Thursday’s Games (10/1/15): * Subject to change due to weather
Green Run (1-4) at Salem (3-1) . . . The SunDevils have not been too kind to Green Run, defeating the Stallions six straight times. In fact, Salem has eliminated Green Run from the playoffs each of the last two years. Two of the finest running backs in the Beach go head-to-head with Malik Butts (435Yds. 9TD’s) of Salem and Brelynd Cyphers (82Att. 524Yds. 9TD’s) from Green Run. Junior Davonte Williams, who transferred back to Salem from Woodside, has given them another weapon to go with Butts as he found the end zone four times against Princess Anne two weeks ago.
Neither team probably wants to throw the football much, though Green Run has done it a bit better to this point. Nate Harden (64-110 for 824Yds. 4TD’s) has been mistake-prone at times for the Stallions, while Tyler Watson-Jones is more of the game-manager for Salem. The question is which defense will force the other to be one-dimensional? That probably is Salem, led by junior LB Morris Vaughan. The SunDevils are giving up just 13.3PPG compared to the 36.4PPG allowed by Green Run.
Matt Says: Salem 27-12
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Salem 34-13
Coach Young Says: Salem 24-12
Lake Taylor (4-0) at Granby (2-2) . . . While a Jalyn Holmes touchdown reception on the final play of the game did Granby in back in 2012, 27-25, the last two years have been Lake Taylor routs by a combined margin of 98-6. Though the Titans have given up 55 points the past two games to Northeastern (NC) and Norview, they have gotten key plays in crunch time from Wayne Davis, who will join Holmes at Ohio State next year, to extend their winning streak to 19 games, 29 against Eastern District foes.
Ja’Quaveon Beachem ran for 166 yards and two touchdowns for Granby in last week’s 23-12 victory over Booker T. Washington that was filled with penalties and turnovers. They combined for eight turnovers and 167 yards in penalty that night. Diorel Johnson, one of their main big-play receivers, had a defensive touchdown against the Bookers. The Comets need a couple of takeaways to keep pace with Lake Taylor, which has scored no fewer than 34 points in any contest this season. Meanwhile, Granby’s highest scoring total is 23.
Matt Says: Lake Taylor 42-6
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Lake Taylor 37-0
Coach Young Says: Lake Taylor 50-0
Grassfield (3-1) at Western Branch (2-2) . . . After Grassfield won four straight in the series from 2009-12, the Bruins have won each of the last two years against the Grizzlies by double-digits. Both teams are coming off tough losses; Western Branch fell at King’s Fork 14-6, while Grassfield was beaten convincingly at home by Indian River to the count of 34-3. This is a pivotal match given that these two are jockeying for position in the 6A-South Region playoffs. It might be even more of a must-win for the Bruins since they still have to play Oscar Smith and Indian River.
Western Branch’s backfield combo of Keith Bryant and Brandon Byrd has combined for six touchdowns, though got held to 119 yards on 36 carries in the loss to King’s Fork. Their defense, which produced three interception returns for scores in victories over Lakeland and Great Bridge, has to play opportunistic against a Grassfield offense that features one of the country’s premier athletes in WR Grant Holloway (13Rec. 230Yds. 4TD’s). Holloway will want to take out his frustration from a 3-catch, 33-yard effort vs. Indian River.
Quarterback Justice Bigbie has thrown for 558 yards on the year for the Grizzlies. Will the running game offer much support for him and Holloway? Since returning from a season-opening shutout loss to Cocoa in Florida, the Western Branch defense - led by LB Arman Jones and CB Nate Lewis - has been pretty solid in allowing just three touchdowns in the past three games. While they a couple of next-level talents in their front seven with DE/OLB Patrick Jones and DT Seth Harrell, the Grizzlies are probably a touch below the Western Branch as a whole defensively.
