Blog LIVE Game Blog - King's Fork (3-0) at Nansemond River (2-1)

[matthew328826]

Greetings from Suffolk and Arrowhead Stadium on this warm Thurday night, the final one of September 2024, for a Southeastern District rivalry game that got moved up a day in advance of the nasty weather expected to hit the entire state from Hurricane Helene.

We have the King's Fork Bulldogs at 3-0 overall visiting the Nansemond River Warriors, who come in at 2-1 overall.

Updates will be posted here on the Blog + on Twitter or 'X' @hatfieldsports this evening.

Before we kick things off with the four captains for each team at mid-field for the coin toss, let's give you our mini preview capsule from earlier, which you can find on the V.I.P. Board...


King’s Fork (3-0) at Nansemond River (2-1) . . . It was a wild 24-21 double-overtime win at home for King’s Fork last year over Nansemond River, prevailing on a game-winning field goal from Jean-Pierre Bile. In fact, it was the first of back-to-back wins for the Bulldogs in double-overtime as they followed that up with a 20-14 victory at Indian River during their first unbeaten regular season in program history.

Nansemond River is coming off a humbling 35-0 shutout loss at Oscar Smith, where they kept the Tigers out of the end zone the entire first half, but struggled to get their offense on track all night in producing a season-low 27 total yards. Only one completion the entire night when for longer than nine yards and that was a 13-yard connection from QB Tyrell Grant to WR TaiVon Douglas. The King’s Fork defense has a bunch of players that can disrupt the flow in a hurry, namely Brandon Jeune (18 tackles), Joshua Pittman (5 TFL), Justin Irby (3 sacks), Khalil Key and Shimyael Holt (4 TFL).

Offensively, the Bulldogs have been both balanced and explosive, piling up 64 points on Great Bridge last week and averaging 45 PPG. The running game seldom experiences a problem moving the chains behind Player of the Year candidate JaVon Ford (32Car. 275Yds. 4 TD’s) and William ‘Bubba’ Anderson (18Att. 195Yds. 3 TD’s). Zy’Dar’eyus Wynn (9Rec. 120Yds. 4 TD’s) and Jahmel Mackey (8Rec. 100Yds. 2 TD’s) highlight a deep and talented receiving core for QB D’andre Artis-Boone (30 of 42 for 390 yards, 6-3 TD/Int. ratio), a quality athlete that can make things happen on the move and defensively from the secondary.

The Nansemond River defense, keyed by the pass rushing of Xavier Gresham (5 sacks) and tackling of Rajae Jones (9 tackles and a forced fumble vs. Oscar Smith Smith), will need to put together the first half they had against the Tigers for a full 48-minute game to come away victorious. If the Warriors are able to generate a couple of takeaways, and unlike last week, cash in on them to grab an early lead, it could make this Suffolk rivalry showdown a battle to the very end.

Matt Hatfield Says – King’s Fork 28-13
Coach Ed Young Says – King’s Fork 21-18

 

[matthew328826]

Nansemond River begins at their own 22 following a 19-yard kickoff return to start things off here in Suffolk. A couple of quick completions by Warriors QB Tyrell Grant - the first for a couple of yards to Christian Jordan, then one that's enough to move the chains for a pickup of 11 to TaiVon Douglas. From there, the King's Fork defense doesnt budge an inch and blows things up on the line of scrimmage. An incomplete, along with a loss of a couple on a fumble from RB Melvin Brown, though the Warriors are fortunate to recover.

Ernest Jones Jr. spins Grant down for no gain on 3rd & 12. So the Warriors are punting it away after moving the sticks once on their opening possession.

The punt will be downed at King's Fork 38, where the Bulldogs start with 9:04 to go in the opening period. Check that, back at their own 28 following a holding penalty.

 

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King's Fork's offense goes 3 & out as QB D'andre Artis-Boone is held to just a gain of 1, then it's RB JaVon Ford, who is only able to gain 3 on the ground to bring up 3rd & 7. There, Artis-Boone rolls to his right and fumbles, but is able to get back on it before Nansemond River recovers. Nonetheless, a loss of 10.

Jkari Colden, Calvin Holloway, Travis Freeman and the rest of the Warriors get the job done on their first series defensively.

On the punt return, it's Rajae Jones able to return it 21 yards into King's Fork territory at the 40. Excellent field position for Coach Alonzo Ricks to see his offense get things moving with 6:52 to go in the opening stanza.

