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Blog LIVE Game Blog - Tallwood (5-1) at Salem-VB (5-1)

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It's Homecoming at Salem High School, where the 5-1 Sun Devils are set to play host to the visiting Tallwood Lions (5-1) in a key clash here in the Beach District.

Both teams are jockeying for playoff positioning; Tallwood in Region 6A and Salem in Region 5A. Both suffered just one loss on the year to Ocean Lakes.

We'll have Updates on the Blog and via Twitter @ hatfieldsports
 
From the Preview this week before we get started...

Tallwood (5-1) at Salem-VB (5-1) . . . Over the past two years, the Lions and Sun Devils have played low-scoring, defensive battles. In 2016, it was Tallwood prevailing 10-6 as they intercepted three Salem passes and piecing together an 11-play, 80-yard drive in a span of 1:33 late in the fourth quarter to go ahead. Last year, Salem got revenge in a 13-7 victor that saw them come up with five takeaways, four occurring on lost fumbles by Tallwood. This time, it looks to be a battle of wills; the stingy Salem defense against a rather prolific Tallwood offense.

On the year, Tallwood is putting up 29.7 points per game, which is second in the Beach District only to Cox. Salem is giving up just six points per game with nobody having reached double-figures on them. The health and effectiveness as well as availability in general of Salem junior running back Kaelon Black is unknown going into this game. Black was leading the Beach District in rushing and has missed the past two games due to a knee injury.

In place of Black, the duo of James Rogers and Lex Henry combined for 225 yards rushing and a touchdown on 33 carries against Landstown. They want to duplicate that against an experienced Tallwood defense with some three-year starters all across the board in safety Ricky Harleston, LB Khairee Abdullah, LB Josh Lucas and others. Tallwood wants to force them to throw because, even though Sun Devils QB Amorie Morrison had a breakout performance two weeks ago against Kellam, they’re counting on their defense being able to cash in on a couple of errant throws.

Tallwood has been very consistent in mixing up the passing game with QB Sebien Stone (8TD’s passing), often targeting WR’s Isaiah Edwards (5TD’s receiving), and the backfield combo of Gunner White (643 yards, 8TD’s) and Taijon Yorkshire. Junior LB Anwar Sparrow (43 tackles), sophomore DE Isaiah Henderson, sophomore DB Zemarion Harrell and run-clogging DT Jaquan Perry anchor a Salem defense that is certainly good enough to put the Lions in some third-and-long situations.

Matt Says: Tallwood 17-14
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Salem 16-14
Coach Young Says: Salem 33-24
 


Salem QB Amorie Morrison had an open Desmond Green streaking down the left side of the field on the game's first play from scrimmage, but couldn't connect with him.

A 43-yard punt by Salem and Tallwood will begin at their own 20 with 10:55 in the opening period.
 
Tallwood goes 3 & out to begin. On 2nd & 10, the Lions line up with a split backfield and run outside zone with their primary ball carrier Gunner White. There to meet him immediately for a loss of 1 are Elijah Cheeks and Jeremiah Brown of the Salem defense.

Tallwood's punt goes 28 yards, giving Salem decent field position for their second series at the Lions' 48 with 10:07 left in the opening period.
 
On Salem's second series, they hand it off to Lex Henry - who'll split the rushing duties with James Rogers again as star junior tailback Kaelon Black is out for the third straight game with a knee injury - and he gains 3. A 15-yard face-mask penalty on Tallwood pushes Salem all the way up to the 30-yard line of the Lions.

Jahlil Hines makes a sack for a loss of 9 yards, forcing Salem to go to the air on 3rd & 14, where QB Amorie Morrison hits WR Jaquez Kirk for a gain of 13.

Then Salem decides to go line up with shotgun and run a direct snap with LB Anwar Sparrow in at QB.

 
After a Salem offsides penalty, Tallwood moves the chains for the first time today on their second series with RB Gunner White plowing ahead of 8. Bad news for John Kepple and his Lions though as White is shaken up after the play.