Matt Says: Western Branch 27-14
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Western Branch 28-21
Coach Young Says: Western Branch 21-14
Hickory (1-3) at Oscar Smith (3-0) . . . Winners of 77 consecutive Southeastern District games and 104 of their 105 against opponents from Chesapeake or Suffolk, Oscar Smith takes on the last team in the city to beat them. That was Hickory back in 2006 when the Hawks somehow only finished 6-4 overall. Is this Hickory team capable of repeating history? It’s highly doubtful, considering their 27 points in four games this year is less than Oscar Smith’s 28 that they had at half-time against Deep Creek a week ago.
Since a 14-7 win over Currituck from North Carolina in the opener, the Hawks’ defense has been hit hard for 151 points over the past three games. The Tigers can use the arm of QB Shon Mitchell (35-49 for 676Yds. 5TD's) to move the ball and score or be content keeping it on the ground with RB’s Kourtney Johnson and Khalil Perry. Either way, even if the Hickory defense has some success, they have to be able to sustain drives themselves. That’s a tall task these days against an Oscar Smith defense that has pitched three straight shutouts to start the season.
Matt Says: Oscar Smith 48-6
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Oscar Smith 47-7
Coach Young Says: Oscar Smith 63-0
York (3-1) at Lafayette (4-0) . . . This game suddenly became a really big one and perhaps the marquee matchup on the Bay Rivers District slate this year when York beat Poquoson 21-7 a week ago at Bailey Field. Doug Pereira’s Falcons have progressively gotten better on defense this year, from giving up 398 total yards in a 16-9 loss to James Monroe to start the year, to holding Warhill to 193 yards and Poquoson to just 109 yards. Offensively, freshman QB Ramsey Hayyat has given a run-oriented York offense a boost.
As much as the York offense is improving, it truly pales in comparison statistically speaking to what Lafayette has done so far, averaging a whopping 51 points and 400.5 total yards per game. They’ve done that a couple of games without John Douglass, their bruising ball carrier who’s now back in the lineup. There’s quality depth behind him with Joey and Caleb Kraegenbrink as well as Kyle Johnson. On the outside, WR Tyrek Graham has given QB Chase Pine, a Pittsburgh commit at linebacker, a dynamic target in the passing game.
The matchup to watch in this game is the Lafayette offensive front with Army commit Trey Neville, fellow seniors Mitch Barrick and Ian McManus, junior Dexter Klock, and sophomores Gavin Byron and Jack Erwin against York’s defensive front. On the d-line for York, Darius Reynolds, Kemont Lipscomb and JayVon Rush are all factors against the run and pressuring the quarterback with help from the likes of Luke Gilbert and Adam Lytle in spots. Devin Campbell had a strong game at linebacker vs. Poquoson with eight tackles, and the Falcons are really going to need their players on the back end, the LB’s and DB’s, to tackle well when Lafayette gets to the next level of the defense.
It wouldn’t surprise me to see the York defense put up a valiant effort with the expected bad weather to hinder Lafayette’s usually potent offense a smidge as well. What would concern me from a Falcons perspective is how do they move the ball against the Lafayette defense and score consistently? Coach Andy Linn at Lafayette has gotten contributions from different levels on the defense, plus the likes of Graham, Pine and Hezekiah Grimsley have stepped up a great deal on special teams.
Matt Says: Lafayette 27-7
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Lafayette 39-13
Coach Young Says: Lafayette 21-14
New Kent (1-3) at Grafton (3-1) . . . There are quite a few pluses in Grafton’s corner for this one. Defensively, they’ve got the stronger bunch, holding opponents to 11.7 points per game and 3.8 yards per carry thus far. Julian Miller, Ray Gonzalez, Tavaris Noel and that crew have limited the big play exceedingly well. Additionally, they had a pair of pick-sixes in a win over Churchland and a punt return for a touchdown in beating Tabb to help out the offense. At times, they have struggled on offense, but a healthy D.J. Dobbins at quarterback makes a major difference.
Slowly but surely, New Kent is improving on defense. That has been shown the last two weeks in a 14-6 loss to Tabb and a 16-13 triumph over Bruton. C.J. Reeders made a dozen tackles for the Trojans, who got another stellar night from running back Davion Barnes, who ran for 289 yards on the Panthers to raise his season total to 879 yards rushing in just four games. If Grafton contains relatively speaking, will New Kent - which didn’t complete a pass vs. Bruton - be able to counter through the air? Also, the Grafton offense ran for 345 yards last week with Dobbins, Trevaun Walker, Aaron Daugherty and Ryan Pabon keying that attack.