 

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What a way to respond from last week's loss to Oscar Smith as the Warriors already have eclipsed the offensive output, not even 8 full minutes into this one.

Tyrell Grant looks much more comfortable in the pocket thus far - - 5 of 6 for 55 yards and a TD and he's connected with four different receivers, including Christian Jordan, a multi-sport athlete that also performs on the basketball court.

The Warriors will have to get the running game going because they've got minus 4 yards on their first four attempts.

King's Fork's second drive begins at their own 36 with 4:35 to go in the first period.

 

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JaVon Ford went after those last two runs with more of a purpose and a 'bad mood' in terms of lowering the shoudler to drive forward for 6 yards. Then on his TD run, the blocking up front was there and he was off to the races in a hurry.

The Bulldogs then go with I'm not sure if it was a squib or onside kick try. Nevertheless, Coach Anthony Joffrion is going to see how his defense reacts to being scored on that last series. Nansemond River has adequate field position again, at their own 47, with 3:35 to go in the opening frame.

 

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Boom - Nansemond River gets back on the board as QB Tyrell Grant runs the offense to perfection. On a play-fake, he is able to drop back, patiently wait and see the middle of the defense open up for him to darth through for a 39-yard run. It took DB Zach Walton stopping him. That will bother the King's Fork coaches that it took someone from the secondary to get to him first.

From there, it's Walton lofting a pass on the money to the back of the end zone to Calin Holloway. They then stay aggressive and go right back to that same spot for a 2-point conversion, that TaiVon Douglas is able to haul in with the 'head tap' reception.

To make matters worse, a roughing the passer penalty on King's Fork has the Warriors kicking off from the 45 of the Bulldogs. Wait, offsides on the Warriors as they jumped the gun a bit and will now kick off from the 50. An easy touchback, so the Bulldogs go back to work offensively from their own 20.

This one is shaping up to be a track meet.

 

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Both offenses are operating with really good paces right now. King's Fork goes to the air with Keontae Bumpers hauling in the pass from D'andre Artis-Boone for 9. They then hand it off to JaVon Ford, wisely I might add, for a gain of +6 on 2nd & 1. From there, they go back to the air for Jahmel Mackey on a quick game pass near the sideline and he sprints for 30 yards down to the Nansemond River 35.

Another chunk play, this one a 15-yard run from Ford, has the Bulldogs in business, in the red zone at the 15 of the Warriors.

 

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Moments ago, before the first period ended, the Bulldogs got a solid run from Bubba Anderson, who appeared to move it well inside the 10, but then gets hit with a 15-yard personal foul penalty for retaliating after Rajae Jones wouldn't let up on the tackle. One of those moments where he should've kept his composure.

Couple of runs for three yards each, the latest by Keontae Bumpers, brings up 4th & 1 for the Bulldogs from the 9 of Nansemond River.

That's where junior Travis Freeman and senior Xavier Gresham lead the way for the defense to come up with a HUGE stop on 4th & 1 of Ford. A big momentum swing there!

 

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Right when Nansemond River's defense came up with the enormous red zone stop, the offense is unable to make it stick or tilt field position any as they go 3 & out. Following a 6-yard run from QB Tyrell Grant, the passing game gets stymied, thanks to 2026 EDGE talent Joshua Pittman of King's Fork.

On two consecutive plays, Pittman - a 6-3, 220-pound terror in that DE / OLB hybrid - bats a pass at the line of scrimmage.

Fast and violent were the words I heard before the game on the field from the King's Fork crew in warmups. That guy plays with that type of approach and it's easy to see why he's coveted by a bunch of schools for the next level.

Nansemond River punts it away. King's Fork starts its latest offensive drive at the NR 37 with 10:20 till half-time.

 

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King's Fork has come up with two clutch conversions on this latest offensive possession. The first one came on 4th & 5 from the Nansemond River 32, where Denosh Rodgers hauled in a pass from 10 yards out on an inside slant. Quarterback D'andre Artis-Boone placed it right where it needed to be, moving the sticks to the 22. Just a few plays later, it's Rodgers moving the chains on his 8-yard reception on 3rd & 6, where he was sandwiched in between two Nansemond River defenders.

Things start to get clunky for the Bulldogs inside the 10 with a couple of penalties, one of which comes when QB Artis-Boone appears to dive to either the 1 or over the goal-line for a score. But a holding penalty backs them up to the 16, THEN 5 yards further to the 21 on an unacceptable delay of game flag.

