After another last second win vs Pheobus on Saturday and a loss by #1 Indian River, Lake Taylor starts this week #2 in the 757 Rankings.
(Edited after review of today's newspaper!!!)
Indian River learns from season opening loss
By LARRY RUBAMA and MARTY O'BRIEN
757TEAMZ
SEP 03, 2019 | 1:41 PM
Lake Taylor's Malik Newton, right, sheds a tackle from Phoebus' Kymari Gray, left, during the second quarter of Saturday's game at Darling Stadium on August 31, 2019 in Hampton, Va. (Mike Caudill / The Virginian-Pilot)
Indian River entered the season as the No. 1 team in Hampton Roads.
But the Braves stay at the top was short lived as they lost to Northeastern (N.C.) in the season opener. The Eagles (2-0) aren’t a pushover as they played for a 2A state title last season.
ADVERTISEMENT
Indian River first-year coach Marcus Ferebee said he wasn’t so mad about losing to the Eagles as he was how the Braves lost. Penalties, not capitalizing on turnovers and giving up 14 fourth-quarter points is what frustrated him in his first game as a head coach.
“The thing that I’m most bothered by is I know we should have won the game,” he said. “We were up 20-10 and gave up two touchdowns and lost the game. It would be a different feeling if we went in there and got your boots smoked and knew we had a lot to work on. But I know why we lost.”
Another major blow was a shoulder injury to standout Antwaun Powell-Ryland, who was The Virginian-Pilot’s top senior.
“He went out the second series of the game after he made a tackle and his shoulder came out of place,” Ferebee said. “It went back in itself but when he went back in it popped out of place again. He’ll probably miss one game.”
Ferebee gave the team the weekend off to regroup. The Braves have a bye this week. They return to play at King’s Fork on Sept. 13, host Nansemond River on Sept. 20 and then meet Southeastern District rival Oscar Smith on Sept. 28.
Ferebee said there were many good things to take away from the game, including the play of LaMareon James. The North Carolina commit had two receptions for 177 yards and two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
“He was just making plays everywhere,” Ferebee said. “He gave us every opportunity to win.”
Lake Taylor’s Foster does it to Phoebus, again
Lake Taylor quarterback Jeff Foster has proved to be the thorn in Phoebus’ side the past two seasons.
Last season he beat the Phantoms with a game-winning touchdown run with 17 seconds left. On Saturday, he kicked an 18-yard field goal with 4 seconds left to beat them again.
“I wasn’t really nervous because we’ve been kicking a whole lot in practice,” said Foster, who was the team’s holder last year before switching to kicker this season. “I just had to keep my head down."
Foster hopes this win will go a long way in helping the Titans this season.
“It gives us momentum and gives us a lot of confidence,” said Foster, whose Titans play Maury on Sept. 13 in a game that could decide the Eastern District title.
The win also was huge for the Titans, who play five of their first six games on the road.
“Yeah, we noticed that at the beginning of the year,” he said. “We’re just going to keep it going.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Maury impressive in season-opening win, not complacent
Maury dominated Bethel in the season opener with a 56-7 win.
But you wouldn’t know it by Maury coach Dyrri McCain’s demeanor on the sideline as he challenged his coaches and players even with a big lead.
“I’m staying on our guys even when we’re up,” he said. “It’s not about trying to embarrass another team. It’s about finishing the game and that’s what it’s going to take for us in the long term.
"So if my players or my coaches see that I’m comfortable with a game like this, then what’s going to happen when it is tight late in the game . . . I don’t ever want them to think that we’re comfortable.”
Woodside’s “other” Naotala is good, too
When senior Seth Naotala transferred from Menchville to Woodside it drew plenty of attention. After all, Seth Naotala, a 6-1, 220-pound senior, averaged 15.7 tackles at inside linebacker for a struggling Menchville team a year ago, drawing Division I offers from Howard and Delaware State.
Less heralded was the fact that younger brother Koa Naotala, a starter at inside linebacker as a freshman for Menchville last year, made the move to Woodside, too. Everybody knows now.
With Seth Naotala drawing triple team blocking at times in Woodside’s season opener on Friday at Gloucester, that opened lots of tackling opportunities for Koa Naotala and he took advantage. Koa Naotala, a 5-10, 190-pound sophomore, made 10 solo tackles and had six assists, for 16 tackles total, to lead the defense in the Wolverines’ 14-0 win over the Dukes.
“They (Gloucester) didn’t have enough linemen to keep up with both of them,” Woodside coach Danny Dodson said. “Koa is just like Seth (8 tackles) in that he’s smart, very agile and is strong from hard work in the weight room.”
The other standout for the Wolverines was wide receiver Ricky Key. The 6-1, 175-pound senior made four catches for 126 yards. Those are huge numbers for the run-oriented Wing-T Wolverines.
Key set up a touchdown with consecutive catches of 40 and 36 yards, the first on a curl and the second on a nice leaping catch in traffic. Wolverines’ quarterback Kahleef Jimmison completed 6 of 7 passes for 149 yards.
Freshman Buchanan stars for Warwick
Warwick had to replace virtually all of its top skill position players from a team that went 6-5 and reached the Class 5 Region A playoffs a year ago. If diminutive running back Bryce Buchanan’s debut is any indication, the Raiders should not miss a beat.
Buchanan, a 5-3, 150-pound freshman, ran for the seven times for 97 yards in the Raiders’ season-opener on Thursday against Newport News rival Denbigh at Todd Stadium. He also scored a touchdown to help the Raiders win 34-0.
LATEST
“He’s a multi-dimensional player. He can run between the tackles, run outside and can catch the ball out of the backfield.”
Elijah Smith had a fine debut as starting quarterback for the Raiders, completing 8 of 14 passes for 168 yards and three touchdowns, in addition to running for a TD. Standouts on a defense that posted the program’s first shutout since a 14-0 win over Denbigh in 2016 were linebacker Russell Collins (11 tackles, a sack and three tackles for loss), linebacker Aidan Adair (8 tackles, 1½ sacks, one forced fumble) and Israel Wellons (2½ sacks).
The Raiders venture into much tougher waters on Saturday when they host Lake Taylor at Todd Stadium
“They’re a good team, but we’re a good team also,” Hairston said. “We prepare for them like everyone else.”
Larry Rubama
(Edited after review of today's newspaper!!!)
Indian River learns from season opening loss
By LARRY RUBAMA and MARTY O'BRIEN
757TEAMZ
SEP 03, 2019 | 1:41 PM
Lake Taylor's Malik Newton, right, sheds a tackle from Phoebus' Kymari Gray, left, during the second quarter of Saturday's game at Darling Stadium on August 31, 2019 in Hampton, Va. (Mike Caudill / The Virginian-Pilot)
Indian River entered the season as the No. 1 team in Hampton Roads.
But the Braves stay at the top was short lived as they lost to Northeastern (N.C.) in the season opener. The Eagles (2-0) aren’t a pushover as they played for a 2A state title last season.
ADVERTISEMENT
Indian River first-year coach Marcus Ferebee said he wasn’t so mad about losing to the Eagles as he was how the Braves lost. Penalties, not capitalizing on turnovers and giving up 14 fourth-quarter points is what frustrated him in his first game as a head coach.
“The thing that I’m most bothered by is I know we should have won the game,” he said. “We were up 20-10 and gave up two touchdowns and lost the game. It would be a different feeling if we went in there and got your boots smoked and knew we had a lot to work on. But I know why we lost.”
Another major blow was a shoulder injury to standout Antwaun Powell-Ryland, who was The Virginian-Pilot’s top senior.
“He went out the second series of the game after he made a tackle and his shoulder came out of place,” Ferebee said. “It went back in itself but when he went back in it popped out of place again. He’ll probably miss one game.”
Ferebee gave the team the weekend off to regroup. The Braves have a bye this week. They return to play at King’s Fork on Sept. 13, host Nansemond River on Sept. 20 and then meet Southeastern District rival Oscar Smith on Sept. 28.
Ferebee said there were many good things to take away from the game, including the play of LaMareon James. The North Carolina commit had two receptions for 177 yards and two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
“He was just making plays everywhere,” Ferebee said. “He gave us every opportunity to win.”
Lake Taylor’s Foster does it to Phoebus, again
Lake Taylor quarterback Jeff Foster has proved to be the thorn in Phoebus’ side the past two seasons.