The drive quickly stalls for Tallwood and QB Sebien Stone is 0 for 4 through the air thus far, a few of them ending up short of his intended receiver.

 
Beginning their 3rd series at their own 38 with 6:04 in the opening period, Salem moves forward with a gain of 7 on a catch by James Rogers. But on 2nd down, Lex Henry loses a couple on the toss play as Demarco Manela sniffed it out from their five-man front. Amorie Morrison scrambles for 2, but Salem will punt it away on 4th & 3 from their own 45.

Tallwood starts their 3rd series at their own 25 and go up-tempo with the pace. Gunner White is back in and he gains 10 out of a trips right formation. He then gets 5 and a 4-yard completion from Sebien Stone to Isaiah Edwards on a hitch route brings up 3rd & 1. The Lions lose a yard on the run play as Elijah Cheeks and Zemarion Harrell - talented sophomore prospect to know - make the stop.
 
Tallwood's defense makes another key stop on 3rd down as Salem on 3rd & 3 from the Tallwood 36 appears to move the chains, but Jeremiah Brown cannot hang on to the pass as Daequan White came through and jarred the potential completion loose.

Salem punts and Tallwood takes over at their own 17 with 11:02 left in the second quarter.
 
Tallwood had a solid 10-play drive going, beginning at their own 17 and advancing all the way down to the Salem 45 with Gunner White running between the tackles, plus Sebien Stone scrambling for 15 yards. But the Salem defense clamps down with Isaiah Henderson from his d-end spot making a tackle for loss as well as corner D.J. Harris bringing Shy Banks down for a loss of 2 on a quick pass.

With 5:50 to go in the second quarter, Salem takes over at their own 15.
 
On 2nd & 5 from their own 30, Salem had two players in motion at the same time and a penalty could've been called on the Sun Devils, but they dodge it and get a really effective run of 15 yards from James Rogers. As he was being brought down, Tallwood commits a self-inflicted miscue with a face-mask penalty, their second of the day. That puts Salem at the 40-yard line of Tallwood with 4:56 before half-time.
 


A great job by Rogers being able to locate the ball in flight and come back to the pass to bring it in for the longest play from scrimmage of this first half.

Morrison has shown marked improvement from this time a year ago to now at the quarterback spot, giving Salem a formidable passing attack after last year being one-dimensional and relying on the run.
 


The way this game has gone so far, that score might be enough to come out on tap in a defensive slugfest. Salem will have to do a better job against the trap play that Tallwood is running when they go to their ace formation / 3 WR sets. Outside of that, their defense is playing at a superb level.

The Lions will need a big play out of their passing game to loosen this Salem run defense up though.
 
Following an offsides on Salem, Tallwood completes a short pass underneath with QB Sebien Stone to Shy Banks for a gain of 6 to move the chains to the 36-yard line.

A run play by Stone on second down brings up 3rd & 3 from the 43-yard line for Tallwood and then he is sacked by Xaviar Murphy and Jaquan Perry as the pocket around him collapsed.
 
A 53-yard INT return by Tallwood's Jalin Barrow is called back on a pass interference penalty - the 3rd penalty of the 15-yard variety for Tallwood in this opening half.

So instead of having the ball in Sun Devils territory before the break, the Lions now have to try to get a stop or force a field goal try. On 1st & 10 from the 15, the Sun Devils hand it off to Lex Henry and he loses a yard with Khairee Abdullah and Kasaun Duncan there to sniff it out. Salem uses its second time-out with 21 seconds left in the half.
 
Another big-time stick from Khairee Abdullah (he's got 7 tackles in this first half) and Salem will burn its final timeout with 9.2 seconds before the break, leading Tallwood 7-0 and looking at 4th & 12 from the Lions 22-yard line.
 
