Blog LIVE Blog - Western Branch (5-1) at Indian River (2-1)

[matthew328826]

Greetings from James L. Frye Stadium in Chesapeake, where the Indian River Braves (2-1) from Region 5A play host to the Western Branch Bruins (5-1) out of Region 6A.

A quick look at tonight's matchup from our Predictions on the V.I.P. Board...

Western Branch (5-1) at Indian River (2-1) . . . Even in just three games, sophomore QB Tyler Allison of Indian River has already thrown for 459 yards and 5 TD's. He's also been picked off five times, so Bruins defenders like Kaleb Broadbent (4 INT's) and Paul Billups as well as LB Desmond Cook will try to make him pay when he tests them down the field. Moreover, this one could come down to how well the Braves tackle Western Branch RB Shimique Blizzard (91Att. 701Yds. 9 TD's), who figures to be in pursuit of the area and Southeastern District rushing crown by season's end.

Matt Hatfield Says - Western Branch 27-19
Coach Ed Young Says – Indian River 22-18

So a lot on the line in this one since Coach Young and I disagree on this and my lead is six games coming into the night.

... Follow updates here and via Twitter @hatfieldsports

 

[matthew328826]

Bobby Pridgen returns the opening kickoff for Indian River 34 yards to the Braves 40-yard line. So they'll have pretty decent field position, once the smoke clears here and they figure out what to do since the box for the first down marker broke.

Tyler Allison's first pass along the sideline is incomplete, intended for Deante Newsome, one of Indian River's standouts on defense from his linebacker spot. Against the single highs safety look of the Western Branch defense, the Braves run the ball for 6 with Daeshawn Nixon, a sophomore with a lot of promise. On 3rd & 4, the flare pass is incomplete.

Allison's punt is return to the Western Branch 26, where the Bruins begin with 10:51 to go in the opening rame.

 

[matthew328826]

Following an Indian River encroachment penalty, Western Branch's pass on 1st & 5 down the seam is incomplete, intended for Devin Cook. Had he been able to haul that in, he would've gained about 20-plus yards. A couple plays later on 3rd & 1, QB Taquan Trotman gets to the edge for the necessary yard to move the sticks.

Another 3rd & 3 comes up after a sweep by Christian Copeland gets 3. They hand it off to Shimique Blizzard, who gains 9 yards to the Indian River 48. Drive is going well so far for the visiting Bruins.

 

[matthew328826]

Taquan Trotman, the junior that transferred to Western Branch from Norview in the off-season, is off the mark on consecutive passes. That brings up another third down - 3rd & 10 - from the Indian River 48 as it is probably two-down territory here.

A run of 7 up the middle brings up 4th & 3.

 

[matthew328826]

Lomba was basically in the backfield by the time Shimique Blizzard receives the hand-off.

Indian river moves the sticks with an 8-yard pass from sophomore Tyler Allison to fellow 10th grader Malachi Hinton, who then rushes for 5 yards. Jaden Tucker makes a sack for a loss of 3 on Allison. Daeshawn Nixon runs for 2, then on 3rd & 11 it's Christopher 'CJ' Fraser making a really fine play defensively to break up an intended pass for Deante Newsome.

Allison's quick-kick punt goes out at the 4-yard line of Western Branch, where the Bruins start their second series with 4 minutes exactly left in the opening quarter.

 

[matthew328826]

Indian River Coach Marcus Ferebee is playing the field position game right now with Western Branch and it seems to be working. After Bruins QB Taquan Trotman is dropped for a loss of 3 back to his own 1, his pass on second down is incomplete. A dangerous run to the outside on 3rd & 13 from their own 1 with Shimique Blizzard gets about 10. That means 3 & out and punting time for Western Branch... but not before Indian River burns a time-out.

 

[matthew328826]

A freaky catch by the basketball player turned football athlete in 6'5" senior Zion Lloyd down the right sideline as Indian River begins its third series at their own 41 with 2:20 to go in the opening period... suddenly they find themselves in Western Branch territory. They get to the Western Branch 20 off that play, but a false start pushes them back 5. A tackle for loss and a penalty will bring up 3rd & 14 from the WB 24 when we begin the 2nd period.

 

[matthew328826]

Jaden Tucker sacks Tyler Allison for a loss of 2 and on 4th & 16, the pass by Allison in the end zone is incomplete.

So Western Branch begins its third series at their own 26 with 11:08 left in the first half. Taquan Trotman missed on his first four passes of the night, but his fifth one - albeit not the prettiest looking one - is caught by Christian Copeland, who gets some nice YAC. That's yards after the catch. The end result is a 36-yard gain to the Braves 38.