Matt Says: Grafton 24-12
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Grafton 21-13
Coach Young Says: Grafton 31-28
Poquoson (3-1) at Smithfield (2-2) . . . The last two years have produced close battles between Poquoson and Smithfield with the Islanders winning each, 28-25 last season and 35-33 in 2013. Another nail-biter is very possible. Under first-year Head Coach Reggie Chavis, the Packers have been very competitive, piling up 315 yards passing in a 24-17 loss to King’s Fork and only trailing Lafayette by a touchdown heading to the fourth quarter before the bottom fell out in a 57-21 loss to the Rams. Poquoson, which started with three straight shutouts, looks to bounce back from a 21-7 loss to York.
Elliott Duty’s Islanders miss RB Nate Ward, who suffered a scary head injury against Jamestown, a great deal. It showed against York in only gaining 19 yards rushing. Trey Hicks (31 of 59 for 508Yds. 8-1TD/Int. ratio) gives them a passing presence, targeting WR Matt Blaser. Smithfield’s passing game isn’t anything to sneeze about either with WR Chris Pierce (19Rec. 349Yds. 6TD’s) arguably the most explosive player in the Bay Rivers. They got their running game going against Warhill with William Robinson rushing for a pair of touchdowns and 353 yards, only 15 yards off the school-record set by Dyrell Roberts back in 2007. Poquoson’s defense must stop him and Pierce to win.
Matt Says: Smithfield 26-21
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Poquoson 23-20
Coach Young Says: Poquoson 21-20
Gloucester (1-4) at Phoebus (5-0) . . . Since being held to 46 yards rushing on 37 attempts in a 7-0 triple-overtime win over Bethel, the Phoebus ground game spearheaded by Jomari Becnel has been much more effective the last three games. During that span, they’ve averaged 205 yards rushing per game with Becnel picking up 116 yards on 30 touches in a 16-14 squeaker with Kecoughtan. Look for those numbers to only increase against a Gloucester team that was torched for 76 points by Hampton.
In that 69-point loss to the Crabbers, the Dukes used their third different quarterback on the season in Elijah Shaffer, who completed 18 of 24 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown, but was picked off three times. Owen Rousselle is a dependable option through the air for them with 11 grabs for 106 yards and a score on Hampton. But Marlon Carter and Da’Quan Lewis give the Phantoms one of the better defensive back combos in the PD. Phoebus QB Justin Wright has completed 56% of his passes the last four games and faces a Gloucester defense allowing 78.4% completions.
Matt Says: Phoebus 42-6
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Phoebus 48-8
Coach Young Says: Phoebus 33-0
Green Run (1-4) at Salem (3-1) . . . The SunDevils have not been too kind to Green Run, defeating the Stallions six straight times. In fact, Salem has eliminated Green Run from the playoffs each of the last two years. Two of the finest running backs in the Beach go head-to-head with Malik Butts (435Yds. 9TD’s) of Salem and Brelynd Cyphers (82Att. 524Yds. 9TD’s) from Green Run. Junior Davonte Williams, who transferred back to Salem from Woodside, has given them another weapon to go with Butts as he found the end zone four times against Princess Anne two weeks ago.
Neither team probably wants to throw the football much, though Green Run has done it a bit better to this point. Nate Harden (64-110 for 824Yds. 4TD’s) has been mistake-prone at times for the Stallions, while Tyler Watson-Jones is more of the game-manager for Salem. The question is which defense will force the other to be one-dimensional? That probably is Salem, led by junior LB Morris Vaughan. The SunDevils are giving up just 13.3PPG compared to the 36.4PPG allowed by Green Run.
