Blog LIVE Blog - Princess Anne at Tallwood

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Greetings from sunny Virginia Beach - and I do mean sunny (it's a blinding sun, which is tolerable considering the temperature is 78 degrees instead of 98) - as the Tallwood Lions play host to the Princess Anne Cavaliers.

Both teams made the playoffs a season ago; Princess Anne in Class 5 and Tallwood in Class 6. Both lost on the road in the opening round with Nansemond River ousting PA, while Landstown eliminated Tallwood.

Tallwood is 14-1 the past 15 meetings against Princess Anne. A win for either of these two squads projected to finish in the middle of the pack of the Beach District could have that team thinking about a upper-tier finish here in 2018.

Princess Anne won the toss and elected to kick, so the host Lions get the ball first.

Follow updates here and via Twitter @ hatfieldsports throughout the evening. Stay tuned...

 

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A good mixture of run and pass with Tallwood being conservative and not that aggressive offensively. Senior QB Sebien Stone has strong command of the offense thus far with 18 yards rushing and a pair of completions.

A costly offsides on Princess Anne gives Tallwood a fresh set of downs. That's the second encroachment penalty on the Cavs this opening series.

 

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Sophomore Gunner White - new to the varsity backfield - making an impact early. Coach John Kepple is probably most pleased with how his offensive line created running room and time for QB Sebien Stone to operate that series. They lost one of their better linemen to graduation, tackle Josh Roberts (now at Lafayette College), but their unit handled the PA defensive front to begin the game.

 

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Princess Anne is not winning the battle up front, thus Tallwood is taking advantage and smelling blood in the opening stanza.

 

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The Tallwood defense - which we highlighted in our Predictions article brings back 10 players that started a year ago - has totally put the clamps on Princess Anne's offense. We've yet to see PA's sophomore sensation Tony Grimes - who had 5 INT's as a freshman - touch the ball offensively.

 

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So far, the Cavaliers have been handled in the trenches and they miss their big playmaking threat Darryl Jones, the co-Beach District Offensive Player of the Year. Jones played both wide receiver and running back on offense for the Cavaliers and is now at the University of Maryland.

 

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Princess Anne's defense comes up with an important stop on 3rd & 4 and Tallwood at the Cavs 49-yard line. Sophomore Jayden Truesdale did a good job of getting to Tallwood RB Taijon Yorkshire when he tried to string it outside. So the Lions will punt for the first time tonight.

 

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With 5:58 to go in the 2nd quarter, Tallwood maintains a 10-0 lead as Princess Anne is set to punt it away on 4th & 25 from their own 10-yard line.

Tallwood LB Khairee Abdullah is a candidate for Beach District Defensive Player of the Year and he had a big thump a moment ago. Additionally, Princess Anne is shooting itself in the foot with penalties - 5 now for 28 yards by my count unofficially - and had a bad snap from the center nearly result in a fumble.

So now the Lions take over on their 4th possession of the night at the Princess Anne 35-yard line with a great opportunity to extend their lead to three scores.

 

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A jet sweep for Tallwood's Isaiah Edwards nets 3 yards. Tallwood looks to throw a slant pass inside, but Princess Anne sophomore CB Tony Grimes shows why he's so coveted by colleges as he does an excellent job blanketing the receiving, playing with good leverge and not letting him get an angle to catch the ball.

On 3rd & 7, the Lions pretty much appear to be abandoning the run here with 4 receivers, trips right, or so we thought.. it ends up being a QB draw / keeper with Sebien Stone racing 32 yards to paydirt.

 

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A couple of sophomores have made an impression tonight for Tallwood in this 1st half. Earlier, it was RB Guner White. He has 6 rushes for 29 yards and a touchdown to this point. Defensively, Elijah Walden has 3 tackles thus far, one behind the line of scrimmage. He's listed as a 5-9, 165 pound DB. But everyone is getting a helmet to the football as 12 different defenders have recorded a tackle.

 

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It was hard from my spot in the pressbox to see who the initial hit on the sack, but Kamari Reynolds (6-0, 225 sophomore LB) was one of them in on the stop.

Princess Anne is searching for answers offensively right now.

