Blog LIVE Blog - Dinwiddie at Denbigh to Open 2018 Season

[matthew328826]

Greetings from John B. Todd Stadium in Newport News as the Dinwiddie Generals take on the Denbigh Patriots.

We'll have updates all evening long + tweets and observations. Stay tuned...

 

[matthew328826]

The 6-foot-tall, 205-pound RB/LB Dalton looked sharp on that opening drive, as did the Dinwiddie offensive line and QB K'ymon 'Peety' Pope, who was 3 for 3 with 49 yards passing.

 

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Denbigh goes 3 and out on its opening series, which began at their own 49-yard line with 9:24 in the opening period.

On the first play from scrimmiage, it's Jacob Edwards and freshman William Simmons sniffing out the Denbigh run play for no gain. Another young pup for Dinwiddie - sophomore Cedric Drumgoogle - was in coverage for the Generals to keep Denbigh from completing a pass to move the chains.

Punt time.

 

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Dinwiddie is well on their way to amassing over 200 yards in this opening stanza, and it's taking on a look similar to the 70-0 shutout they pitched in last year's season opener. Trey Reese came up with a catch that we weren't quite sure from up here in the box would be ruled one on 3rd & 5 that gained 29 yards and extended the drive. He's the big playmaker in the passing attack for Pope.

 

[lucustookis]

Matt, I'm here watching as well. Skipped our JV contest with Southampton to see how good Dinwiddie was. Well, needless to say. I've seen enough and I'm going home. Dinwiddie is.....dangerously good again. I smell a running clock.

 

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Dalton is having himself a night ... and I don't think he's done.

Rough count is 20 plays for 239 total yards for the Generals.

 

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We have our first turnover on the night as on 3rd & 12 from their own 33-yard line, Denbigh fumbles and it's recovered by D'Anta Johnson (6-1, 265 junior) of Dinwiddie. Up 21, the Generals have great field position at the Patriots' 25-yard line with 2:45 left in the opening period.

 

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That gives the Denbigh fans something to root about. Peety Pope was splendid to start, 3 of 3 out of the gate with some nice runs. But he's now just 4 of 8 and had a receiver open he missed on a crossing route, and was nearly picked off by Marion Fogg of Denbigh the play before.

 

[matthew328826]

Using a couple of different quarterbacks with Johnson as more of the runner and Hughes as more of the passer (though that would be debated on the 4th down conversion), the Patriots are showing some fight. That INT sparked them a bit. Interested to see if they can keep this drive going.

 

[matthew328826]

Certainly can consider this a 'growth' type of moment for Denbigh to create a turnover and cash in on it with a scoring drive. Coach Marcellus Harris has to be pleased with his team bouncing back when it looked like they could be headed for another 70-0 thumping like last year.

Meanwhile, Dinwiddie Head Coach Billy Mills wants to see how his group responds and to not let this linger into half-time where the game is still relatively close. Peety Pope will look to make up for his INT as well.

 

[matthew328826]

For the first time all night, in five offensive possesions, the Dinwiddie Generals decide to punt it away on 4th & 5 from their own 48.

Denbigh takes over at their own 10-yard line with 7:47 before the half, trailing 21-7.

Peety's accuracy has been a bit off these past couple of series' for the Generals.

 

[matthew328826]

The Dinwiddie secondary is making plays this evening as Luccess gets a pick and Robert Barlow has a pair of pass breakups. Now it'll be interesting to see if Denbigh starts to press a bit while alternating the two quarterbacks in Hughes and Johnson.

Another note -- senior LB Jordan Bracey has a couple tackles for loss for Dinwiddie and Jacob Edwards up front has been very active as well.

 

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The Dinwiddie secondary has played the ball well in flight tonight and now they have a chance to extend their lead before the break. Look for the Generals to up the tempo here.

 

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That touchdown was set up by a beautiful 28-yard run from K'ymon 'Peety' Pope, who has made up for a bit of an inconsistent night throwing the ball with some nifty plays on his feet.

 

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Dinwiddie has gotten a strong night from Dalton on the ground. Simmons and Bracey have stood out in the defensive front.

Denbigh has missed a couple of key components due to injury - junior WR/DB Kaheem Scott and junior RB/LB J'Shun Taylor-Rumph. Both are out with ankle injuries. Without Taylor, the running game, which seldom is a forte for an offense that is usually pass-driven, has struggled to get anything going.

 

[matthew328826]

Those type of mistakes are killer. Certainly getting back in a game down 35-7 seems highly unlikely, but mental errors such as those will hurt Denbigh in some close ballgames, and I envision they will have a few opportunities against Peninsula District foes.

 

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To me, the 3 Stars of the Night for Dinwiddie have been Dalton, Luccess and Barlow. Even with the running clock, Dinwiddie continues to add its lead.

 

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End 3rd Quarter - Dinwiddie 49, Denbigh 7.

 

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Dinwiddie, even though they brought back about only 8 starters from last year, is flexing its muscles now. They've also een able to insert their backup QB, junior Colby Slade (6-0, 150), and give K'ymon 'Peety' Pope a rest before next week's trip to Smithfield.

Not too far off in the distance is a much anticipated showdown for the Generals and reigning three-time State Champ Salem on September 7th. That'll be at Dinwiddie. Salem won the encounter in the 2016 State Championship, while Dinwiddie exacted revenge in the regular season last year at Salem. Both of those games were decided by less than a touchdown, and once again the two heavyweights figure to play another evenly matched ballgame.

 

[matthew328826]

Okay, time to give the kickers a little bit of love. Justin Davis, filling the shoes of All-State place-kicker Todd Anspach who graduated, is now 9-for-9 in extra point tries. So for any Dinwiddie fans wondering about how they'd replace a reliable guy in Anspach that made the game-winning field goal in their thrilling playoff win over Eastern View, the sophomore Davis is doing just fine.

 

[matthew328826]

Things have gone from bad to worse for Denbigh with their 5th turnover on a fumble with 4:18 remaining. Dinwiddie recovers at the Denbigh 34-yard line as the Generals lead comfortably 63-7.

 

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Final Stats and many thanks to Marcus Morgan and the folks from StatVA for providing these for us...

 

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Postgame Video Interview with Dinwiddie Coach Billy Mills:


Postgame Video Intervie with Dinwiddie's Tyre' Dalton: