Blog LIVE Game Blog: Bayside 39, First Colonial 0 - FINAL

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Greetings on a gorgeous Thursday night in September for Beach District Football. It's in the low-70's with a slight breeze, the sun is out and it's a much more comfortable evening for football than 6-7 days ago when it was steaming hot.

The First Colonial Patriots, under first-year Head Coach Ty Traister, try to rebound from last week's 8-6 loss to Kellam as they play host to the Bayside Marlins.

Bayside, coached by Jon White, is missing about 13 players due to, well, you can guess why...

The Marlins have not lost to First Colonial since 2006 in a 28-27 squeaker.

Updates here and via my Twitter feed @hatfieldsports throughout the evening.

It'll be FC ball to start.

 

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Joe Peterson makes a tackle for a loss of 1 for Bayside on the opening kickoff. First Colonial begins at their own 10.

Patriots QB Noah McNamara, a good-sized 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior, sees his first pass wind up incomplete. McNamara showed some glimpses a week ago against Kellam. They then see Daquan Smith get dropped for a loss of 5 by Javontay Martin, who Coach Jon White has been high on this off-season. On 3rd & 15, a quick completion to Khalil Hester gains 5.

 

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A great return by Griffin, a 2023 prospect with an ODU offer. He patiently let the blocks develop and used his speed to take it all the way. Not a bad punt by FC's Jalen Meekins on his 49-yard boomer either.

We'll see how FC responds from that special teams score.

 

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Bayside's kickoff goes out of bounds, so FC starts its second series at the 9:58 mark from their own 35.

Daquan Smith gets back-to-back carries and the second goes for 12 yards as they move the chains into Bayside territory. The Marlins look fairly undersized on the d-line, and of course, they could be missing a couple of key components among the 13 unable to play tonight.

Smith continues to take advantage, moving the chains a couple more times, including on a 3rd & 4, as the Patriots are amidst a nice drive now. from the 25, they give it back to Smith. He gains 8 more.

 

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Out of a time-out called by Bayside, the Patriots give it back to Daquan Smith, who has carried the ball 8 straight times with great success. He's up to 50 yards on 9 attempts, plugging away.

Javonay Martin off the edge drops him for a loss of 2 to set up 2nd & Goal from the 12. But Smith shows some good vision and patience as he cuts back on a carry to the right and picks up 7. On 3rd & Goal, QB Noah McNamara is sandwiched by two defenders, gaining a couple.

A time-out by FC before the 12th play of the drive, facing 4th & Goal from the 3, with 2:18 left in the opening period.

 

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David Hudnell and Kion Saunders combine to stop Noah McNamara short of the goal-line as FC watched a 12-play drive that took 7:40 off the clock come up empty.

Bayside takes over and three straight runs from Jalen Miller neat them 18 yards to dig out from their own 1.

 

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Already a couple of emotional swings in this topsy-turvy opening period highlighted by Bayside's Leon Griffin III with a huge return and Daquan Smith of FC with his tough running.

 

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The Bayside defense comes up with another key stand as on 4th & 9 from the Bayside 10, the Marlins prevent QB Noah McNamara from completing the pass. So Bayside takes over.

However, the Marlins go 3 & out and nearly throw an INT on 2nd & 10. Not a pretty offensive start for them.

Mike Myers - the Marlins junior QB making his first varsity start - punts it away for Bayside. The Marlins fair catch the punt, instead of letting it bounce, and FC takes over with great field position again at the 40-yard line of Bayside with 9:09 until half-time.

 

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Bayside has made a couple subtle tweaks / adjustments versus the run game of First Colonial and it has paid off with stops by Kion Saunders and Jalen Miller behind the line of scrimmage. It forces First Colonial to go with a quick-kick punt on 4th & 8 from the 38 of Bayside rather than go for it on fourth down for the third time this half.

Noah McNamara executes the quick-kick to perfection, pinning Bayside at their own 2 with 6:18 to go in the opening half. The Marlins would be wise to keep it on the ground for a few plays here.

 

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Bayside goes to the ground attack and Tajon Reese gets a crease and takes it 26 yards before he is driven out of bounds.

Reese goes 28 yards on a toss just a couple plays later, but Coach Jon White knows in between it should've been 13-0 as they had a perfectly play dialed up and just missed it by a hair. They went with the halfback toss pass, where Reese - who played some QB at times last season - threw it in the direction of a wide open Leon Griffin III. Only thing was he overthrew Griffin by just a hair, otherwise he could've walked in for a 72-yard touchdown.

FC calls a time-out with 5:38 left in the half as Bayside has it at the Patriots 44.

 

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A great sequence for Reese and on his touchdown run he had a couple of nifty and shifty moves, shaking defenders to create ample running room on his trot to the end zone.

The Bayside offense was in a bit of a fog for a couple possessions, but they seem to have gotten back on track. A fast 4-play, 98-yard drive in a matter of 54 seconds where nearly every play was a positive. The one that wasn't might've been the best one they dialed up, too.

FC's fifth series starts at their own 30 with 5:16 till the half, needing a score badly before the break.

 

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First Colonial moves the chains via Bayside roughing the passer penalty. However, the Patriots commit a penalty of their own and lose yardage on a bad snap to go back to their own end. On 4th & 7 from their own 48, the pass over the middle is incomplete and could've been intercepted.

So Bayside is thinking of adding to its lead now with 1:54 until the break, leading FC 13-0. They have it at the Patriots 48 and we'll see if they can get the passing game working.

One not so pleasant sight for Bayside is that Javontay Martin - who has 3 stops behind the line of scrimmage thus far - hobbles off the field after that fourth down stop.

 

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Bayside couldn't get the passing game going at all with the exception of a screen to outside receiver Aaron Evans. And in spite of that completion and an 11-yard run by Tajon Reese that put him over 100 for the game - on just four carries - the Marlins find themselves in a 4th & 22 situation from the FC 49.

QB Mike Myers of Bayside is tackled at the line of scrimmage by freshman Equan Averett of FC.

Fortunately for the Marlins, their defense comes up with their first takeaway of the night and season on the half's final play thanks to senior linebacker Jerhyn McClenny.

 

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Some numbers at the break...

HALF:

Bayside 13:
Tajon Reese - 4Car. 109Yds. TD; 0-1 passing
Mike Myers - 1-6 for 6Yds.
Jalen Miller - 5Car. 39Yds; 5 Tackles, TFL
Aaron Evans - 1Rec. 6Yds.
Javontay Martin - 3 TFL
David Hudnell - 5 Tackles

Marlins - 18 plays for 145 total yards (11 rushes for 139 yards, 1 lost fumble on backwards lateral; 1-7 for 6 yards passing); 6 penalties for 53 yards; 1 turnover


First Colonial 0:
Daquan Smith - 15Car. 50Yds.
Noah McNamara - 3-9 for 24Yds. 0-1 TD/Int. ratio; 4Car. Minus 2Yds.
Khalil Hester - 3Rec. 24Yds.
Kyler Edwards - 3 Tackles

Patriots - 26 plays for 72 total yards (17 rushes for 48 yards; 3-9 for 24 yards passing, 1 intercept); 2 penalties for 10 yards; 1 turnover

 

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First Colonial's defense does its job on the first series of the second half. David Hudnell had a 14-yard kick return to give Bayside ball at their own 45. But a total of three plays goes backwards for 2 yards.

Veteran LB Scott Pieno had a key tackle on the series.

Mike Myers' punt has FC beginning at their own 27 with 10:05 to go in the third period.

 

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A trio of penalties of the false start variety put First Colonial in a 3rd & 28 situation, where QB Noah McNamara is nearly picked off by Tajon Reese. The Patriots will boot it away with 7:40 to go in the third period, needing their defense - and special teams units - to step up to prevent this from becoming a three-score deficit quickly.

The punt goes out of bounds 11 yards, meaning Bayside takes over at the FC 20. Golden chance for them to add to this lead here.

 

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The Marlins now have 170 yards rushing between Jalen Miller and Tajon Reese on 11 carries. A good strategy would be to keep feeding them the ball. First Colonial's defense doesn't have an answer for them.

 

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Ok, I couldn't resist with the Austin Powers quip on that TD pass, the first at the varsity level for Myers in his career. Aaron Evans along with Leon Griffin III and a few others have the speed to take a quick screen the distance.

 

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Hester in the slot was left uncovered and is able to give the FC faithful at home here something to cheer about.

 

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First Colonial's series early in the fourth quarter stalls as QB Noah McNamara's pass to Daquan Smith in the flat is sniffed out by Bayside DB Jalen Miller on 4th & 9, dropping him for a loss of 3.

So Bayside takes over at the FC 30 with 10:24 to play and 8 points away from a running clock lead.

Tajon Reese rushes for 11 yards, getting out of bounds and a player is being looked at for a cramp so we have a brief pause with 10:08 remaining.

 

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Myers has settled in after a rough start and has a pretty live arm. At 6-foot-4 with the receivers around him, this Bayside offense is bound to get better, especially as they return some individual that were unable to participate tonight.

 

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Marlins have looked much crisper offensively this half, although a tad surprised they left the starters in that last series to get the running clock touchdown margin just because you would think you don't want a key guy going down. Nonetheless, they got the passing game a bit on track and can take away a lot of positives tonight, while not at full strength.

 

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More to come later...

 

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Here are the Final Stats from Bayside's 39-0 shutout of First Colonial on Thursday, September 2, 2021 in Virginia Beach...


Bayside Marlins 39: (1-0 Overall)
Mike Myers - 7-16 for 121Yds. 2-0 TD/Int. ratio
Tajon Reese - 6Car. 122Yds. TD (4Car. 104Yds. TD in 1st Half); 2Rec. 42Yds; 3 Tackles
Jalen Miller - 8Car. 77Yds. TD
Aaron Evans - 3Rec. 48Yds. 2TD's
Leon Griffin III - 1Rec. 22Yds; 2Car. 8Yds. TD; 5 Tackles (2 Solo); 60-yard PR TD
Jeryhn McClenny - 1Car. 14Yds; 5 Tackles, TFL, INT
David Hudnell - 10 Tackles (3 Solo), 3TFL
Kion Saunders - 7 Tackles, 2.5TFL
Joe Peterson - 6 Tackles, 1.5TFL
Javontay Martin - 5 Tackles, 3TFL

Marlins - 36 plays for 333 total yards (7-17 for 121 yards passing; 2 TD’s, 0 intercepts; 19 rushes for 212 yards (1 lost fumble on backwards lateral); 1 turnover; 10 penalties for 102 yards; 2-5 on 3rd downs (1-3 in 1st half), 0-1 on 4th downs (0-1 in 1st half); 0 punts; 1 kick return for 14 yards; 1 punt return for 60 yards, including TD; 3-4 on PAT’s; 0-2 on 2-point conversions.


First Colonial 0: (0-2 Overall)
Noah McNamara - 6-20 for 43Yds. 0-1 TD/Int. ratio
Daquan Smith - 22Car. 44Yds. (12Car. 48Yds. in 1stQ)
Khalil Hester - 4Rec. 41Yds.
Joseph Cuellar - 1Rec. 5Yds; 3 Tackles
Kyler Edwards - 5 Tackles (3 Solo)
Scott Pieno - 5 Tackles (2 Solo)
Jalen Meekins - 3 Solo Tackles

Patriots - 50 plays for 84 total yards (6-20 for 43 yards passing; 1 intercept; 30 rushes for 41 yards); 1 turnover; 7 penalties for 38 yards; 1-10 on 3rd downs (1-5 in 1st half), 1-7 on 4th downs (0-4 in 1st half); 4 punts for 139 yards (average of 34.8), including 2 inside the 10; 5 kick returns for 49 yards (9.8 average).

 

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Postgame Interview with Bayside 2023 ATH Leon Griffin III:



Bayside WR Leon Griffin III chats with VirginiaPreps.com's Matthew Hatfield after his team's 39-0 shutout at First Colonial on Thursday, September 2, 2021.

Griffin III scored the game's first touchdown on a 60-yard punt return. He also had five tackles on defense, a touchdown run and a 22-yard reception.

A Class of 2023 prospect with an offer to date from Old Dominion University, Griffin III earned 2nd Team All-Beach District honors as a sophomore for a Marlins team that went 4- overall during the abbreviated spring season.

Bayside has now 15 straight meetings with First Colonial dating back to 2007. The all-time series is deadlocked at 27-all.