Coach Anthony Joffrion will burn a time-out and he's irate before 2nd & Goal from the 21 with 5:09 till half-time.

 

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Zy’Dar’eyus Wynn - who came in with 9 grabs for 120 yards and 4 TD's on the season - hauls in his first pass of the night, good for 9 yards. However, on 3rd & Goal from the 12, WR Keontae Bumpers is unable to bring in the pass from QB D'andre Artis-Boone.

No hesitation by the Bulldogs coaching staff as they trot out the field goal kicker - Jean-Pierre Bile - for a 29-yard try to inch closer before the break.

 

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How important has Bile been to the Bulldogs in this rivalry series the past two years? Absolutely mammoth as his leg was why they prevailed a year ago in a game that went to OT.

Nansemond River has it at their own 20 with 4:10 to go till half-time. As much as they'd like to get more points out of this next drive, it's absolutely essential in my opinion they do not give it back to the Bulldogs in this quarter because King's Fork gets the ball first in the second half.

 

[matthew328826]

Nansemond River is taking what the defense is giving them in the passing game and QB Tyrell Grant is making accurate throws all over the field, hitting Calvin Holloway for a gain of 1, then TaiVon Douglas for +9 to move the chains. He goes back to Douglas for 9 more and it's there that Melvin Brown gets a confidence-boosting run to move the chains.

Karon Madison hauls in his second pass of the half for +8, but then the Warriors are unable to hit the go route down the near sideline. A time-out is called before 3rd & 2 from their own 48 with 1:39 to go in the second period.

 

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Prior to that run, Melvin Brown was held in check to 4 rushes for minus 3 yards. Coming into the evening, he had run the football 43 times for 242 yards and 2 TD's.

That right there was by far his biggest run and touchdown of the season, giving the Warriors a double-digit lead on a King's Fork team that we have ranked No. 3 in the state in Class 5 - behind only reigning State Champ Maury and Matoaca - so you can say an upset is brewing. But is it really an upset? Not to the Warriors, who felt they should've won this matchup a year ago.

This also isn't the same Nansemond River team that got outscored 35-0 in the second half by Oscar Smith seven days ago.

King's Fork has it at their own 35 with 33.2 seconds to go in the half... and they're not taking a knee.

 

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Completions by QB D'andre Artis-Boone to fellow junior Joey 'JoJo' Applewhite (Western Branch transfer) and sophomore Terrelle Godwin netting a total of 28 yards move the Bulldogs down to the 37 of Nansemond River. An incomplete gives them one last shot at the end zone with 5.7 seconds left in the second period. They go right to Denosh Rodgers, who looks to have an easy reception, but he has a butterfingers moment.

We've reached half-time and the home faithful for the Warriors are excited about this 11-point lead for sure.

Back in a bit...

 

[matthew328826]

Stats to follow soon... after I take a quick potty break.

 

[matthew328826]

Stats at the Half:

Nansemond River 21:
Tyrell Grant - 10-14 for 96Yds. 2-0 TD/Int. ratio; 4Car. 45Yds.
Melvin Brown - 5Car. 49Yds. TD
TaiVon Douglas - 3Rec. 29Yds.
Christian Jordan - 2Rec. 25Yds. TD
Calvin Holloway - 3Rec. 23Yds.
Karon Madison - 2Rec. 19Yds.
Jeremy Lyons - 6 Tackles
Rajae Jones - 5 Tackles

Warriors - 23 plays for 190 total yards (10-14 for 96 yards passing; 9 rushes for 94 yards); 4 penalties for 34 yards; 0 turnovers


King's Fork 10:
D'andre Artis-Boone - 8-12 for 98Yds.
JaVon Ford - 8Car. 94Yds. TD
Bubba Anderson - 3Car. 12Yds.
Jahmel Mackey - 2Rec. 34Yds.
Denosh Rodgers - 2Rec. 18Yds.
Brandon Jeune - 6 Tackles
Shimyael Holt - 3 Tackles, 1. TFL

Bulldogs - 28 plays for 203 total yards (8-12 for 98 yards passing; 16 rushes for 105 yards); 6 penalties for 60 yards; 0 turnovers

 

[matthew328826]

King's Fork starts at their own 35 as Nansemond River's second half kickoff sails out of bounds. Bubba Anderson rushes for 5 to the far sideline. Nifty footwork by WR Denosh Rodgers along the far sideline, shaking off two defenders for a gain of 7 on his pass reception from QB D'andre Artis-Boone. The Bulldogs are on the move, close to midfield.