Matt Says: Salem 27-12
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Salem 34-13
Coach Young Says: Salem 24-12
Lake Taylor (4-0) at Granby (2-2) . . . While a Jalyn Holmes touchdown reception on the final play of the game did Granby in back in 2012, 27-25, the last two years have been Lake Taylor routs by a combined margin of 98-6. Though the Titans have given up 55 points the past two games to Northeastern (NC) and Norview, they have gotten key plays in crunch time from Wayne Davis, who will join Holmes at Ohio State next year, to extend their winning streak to 19 games, 29 against Eastern District foes.
Ja’Quaveon Beachem ran for 166 yards and two touchdowns for Granby in last week’s 23-12 victory over Booker T. Washington that was filled with penalties and turnovers. They combined for eight turnovers and 167 yards in penalty that night. Diorel Johnson, one of their main big-play receivers, had a defensive touchdown against the Bookers. The Comets need a couple of takeaways to keep pace with Lake Taylor, which has scored no fewer than 34 points in any contest this season. Meanwhile, Granby’s highest scoring total is 23.
Matt Says: Lake Taylor 42-6
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Lake Taylor 37-0
Coach Young Says: Lake Taylor 50-0
Grassfield (3-1) at Western Branch (2-2) . . . After Grassfield won four straight in the series from 2009-12, the Bruins have won each of the last two years against the Grizzlies by double-digits. Both teams are coming off tough losses; Western Branch fell at King’s Fork 14-6, while Grassfield was beaten convincingly at home by Indian River to the count of 34-3. This is a pivotal match given that these two are jockeying for position in the 6A-South Region playoffs. It might be even more of a must-win for the Bruins since they still have to play Oscar Smith and Indian River.
Western Branch’s backfield combo of Keith Bryant and Brandon Byrd has combined for six touchdowns, though got held to 119 yards on 36 carries in the loss to King’s Fork. Their defense, which produced three interception returns for scores in victories over Lakeland and Great Bridge, has to play opportunistic against a Grassfield offense that features one of the country’s premier athletes in WR Grant Holloway (13Rec. 230Yds. 4TD’s). Holloway will want to take out his frustration from a 3-catch, 33-yard effort vs. Indian River.
Quarterback Justice Bigbie has thrown for 558 yards on the year for the Grizzlies. Will the running game offer much support for him and Holloway? Since returning from a season-opening shutout loss to Cocoa in Florida, the Western Branch defense - led by LB Arman Jones and CB Nate Lewis - has been pretty solid in allowing just three touchdowns in the past three games. While they a couple of next-level talents in their front seven with DE/OLB Patrick Jones and DT Seth Harrell, the Grizzlies are probably a touch below the Western Branch as a whole defensively.
Matt Says: Western Branch 27-14
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Western Branch 28-21
Coach Young Says: Western Branch 21-14
Hickory (1-3) at Oscar Smith (3-0) . . . Winners of 77 consecutive Southeastern District games and 104 of their 105 against opponents from Chesapeake or Suffolk, Oscar Smith takes on the last team in the city to beat them. That was Hickory back in 2006 when the Hawks somehow only finished 6-4 overall. Is this Hickory team capable of repeating history? It’s highly doubtful, considering their 27 points in four games this year is less than Oscar Smith’s 28 that they had at half-time against Deep Creek a week ago.
Since a 14-7 win over Currituck from North Carolina in the opener, the Hawks’ defense has been hit hard for 151 points over the past three games. The Tigers can use the arm of QB Shon Mitchell (35-49 for 676Yds. 5TD's) to move the ball and score or be content keeping it on the ground with RB’s Kourtney Johnson and Khalil Perry. Either way, even if the Hickory defense has some success, they have to be able to sustain drives themselves. That’s a tall task these days against an Oscar Smith defense that has pitched three straight shutouts to start the season.
Matt Says: Oscar Smith 48-6
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Oscar Smith 47-7
Coach Young Says: Oscar Smith 63-0
York (3-1) at Lafayette (4-0) . . . This game suddenly became a really big one and perhaps the marquee matchup on the Bay Rivers District slate this year when York beat Poquoson 21-7 a week ago at Bailey Field. Doug Pereira’s Falcons have progressively gotten better on defense this year, from giving up 398 total yards in a 16-9 loss to James Monroe to start the year, to holding Warhill to 193 yards and Poquoson to just 109 yards. Offensively, freshman QB Ramsey Hayyat has given a run-oriented York offense a boost.