 

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Stats at the Half:

Tallwood 17:
Sebien Stone - 4-6 for 8Yds; 5ar. 56Yds. TD
Gunner White - 6Car. 29Yds.
Addison Marko - 4 Total Tackles
Lions - 20 plays for 99 yards; 14Car. 91Yds. rushing

Princess Anne 0:
Tychaun Chapman - 2Rec. 10Yds; 1Car. 5Yds.
Cavs - 17 plays for minus 29 yards; 5-7 for 11Yds. passing

Key Stat - Of PA's 17 offensive plays from scrimmage, only 5 have gone for positive yardsage. On the other hand, of Tallwood's 20 plays from scrimmage, just 2 have resulted in a loss of yardage.

Chapman would be the lone bright spot offensively for the Cavs. He's a freshman that figures to be a big component in the year to come in chatting with Head Coach Jelani Fair before the game. They also see him as a threat on special teams in the return game, and right now they need some kind of jolt, perhaps getting one there, would awaken the rest of the group.

Tallwood's defense is simply playing lights out, reading their keys and assignments well with hardly any missed tackles. Two years ago, the Lions won their final seven games of the regular season to take a 8-2 mark in the playoffs, enjoying a surprise year behind a rock solid defense. This group has some similarities to that one, though it is just one half of football.

 

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When it rains, it pours. That's how it feels for Princess Anne.

Although, it is worth pointing out that it is a gorgeous evening, 74 degrees with a slight breeze say from the south to southwest that I can really dig folks. Need this weather the remainder of the year, please!

 

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White has 104 yards on 12 carries and 2TD's in what is definitely his breakout performance. Lot of credit has to go to the offensive line.

Let's give those guys some love...

Kasaun Duncan
Tyler Halliday
Chris Johnson
Anthony Myers
Miles Davis

Excellent job by them tonight.

 

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Kick would've been good from 40 to 45 yards, too.

PA is sitting at minus 46 yards.

 

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Princess Anne has something finally brewing offensively - it's sophomore DB/RB Tony Grimes with a 16-yard run near midfield. That is the longest play from scrimmage all night for the Cavaliers.

 

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Chapman is going to be a player to know for years to come and once he got daylight he was gone.

 

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Suddenly, Roberts has gotten in a rhythm. He's 9 for 15 with 105 yards passing - 94 of them coming in this half. Josh Hollins and Tychaun Chapman are starting to get some favorable one-on-one matchups down the field without safety help over top in enough time to disrupt the connection. The Cavs are on the move.

A big drop by the Cavaliers though, sitting at the Tallwood 24-yard line, and not wanting to call that receiver out by name, but he could've walked in the end zone and cut the lead to 27-12. That one will sting quite a bit.

 

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Just a terrific job by the Tallwood defense to bend, but not break. Zai Roberts was able to convert a 4th down with his feet. The Lions buckled when the chips were down and stood their ground defensively.

 

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Can White get to 200?

 

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Postgame Interview with Tallwood RB Gunner White & LB Khairee Abdullah:


Postgame Interview with Tallwood Head Football Coach John Kepple:

 

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Final Stats:

Tallwood 33:
Gunner White - 17Car. 191Yds. 2TD's
Sebien Stone - 8Car. 59Yds. TD; 5-11 for 3Yds.
Taijon Yorkshire - 5Car. 25Yds. TD
Isaiah Edwards - 1Rec. 2Yds.
Khairee Abdullah - 7 Tackles (5 Solo), TFL, Forced Fumble
Daequan White - 6 Tackles (2 Solo), Fumble Recovery
Demarco Manela - 5 Tackles (3 Solo), Sack

Lions - 44 Plays for 286 Total Yards; 33Car. 283Yds; 5-11 for 3Yds; 0 turnovers; 7 penalties for 53 yards

Princess Anne 6:
Azaiyah Roberts - 9-16 for 105Yds. 1-0TD/Int. ratio
Tony Grimes - 4Car. 14Yds.
Tychaun Chapman - 3Rec. 62Yds. TD
Josh Hollins - 2Rec. 30Yds.
Zaakir Brown - 9 Tackles (7 Solo), 2TFL
Chantz Baylor - 7 Tackles (4 Solo), TFL
Jakorian Barron - 5 Tackles (4 Solo)

Cavaliers - 39 Plays for 88 Total Yards; 23Car. minus 17 yards; 9-16 for 105Yds; 4 turnovers (4 lost fumbles); 10 penalties for 71 yards