A deep ball shot down the field to Rodgers is incomplete, largely because of outstanding coverage from Josiah Johnson. JaVon Ford gets his first carry of the second half and runs up the middle for 5. Sets up 3rd & 5 from the NR 48.

 

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Zy’Dar’eyus Wynn is able to slip out of a couple tackles right when Nansemond River thought they had the Bulldogs bottled up on the 3rd & 5 screen play, just inside the 50. Wynn gains 6 down to the Warriors 42. That's where Bubba Anderson dashes to paydirt with 9:52 to go in the third period.

The Bulldogs then go to Denosh Rodgers on the quick screen and execute it flawlessly to make this a 3-point game.

Now the pressure shifts back to the Nansemond River offense to answer that score with one of their own.

 

[matthew328826]

OK, maybe a referee out there or diehard High School Football fan can explain this one to me.

Earlier in the third quarter, when Nansemond River kicked it out of bounds, King's Fork began at its own 35.

Now King's Fork kicks it out of bounds... and the Warriors start at their own 39?!?! I don't quite understand... I must've missed something, I guess.

Well, it's actually at their own 34 following a penalty. The King's Fork defense has now come out inspired as they drop QB Tyrell Grant for a loss of a yard, with Joshua Pittman and Derrion Knight in on that stop. On the very next play, it's Ernest Jones Jr. nearly coming up with a pick-six as he broke on the pass wonderfully, but is unable to complete the catch.

Grant scrambles for 6 back to their original line of scrimmage, where he is met with a 'pop' from DB Denosh Rodgers.

A King's Fork player - which happens to be Rodgers - is helped off the field with 8:57 to go before Nansemond River punts it away.

 

[matthew328826]

A punt of minus-4 as Nansemond River is unable to get it off cleanly gives King's Fork tremendous field position, at the Warriors 35, with 8:49 to go.

So crucial the Warriors defense stands tall and doesn't let King's Fork come up with a quick-strike TD to continue the momentum for the visitors.

 

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King's Fork mixed in Preston Hall III for a couple of those runs and JaVon Ford took the other four, including his go-ahead TD plunge.

There's a different level of focus and attention to detail for the Bulldogs to begin this second half.

Also have to give props to that o-line for King's Fork, which included a couple really fine blocks by No. 58 Simeon Trotter (6-2, 285 pound senior).

Nansemond River starts its second possession of the half at their own 17 with 6:33 on the clock, suddenly trailing.

 

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A loss of 13 on 3rd & 6 as QB Tyrell Grant is sacked by multiple Bulldogs defenders, Khalil Key and Ernest Jones Jr. It's another 3 & out for the Nansemond River offense, which has turned back into the one we saw that was stagnant for much of the night a week ago at Oscar Smith.

Before they can even get the punt off, it's a false start penalty. This is where they have to be extra careful, booting it away from their own end zone. A block here by King's Fork can really accelerate things for them in this game.

 

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That's how you make special teams special. It's all King's Fork here in this 3rd period - with a 22-point burst in a span of 7 minutes.

Quite a turnaround for the Bulldogs, validating their ranking of No. 3 in the state in Class 5 here in this second half.

 

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Small miscues are starting mushroom for Nansemond River, which played so well offensively in the first half.

Melvin Brown runs for 8 and QB Tyrell Grant does a splendid job on the read-option, pulling and gaining 7 to move the chains.

But Grant then bobbles the snap and he ends up getting crunched for a loss of 7. However, to his credit, he responds from that to run for +9 and then finds Karon Madison on 3rd & 8 for a gain of precisely 8. That moves them into King's Fork territory.

A block in the back penalty pushes KF back 10 yards to the NR 44 following a completion to TaiVon Douglas. Grant then hits Calvin Holloway for a great 34-yard strike, isolated in one-on-one coverage and the Warriors are now clawing back in this one. Nansemond River has reached the KF 10 as we tick under a minute to go in this third period.

 

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Tyrell Grant with a dandy of a run on the mini bootleg to bring up 2nd & Goal from the 1. Looks like the Warriors will try to sneak this one in from the 1.

By the way, speaking of dandy... it makes me think back to the late great George Carlin and his bit on fine and dandy (look it up folks... but for you kids that do... be prepared for some colorful language if you do). Can't believe I just got a Carlin reference in this Blog... wow!