For Salem at the break:

Salem 7:
Amorie Morrison - 5-8 for 53Yds; TD run
James Rogers - 3Rec. 43Yds; 5Car. 27Yds.
Lex Henry - 5Car. 16Yds.
Jaquez Kirk - 1Rec. 13Yds.
Zemarion Harrell - 5 Tackles, 0.5TFL, Punt Block
Xaviar Murphy - 1.5 Sacks

Sun Devils - 25 plays for 72 total yards; 5-8 for 53 pass yards, 17 rushes for 19 yards; 2 penalties for 10 yards; 0 turnovers


Tallwood 0:
Sebien Stone - 6-11 for 23Yds; 5Car. 9Yds.
Gunner White - 10Car. 36Yds.
Isaiah Edwards - 2Rec. 10Yds.
Shy Banks - 3Rec. 8Yds.
Khairee Abdullah - 7 Tackles, 1.5TFL
Kasaun Duncan - 5 Tackles, 0.5TFL

Lions - 26 plays for 68 total yards; 6-11 for 23 pass yards, 15 rushes for 45 yards; 4 penalties for 47 yards; 0 turnovers
 
Salem cannot capitalize on the game's first turnover. They draw a pass interference on Tallwood to get to the 14-yard line, but the next two plays move them up just a yard when QB Amorie Morrison is sacked on third down by Blair McLain of the Lions.

On 4th & 12, the pass for the Sun Devils is incomplete as intended WR Desmond Green was unable to get under it diving to the ground.
 


Cheeks came through the A-gap untouched and QB Sebien Stone has not gotten the same type of protection he did through the first five games, including their season-opening runaway win over Princess Anne.

Salem takes over at their own 41 with 6:17 left in the third quarter following a penalty on the Sun Devils on the punt return.
 


Coach John Kepple, his DC Darryl Cherry and the rest of the Lions coaching staff did a great job on 3rd down of bringing more pressure players than the Sun Devils could block. Josh Lucas continues to get free and he is capable of making a hit on the QB that jars the ball loose and turns into one of those scoop and score plays for the Lions.

The punt nearly is blocked by Salem, something they'll need to clean up.

Tallwood's second possession of the 3rd quarter will start at their own 33 with 4:37 left in the period.
 


That last series was pretty self-explanatory and ugly, not much else needs to be said. Salem isn't playing with a great amount of energy on offense, despite the fact their defense is playing extremely well and they have gotten some spark plays on special teams.
 
Salem gets a gain of 5 from Lex Henry and then Amorie Morrison hits James Rogers on an 8-yard completion underneath to move the chains into Tallwood territory.

Henry stretches his next run outside for a pick up of 9. On 2nd & 1 from the Tallwood 31 - with no safety in the middle of the field - the Sun Devils decide to run it and they lose a yard. On 3rd & 2, they throw and it's incomplete. On 4th & 2, Salem is called for false start.

So instead of lining up to go for it, we're probably looking at the Sun Devils punting.
 
Gunner White gets a gain of 9 between the tackles. Tallwood is starting to get some confidence offensively as we tick under 6 minutes to go in the game.

Sebien Stone's first completion of the half gains 7 to Ricky Harleston at their own 43. But Stone is shaken up, holding his left knee it looks like with 4:34 left in the game following a 2-yard run.
 


Tallwood comes through in the clutch. John Kepple's Lions have wins this season by 5 points or less over Green Run in OT and First Colonial. They are used to battles like this one and have to be thrilled about potentially going to OT in this one.
 


To avoid a delay of game penalty, Salem burns its first time-out, leaving them with just two remaining before the 2nd & 10 play.

Salem's defense has been outstanding all year. See the results below, and if Tallwood is to win today, they will more than likely do so becoming the first opponent of the Sun Devils to score double-figures on them in 2018.

Aug. 24 Kempsville W 49 0
Aug. 30 at Princess Anne W 19 6
Sept. 7 First Colonial W 13 7
Sept. 19 at Ocean Lakes (6PM) L 0 9
Sept. 21 Open Date
Sept. 29 at Kellam (Noon) W 42 7
Oct. 5 at Landstown W 13 7
 
On 2nd & 10, Salem's pass is incomplete. On 3rd & 10 - it's QB Amorie Morrison hitting James Rogers for a gain of 9.

Time-out is called with 10.6 seconds left and the Sun Devils facing 4th & 1 from their own 44.
 
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