Last season he beat the Phantoms with a game-winning touchdown run with 17 seconds left. On Saturday, he kicked an 18-yard field goal with 4 seconds left to beat them again.
“I wasn’t really nervous because we’ve been kicking a whole lot in practice,” said Foster, who was the team’s holder last year before switching to kicker this season. “I just had to keep my head down."
Foster hopes this win will go a long way in helping the Titans this season.
“It gives us momentum and gives us a lot of confidence,” said Foster, whose Titans play Maury on Sept. 13 in a game that could decide the Eastern District title.
The win also was huge for the Titans, who play five of their first six games on the road.
“Yeah, we noticed that at the beginning of the year,” he said. “We’re just going to keep it going.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Maury impressive in season-opening win, not complacent
Maury dominated Bethel in the season opener with a 56-7 win.
But you wouldn’t know it by Maury coach Dyrri McCain’s demeanor on the sideline as he challenged his coaches and players even with a big lead.
“I’m staying on our guys even when we’re up,” he said. “It’s not about trying to embarrass another team. It’s about finishing the game and that’s what it’s going to take for us in the long term.
"So if my players or my coaches see that I’m comfortable with a game like this, then what’s going to happen when it is tight late in the game . . . I don’t ever want them to think that we’re comfortable.”
Woodside’s “other” Naotala is good, too
When senior Seth Naotala transferred from Menchville to Woodside it drew plenty of attention. After all, Seth Naotala, a 6-1, 220-pound senior, averaged 15.7 tackles at inside linebacker for a struggling Menchville team a year ago, drawing Division I offers from Howard and Delaware State.
Less heralded was the fact that younger brother Koa Naotala, a starter at inside linebacker as a freshman for Menchville last year, made the move to Woodside, too. Everybody knows now.
With Seth Naotala drawing triple team blocking at times in Woodside’s season opener on Friday at Gloucester, that opened lots of tackling opportunities for Koa Naotala and he took advantage. Koa Naotala, a 5-10, 190-pound sophomore, made 10 solo tackles and had six assists, for 16 tackles total, to lead the defense in the Wolverines’ 14-0 win over the Dukes.
“They (Gloucester) didn’t have enough linemen to keep up with both of them,” Woodside coach Danny Dodson said. “Koa is just like Seth (8 tackles) in that he’s smart, very agile and is strong from hard work in the weight room.”
The other standout for the Wolverines was wide receiver Ricky Key. The 6-1, 175-pound senior made four catches for 126 yards. Those are huge numbers for the run-oriented Wing-T Wolverines.
Key set up a touchdown with consecutive catches of 40 and 36 yards, the first on a curl and the second on a nice leaping catch in traffic. Wolverines’ quarterback Kahleef Jimmison completed 6 of 7 passes for 149 yards.
Freshman Buchanan stars for Warwick
Warwick had to replace virtually all of its top skill position players from a team that went 6-5 and reached the Class 5 Region A playoffs a year ago. If diminutive running back Bryce Buchanan’s debut is any indication, the Raiders should not miss a beat.
Buchanan, a 5-3, 150-pound freshman, ran for the seven times for 97 yards in the Raiders’ season-opener on Thursday against Newport News rival Denbigh at Todd Stadium. He also scored a touchdown to help the Raiders win 34-0.
LATEST
- Elliott Duty overcame a slow start to build Poquoson’s football family
3h
- Indian River learns from season opening loss
5h
- There’s a new No. 1 team in the 757Teamz Fab 15 football poll
12:35 PM
“He’s a multi-dimensional player. He can run between the tackles, run outside and can catch the ball out of the backfield.”
Elijah Smith had a fine debut as starting quarterback for the Raiders, completing 8 of 14 passes for 168 yards and three touchdowns, in addition to running for a TD. Standouts on a defense that posted the program’s first shutout since a 14-0 win over Denbigh in 2016 were linebacker Russell Collins (11 tackles, a sack and three tackles for loss), linebacker Aidan Adair (8 tackles, 1½ sacks, one forced fumble) and Israel Wellons (2½ sacks).
The Raiders venture into much tougher waters on Saturday when they host Lake Taylor at Todd Stadium
“They’re a good team, but we’re a good team also,” Hairston said. “We prepare for them like everyone else.”
Larry Rubama
Last edited:
