Sussex Central's Trevon Hatch goes 36 yards untouched for the first score of the night.
SUSSEX- The 4th seed Sussex Central Tigers played host to the 5th seed William Campbell Generals in a contest expected to be a battle. Fans got every bit of what they expected. One thing was for certain is the game wasn’t going to be like the General’s contest last week.
The game started out with William Campbell being stopped early as the Tiger defense was eager to prove they were ready. When the Sussex Central offense got the ball they immediately imposed their will as Trevon Hatch would dash through the left side of the line to score from 36 yards out to make it 6-0 Sussex Central at the 7:35 mark of the 1st quarter.
William Campbell would try to answer as they marched into Tiger territory. The Generals tried to show what all they can do as they looked ready to tie the game but would fumble their chances away taking the momentum with them.
Sussex would get on the back again later in the second quarter as the Generals keyed in on An’Tae Motton but Hatch again would slip through from 4 yards out making it 12-0 Tigers with 4:39 left in the second quarter.
William Campbell would make several adjustments in the second half with applying more pressure to slow up the rushing attack of the Tigers and it worked. The Generals bended but didn’t break as they denied the host a key score in the 3rd. The Generals would finally catch a break was the 3rd winded down a Khalid Boyd would go in around the right side for a stroll on 4th and goal to give life to the visitors. The extra point could never get off the ground as it 12-6 Tigers.
William Campbell's Tyrell Staten is hit on his pass completion by the Tigers Amari Hill.
Sussex Central’s offense faced a key 4th and 1 and William Campbell was forced to use their last time out due to lining up in the neutral zone. The time out paid off. Tyrell Staten would make up for the previous two fumbles as he would shoot behind the guard and stuff Motton in the backfield for a loss giving the Generals all the hope they needed.
The Generals got their biggest run of the night as Staten refused to go down getting inside the 20 of the Tigers. From there it would be a crawl to the endzone but the determination of the Generals wouldn’t be denied. Staten would just get over the goal line with an attempt from the 1 yard line to tie the game 12-12. The Tigers looked ready to block the extra point but would come up short. Pressuring the kicker paid off as the extra point went wide left with 4:59 left.
William Campbell looked posed to get the ball back so they could take the lead but on 4th down quarterback Malik Delk threw a perfect bullet pass to Amari Hill who would race through defenders and down the sideline to give the Tigers the lead. On the conversion William Campbell would have too many players on the field moving the try half the distance to the goal. This would be all the difference needed as Hatch would display his athleticism and go airborne for the goal line and got the conversion making it 20-12 Tigers with 2:59 in the game.
Sussex would barely contacted on the kick-off as it didn’t go 10 yards setting up the Generals perfectly to tie the game. Boyd would get a big play off the edge as the Generals would eventually get inside the 10. As they churned closer eventually setting up a 3rd and goal from the 1 yard line, Motton would leap over the line and meet Staton for a loss at the 3 yard line. However, with the season on the line Boyd raced to the corner of the endzone would get hit at the 2-yard line but used his length to stretch into the endzone for the score. The visiting crowd erupted as the two point conversion awaited.
Go to the right side Staten would follow a convoy to the corner which was busted up but not enough to deny the heart of the senior running back who reached out to hit the pylon to look to send this one into overtime with the score tied 20-20 with 27 seconds left in the game.
The Tigers Hill would try to break loose on the returning kick-off but the determination by them not to let it slip by would be shown on the next play as Malik Delk would cross over the defenders and then race untouched to the endzone as the Generals fell to their knees in defeat. Though a yellow flag for a block in the back brought it back. It was the second long touchdown run by Delk brought back on the night.
The Tiger defense kept the record holding back in check until late.
He would not be discouraged. With 5 seconds left, Delk would try to go deep as a General defender shoved the Tiger receiver before the ball approached drawing a pass interference call with no time on the clock. From there it would set up a magical moment for the Tigers and a heartbreaking one for William Campbell. Delk would roll out to his right and launch a spiral toward the right side of the endzone. The General defender would miss time his jump and would have the ball pass right through his finger tips and into the hands of Hill as the official signaled touchdown!
The Tigers rushed the endzone and the Generals fell to the ground knowing this time it was over.
Sussex Central rushed for 281 yards with Hatch stepping up leading the way with 97 yards.
Staten stated in tears, “We gave everything we had!” as he was escorted off the field. The senior’s effort was undeniably as on defense he recorded 22 tackles and 4 for losses. William Campbell finishes their season 8-4 as coach Jay Phares turned everything around for a program that only had 1 win two seasons ago.
Sussex Central (9-2) will play the winner of Saturday’s Luray-Essex match up. The Tigers expect to go to Tappahannock setting of the biggest game of the year in Region A.
WILLIAM CAMPBELL 0 0 6 14- 20
SUSSEX CENTRAL 6 6 0 14- 26
SC- Hatch 36 yard run (run failed)
SC- Hatch 4 yard run (run failed)
WC- Boyd 5 yard run (kick failed)
WC- Staten 1 yard run (kick no good)
SC- Hill 45 yard pass from Delk (Hatch run)
WC- Boyd 1 yard run (Staten run)
SC- Hill 29 yard pass from Delk (no attempt)
CENTRAL LUNENBURG 57 FRANKLIN 42
The Broncos young defense couldn’t make the stops necessary to extend their season as the Chargers led by Keaun Baskerville. The Chargers were able to make the stops and blanked Franklin in the 4th to score 21 unanswered. Baskerville would rush for 195 yards and 4 touchdowns on the night. Lunenburg as a team rushed for 417 yards. Franklin rushed for 317 yards but was penalized a staggering 22 times for 128 yards. Central Lunenburg will move on to face Riverheads on Friday night.
GREENSVILLE COUNTY 22 GOOCHLAND 19
Quarterback Shyheim Anderson was too much for the Bulldogs as he rushed for 3 touchdowns and 85 yards on the night to propel the Eagles to the victory on the road. Greensville was held under 100 yards passing surprisingly but was able to make it up with their tough running. The Eagles will travel to Buffalo Gap for the 2A East Sectional Championship with a trip to the state playoffs on the line.
THIS AFTERNOON! Luray at Essex 2pm in Tappahannock!