 

[matthew328826]

A really well-designed and executed play by Rashad Cook and his staff. Trotman was rolling to his right, threw it back the other way, where Shimique Blizzard basically coasted his way in down the far sideline. Deante Newsome is lining up to the side where Blizzard is, and if the Bruins diagnose it properly and get blocking to it, they can find a couple of big plays.

 

[matthew328826]

Following a 19-yard kickoff return by Indian River, the Braves strike for a big play on a screen from Tyler Allison to fellow sophomore Malachi Hinton, who slips away from a tackle and gains 36 yards down to the Bruins 34. Allison has 83 yards on three completions, two of which have been to Hinton.

The Braves see a couple of negative plays, including a sack on 3rd & 9 by Jaden Tucker and Brian Auston. That forces them to quick-kick punt again with Allison.

Western Branch's fourth possession will start at their own 14 with 6:34 to go in the half. If the Braves cannot get the senior DE Tucker blocked, they'll continue to have a hard time finishing drives off of first down and spark plays.

 

[matthew328826]

Western Branch goes 3 & out and will punt away from their own 16 on 4th & 8 with 5:06 to go in the first half. Antonio Lomba made a good tackle on second down, but what really doomed the drive even more than the incomplete on 3rd & 8 was a loss of two on a quick screen to Paul Billups Jr. - a Class of 2023 talent who is getting plenty of attention from Power 5 schools.

Instead of Donovan Owens getting 42 yards on a punt return to put the Braves in business at the Western Branch 10, a block in the back penalty will keep them in their own territory.

 

[matthew328826]

Penalties continue to plague Indian River. It's not quite as bad as last night's Kecoughtan / Bethel game that had upwards of 30 combined by the two teams. Nonetheless, the latest holding backs the Braves up 14 yards and an incomplete on a screen makes it 2nd & 24 from their own 26.

Indian River has five penalties for 44 yards. None have been called on Western Branch thus far.

The Braves get bottled up with Desmond Cook making a tackle for loss on third down. Paul Billups Jr. returns the punt 13 yards to the Braves 47, where the Bruins begin their fifth series with 3:20 till the half.

Shimique Blizzard wants to build on this 7-0 half-time lead for the Bruins as he breaks off a very smooth 11-yar run, then gets tripped up by the turf monster to keep him from breaking off another long gain.

 

[matthew328826]

Blizzard is starting to find his groove now -- up to 79 yards on 11 carries after being held to 28 yards on his first seven attempts.

With 1:37 before the half, Indian River is playing with some urgency on offense. Daeshawn Nixon breaks off runs of 18 and 7, the ladder where he fumbled before a teammate scoops it up. But Deonte Brickhouse will sack Allison and the game clock ticks under 20 seconds left in the half. The Braves are content to run it for 6 yards with Nixon to go to the half, trailing 14-0.

 

[matthew328826]

More to come in a bit... stay tuned!

 

[matthew328826]

Let's take a closer look at the numbers...

Stats at the Half:

Western Branch 14:
Shimique Blizzard - 11Car. 79Yds. TD; 1Rec. 39Yds. TD
Taquan Trotman - 3-8 for 75Yds; 3Car. 2Yds.
Christian Copeland - 1Rec. 36Yds.
Jaden Tucker - 7 Tackles, 3 TFL, 2.5 Sacks
Desmond Cook - 5 Tackles, 0.5 TFL
Christopher Fraser - 4 Tackles, PBU

Bruins - 23 plays for 159 total yards (84 rush yards, 3-8 for 75 pass yards); 0 turnovers; 0 penalties


Indian River 0:
Tyler Allison - 5-10 for 82Yds.
Daeshawn Nixon - 8Car. 47Yds.
Malachi Hinton - 2Rec. 44Yds; 1Car. 5Yds.
Zion Lloyd - 1Rec. 39Yds.
Antonio Lomba - 4 Tackles, TFL
Deante Newsome - 4 Tackles

Braves - 24 plays for 112 total yards (14 carries for 30 rush yards; 5-10 for 82 pass yards); 0 turnovers; 5 penalties for 44 yards

 

[matthew328826]

Western Branch puts together a solid drive to begin the 2nd half with Taquan Trotman finding Paul Billups one-on-one down the sideline for a completion of 32 yards into Indian River territory being the highlight play... until a fumble on a run up the middle is recovered by the Braves. The combo of Deante Newsome and fellow senior Tyrique McKinney enabling the Braves to get the game's first takeaway.

