Woodside visited Lake Taylor Thursday night in Norfolk for an annual preseason scrimmage featuring two of the Top Ten ranked teams in the state of Virginia in their respective divisions.
The unofficial score - and we say unofficial since it wasn't kept on the scoreboard - saw the host Titans winning by a count of 42-12, breaking open what was a close 14-6 game at the break and 14-12 early in the third quarter.
As typical with many scrimmages, I felt like both teams came away with some positives as well as areas to work on, but probably a few more pluses on the Lake Taylor side of the ledger. The Titans have reached the State Championship game in three of the past four seasons and debut at #2 in this year's 4A Preseason Top Ten.
Woodside - ranked #9 in the 6A Preseason Top Ten - got a nice 21-yard run from tailback Tamir Walker on its first series. But the Lake Taylor defense, led by four-star DT Darnell Ewell (Notre Dame commit) and 2nd Team All-State linebacker Dimaonte Tucker-Dorsey (JMU commit), stiffened and kept the Wolverines from scoring on either of its first two possessions.
Walker left on the second series and did not return after what he cited was a twisted knee, but it isn't serious and just wanted to be cautious since it was a scrimmage. He should be able to go in their season opener later this month in Ohio against GlenOak.
Lake Taylor's two scores in the first half came via a Deon Smith touchdown run and touchdown pass of about 28 yards from QB Tyrek Hughey to Rashard Russell (who's nicknamed RG3 by teammates and coaches for his physical resemblance to Cleveland Browns QB Robert Griffin III).
The Wolverines scored not long before half-time on a jump-ball from Jordan Knight to fellow junior Tyshiem Parker that measured 80 yards. They then cut the gap even further by forcing a Titans three-and-out to begin the second half and then a couple of long runs of 45 yards by Demetri Banks and 35 yards from Kendall Bell, the ladder resulting in a touchdown.
From there, it was all Lake Taylor with a dominant running game that featured both Smith and Quran Copeland - who's back with the Titans after playing last year at Princess Anne - and a fierce pass rush that set the tone from the start of the evening by getting after Wolverines QB Tyhier Tyler (Army commit).
Ewell, along with defensive line mates Roman Bond and Tairaceo White, routinely found their way into the Woodside backfield. Bond caused a fumble which White recovered in the second half to set up a touchdown.
With some new faces in the secondary still getting acclimated to Lake Taylor's scheme, it's clear that the defensive front will carry the way for the Titans, particularly early on in the season with a challenging schedule in the first month of the season that features the likes of Heritage, Western Branch, Northeastern from North Carolina and Norview.
Offensively, the firepower is there for Woodside to make plenty of noise in the Peninsula District and beyond in the playoffs. Similar to the Titans, they are still working on the timing in the passing game. Defensively, the Wolverines also have some room for improvement, mainly against the run as the Titans hit them with the dive early on in the second half, then attacked on the outside through their trademark veer.
See Photo Gallery on Flickr Here
The unofficial score - and we say unofficial since it wasn't kept on the scoreboard - saw the host Titans winning by a count of 42-12, breaking open what was a close 14-6 game at the break and 14-12 early in the third quarter.
As typical with many scrimmages, I felt like both teams came away with some positives as well as areas to work on, but probably a few more pluses on the Lake Taylor side of the ledger. The Titans have reached the State Championship game in three of the past four seasons and debut at #2 in this year's 4A Preseason Top Ten.
Woodside - ranked #9 in the 6A Preseason Top Ten - got a nice 21-yard run from tailback Tamir Walker on its first series. But the Lake Taylor defense, led by four-star DT Darnell Ewell (Notre Dame commit) and 2nd Team All-State linebacker Dimaonte Tucker-Dorsey (JMU commit), stiffened and kept the Wolverines from scoring on either of its first two possessions.
Walker left on the second series and did not return after what he cited was a twisted knee, but it isn't serious and just wanted to be cautious since it was a scrimmage. He should be able to go in their season opener later this month in Ohio against GlenOak.
Lake Taylor's two scores in the first half came via a Deon Smith touchdown run and touchdown pass of about 28 yards from QB Tyrek Hughey to Rashard Russell (who's nicknamed RG3 by teammates and coaches for his physical resemblance to Cleveland Browns QB Robert Griffin III).
The Wolverines scored not long before half-time on a jump-ball from Jordan Knight to fellow junior Tyshiem Parker that measured 80 yards. They then cut the gap even further by forcing a Titans three-and-out to begin the second half and then a couple of long runs of 45 yards by Demetri Banks and 35 yards from Kendall Bell, the ladder resulting in a touchdown.
From there, it was all Lake Taylor with a dominant running game that featured both Smith and Quran Copeland - who's back with the Titans after playing last year at Princess Anne - and a fierce pass rush that set the tone from the start of the evening by getting after Wolverines QB Tyhier Tyler (Army commit).
Ewell, along with defensive line mates Roman Bond and Tairaceo White, routinely found their way into the Woodside backfield. Bond caused a fumble which White recovered in the second half to set up a touchdown.
With some new faces in the secondary still getting acclimated to Lake Taylor's scheme, it's clear that the defensive front will carry the way for the Titans, particularly early on in the season with a challenging schedule in the first month of the season that features the likes of Heritage, Western Branch, Northeastern from North Carolina and Norview.
Offensively, the firepower is there for Woodside to make plenty of noise in the Peninsula District and beyond in the playoffs. Similar to the Titans, they are still working on the timing in the passing game. Defensively, the Wolverines also have some room for improvement, mainly against the run as the Titans hit them with the dive early on in the second half, then attacked on the outside through their trademark veer.
See Photo Gallery on Flickr Here