 

[matthew328826]

Although the 2-point try pass play failed, love the creativity shown by Alonzo Ricks Jr. and his coaching staff as they went with a toss one way and that back came from the other direction to then throw it... and while it was caught, problem was the target ended up out of bounds during the process. So they don't get the 2 points.

We've seen King's Fork raise its plays in a big way this half, and now the Bulldogs want to halt the shift in momentum that's going back towards the host Warriors.

Little surprised Nansemond River tries an onside kick, which King's Fork recovers at their own 48 with 11:50 to go in regulation. Probably was a tad too early to try that one, but then again, they might not be sure about their defense coming up with a solution either.

 

[matthew328826]

Right now, the King's Fork offense - dialed up by OC Casey Turner (former Great Bridge record-setting QB) - is doing a really good job formationally of putting the Nansemond River defense in a bind. Their utilization of the tight end - Khalil Key - and putting him in motion some has given them an extra blocker in the run game to overpower the Warriors.

Just as I write that and give credit, I now question the decision to use Preston Hall III here - as opposed to JaVon Ford or Bubba Anderson - on a 2nd & 7 run from the 34. It ends up resulting in a loss of 3 as Jkari Colden came through unblocked for the tackle in the backfield.

The 3rd & 10 pass falls incomplete with a receiving diving to make they play and unable to haul it in... but they're leaving the offense on the field with 10:10 to go here.

Artis-Boone actually pooch punts it and King's Fork nearly downs it at the 1 when it goes into the end zone for a touchback with 10:00 exactly to play in regulation.

Do Grant and the Warriors have some late-game magic in them?

 

[matthew328826]

Terrific pitch and catch from QB Tyrell Grant to WR TaiVon Douglas for 19 yards on 3rd & 4 to get Nansemond River near midfield, to their own 45. A couple plays later after Karon Madison moves the sticks for +9 on 2nd & 8, it's Grant getting sacked by Bulldogs defensive lineman Justin Irby.

Crazy play then from midfield as Karon Madison makes a catch over the middle, makes a couple of Bulldogs defenders miss and then is off to the races, where he is eventually runs out of bounds - and he fumbles it - at the 1-yard line. Nansemond River is VERY fortunate it he didn't fumble out of the end zone for a touchback there.

So the Warriors are set up in great shape here with a chance to go ahead, 33-32 and potentially 35-32 with a successful 2-point conversion.

 

[matthew328826]

Couldn't tell for sure who had the recovery for King's Fork, but the sneak got stuffed by the size of the Bulldogs in the trenches, causing the fumble. Someone up here in the booth believes it was Zy’Dar’eyus Wynn who had the recovery.

Update - - later confirmed that No. 21 Jaylen Thomas got the recovery for King's Fork.

The Nansemond River defense is trying to hang in there. After JaVon Ford moved the sticks with a 16-yard run and Bubba Anderson did the same with a 10-yard burst on 2nd & 7, the Bulldogs are facing a key 3rd & 10 from their own 31 with 2:35 to go.

Quarterback D'andre Artis-Boone does the hesitation move and gets the defense to bite down, then sprints ahead for a gain of about 20 yards... however... a holding penalty will negate that significant gainer.

The Bulldogs are facing 3rd & 21 from their own 20. So there's a pretty good chance the Warriors will get the ball back before the night is done.

Drama may await.

 

[matthew328826]

Rajae Jones makes his 9th total tackle of the night (8th solo by my count) as he keeps Denosh Rodgers to a gain of 10 yards. That pretty much puts King's Fork back at the original line of scrimmage and they'll be punting it away with 2:16 to go.

Nansemond River used a time-out and they have one left.

A 53-yard punt by Artis-Boone pins the Warriors at their own 17 with 2:04 to go.

 

[matthew328826]

The drive has gone nowhere, and in fact, backwards for the Warriors after a personal foul penalty. King's Fork has brought the pressure and the o-line is struggling to protect QB Tyrell Grant at this stage with 54.8 seconds to go.

The Warriors have gotten much of their Real Estate through passes over the middle on crosses. It'll be hard to advance 90 yards - almost near impossible - barring a myriad of missed tackles and breakdowns from the King's Fork defense, which has given up 234 yards through the air tonight.

 

[matthew328826]

More to come later... stay tuned!

 

[pizzzzza]

Wow - Kings Fork held on …barely - was a good game!