Indian River takes over at their own 24 with 8:18 to go in the third quarter. The Braves go 3 & out as Tyler Allison punts it out of bounds at the Western Branch 41.

The Bruins have it with 7:28 left in the third quarter, sensing they can put this one out of reach with a scoring drive.

 

[matthew328826]

Western Branch moved into Indian River territory on a Christopher 'CJ' Fraser 21-yard catch from Taquan Trotman. The Bruins were in trouble a few plays, but on 3rd & 15 from the Indian River 41, it's Devin Cook with a terrific 15-yard run to move the chains.

A few plays later, the Bruins see senior center Michael Bowen go down with an injury. He is helped off the field with what looks to be some type of neck or head injury. Shimique Blizzard thought he had a 28-yard TD run, but a holding penalty brings it back.

We have a time-out on the field with the Bruins leading comfortably, 14-0 with 3:37 to go in the third quarter.

 

[matthew328826]

Jordan Harris makes a sack for the Indian River defense on 3rd & 16, dropping Taquan Trotman for a loss of 7. From the Indian River 40, the Bruins punt it away with Desmond Cook and the ball is downed at the Braves 16 with 2:33 left in the third quarter.

The Western Branch defensive line has been the story of the night, controlling the line of scrimmage and staying in the lap of QB Tyler Allison. They hold Daeshawn Nixon to a gain of 1 on a run.

Allison shows his poise with a completion of 7 to Donovan Owens, then on a key 3rd & 2, he runs up the middle for 4 to move the sticks. Only a tenth grader, he's certainly going to be among the better passers around the Tidewater area before he graduates.

 

[matthew328826]

The Braves are about to punt it away to begin the fourth quarter. Western Branch had three straight shutouts earlier in the season and came in allowing just 6.2 points per game. Their defense has bent a little. However, they've not been broken in key situations.

Western Branch takes over at their own 36 with 11:51 to play in the contest.

 

[matthew328826]

Disaster almost hits for Western Branch as on 4th & 22 from their 24, a bad snap on a punt rolls into the end zone, where Desmond Cook is able to get to it in time, take a couple steps forward in the end zone and punt it away to the 15.

Indian River has great field position, at the Bruins 15, with 9:23 to go and a score right here would allow them to make things interesting going down the stretch.

 

[matthew328826]

The Braves are not exactly taking advantage of the field position as Daeshawn Nixon rushes for 7 to bring up 2nd & 3, where Tyler Allison just misses his target in the corner of the end zone. However, the Braves get a break. Instead of them catching the left guard with a false start on 3rd & 3 to make it 3rd & 8, the officials huddle and declare encroachment.

That gives Indian River a fresh set of downs on 1st & Goal from the 4. Rather than run it, the Braves go to the air and Tyler Allison is nearly picked off by Devin Cook in the end zone. Would be wise here for the host team to run it up the gut here if you ask me.

 

[matthew328826]

Indian River avoids suffering their first shutout loss to Western Branch in the head-to-head series since 2009 and they really had to work for and earn that touchdown. Nixon has 62 yards on 13 carries tonight, and if they can incorporate him more in the offense, they have a chance to make their attack harder to defend.

Western Branch cannot go 3 & out here, and while Shimique Blizzard has the home-run ability to put this away, they have some receivers on the outside they don't want to forget about either.

 

[matthew328826]

What the Bruins did not need to have happen just did. It was about as bad as a turnover. They go 3 & out with Deante Newsome making the big stop on 3rd & 1 with Shimique Blizzard getting the carry, dropping him for a loss of 2.

Another bad snap - remember the center got hurt earlier - and this time Desmond Cook tries to run, but is brought down for a loss of 24 by Donovan Owens and Jordan Harris. More importantly, Indian River suddenly has the football at the Bruins 13 with 4:24 to go, only trailing by 7.

Wow. How quickly a game can turn.

 

[matthew328826]

The Braves got runs of 2 by Malachi Hinton and 6 from Daeshawn Nixon. They go back to Nixon for 3. The Bruins defense hangs tough with some stops from CJ Fraser, Jaden Tucker and crew. On 3rd & Goal from the 1, QB Tyler Allison bumps into a blocker, fumbles, but recovers.

This is the game right here...

 

[matthew328826]

Thought Nixon got in, but the Bruins defense really played that tough to keep him out by a hair. Great stand.

 

[matthew328826]

More to come later...