jaguars quarterback Donovan Riddick finished with 131 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. He had just 5 yards on two carries in the first half.
Neither team’s defense had much luck in tackling Thompson or Flowers, the area’s leading rusher who finished the season with 2,121 yards on 292 carries.
The last four touchdowns by Thompson were 60-, 54-, 54- and 53-yard bursts through gigantic holes in the Glen Allen defense.
“I was just playing for my team. They were helping me with the blocks. Everything was just open tonight,” Thompson said.
A victory was “running through all of our heads. We had to come out strong. We didn’t come out as strong as we wanted to, but we got the work done,” he added.
Flowers scored from the 1-yard line with 3:04 left in the first quarter to open the scoring. A Tucker fumble on a handoff recovered by Glen Allen led to a 66-yard drive. Aiden Spitler booted the first of six extra points.
The flood gates opened in the second quarter with Thompson scoring from 8 and 11 yards and Jaivon Henley from 12 yards for the Tigers. Flowers scored from 7 and 57 yards. The score was 21-21 at the half.
Thompson, then Flowers, added to their TD count to start the third quarter. Tucker’s Patrick Taylor returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown before Flowers and Thompson alternated the next four scores.
Flowers was injured with 1:51 left in the third quarter. Thompson and Riddick alternated scoring the game’s final four touchdowns.
Asked after the game if he was tired, Thompson said, “No, I still want to play, to be honest with you