As much as the York offense is improving, it truly pales in comparison statistically speaking to what Lafayette has done so far, averaging a whopping 51 points and 400.5 total yards per game. They’ve done that a couple of games without John Douglass, their bruising ball carrier who’s now back in the lineup. There’s quality depth behind him with Joey and Caleb Kraegenbrink as well as Kyle Johnson. On the outside, WR Tyrek Graham has given QB Chase Pine, a Pittsburgh commit at linebacker, a dynamic target in the passing game.
The matchup to watch in this game is the Lafayette offensive front with Army commit Trey Neville, fellow seniors Mitch Barrick and Ian McManus, junior Dexter Klock, and sophomores Gavin Byron and Jack Erwin against York’s defensive front. On the d-line for York, Darius Reynolds, Kemont Lipscomb and JayVon Rush are all factors against the run and pressuring the quarterback with help from the likes of Luke Gilbert and Adam Lytle in spots. Devin Campbell had a strong game at linebacker vs. Poquoson with eight tackles, and the Falcons are really going to need their players on the back end, the LB’s and DB’s, to tackle well when Lafayette gets to the next level of the defense.
It wouldn’t surprise me to see the York defense put up a valiant effort with the expected bad weather to hinder Lafayette’s usually potent offense a smidge as well. What would concern me from a Falcons perspective is how do they move the ball against the Lafayette defense and score consistently? Coach Andy Linn at Lafayette has gotten contributions from different levels on the defense, plus the likes of Graham, Pine and Hezekiah Grimsley have stepped up a great deal on special teams.
Matt Says: Lafayette 27-7
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Lafayette 39-13
Coach Young Says: Lafayette 21-14
New Kent (1-3) at Grafton (3-1) . . . There are quite a few pluses in Grafton’s corner for this one. Defensively, they’ve got the stronger bunch, holding opponents to 11.7 points per game and 3.8 yards per carry thus far. Julian Miller, Ray Gonzalez, Tavaris Noel and that crew have limited the big play exceedingly well. Additionally, they had a pair of pick-sixes in a win over Churchland and a punt return for a touchdown in beating Tabb to help out the offense. At times, they have struggled on offense, but a healthy D.J. Dobbins at quarterback makes a major difference.
Slowly but surely, New Kent is improving on defense. That has been shown the last two weeks in a 14-6 loss to Tabb and a 16-13 triumph over Bruton. C.J. Reeders made a dozen tackles for the Trojans, who got another stellar night from running back Davion Barnes, who ran for 289 yards on the Panthers to raise his season total to 879 yards rushing in just four games. If Grafton contains relatively speaking, will New Kent - which didn’t complete a pass vs. Bruton - be able to counter through the air? Also, the Grafton offense ran for 345 yards last week with Dobbins, Trevaun Walker, Aaron Daugherty and Ryan Pabon keying that attack.
Matt Says: Grafton 24-12
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Grafton 21-13
Coach Young Says: Grafton 31-28
Poquoson (3-1) at Smithfield (2-2) . . . The last two years have produced close battles between Poquoson and Smithfield with the Islanders winning each, 28-25 last season and 35-33 in 2013. Another nail-biter is very possible. Under first-year Head Coach Reggie Chavis, the Packers have been very competitive, piling up 315 yards passing in a 24-17 loss to King’s Fork and only trailing Lafayette by a touchdown heading to the fourth quarter before the bottom fell out in a 57-21 loss to the Rams. Poquoson, which started with three straight shutouts, looks to bounce back from a 21-7 loss to York.
Elliott Duty’s Islanders miss RB Nate Ward, who suffered a scary head injury against Jamestown, a great deal. It showed against York in only gaining 19 yards rushing. Trey Hicks (31 of 59 for 508Yds. 8-1TD/Int. ratio) gives them a passing presence, targeting WR Matt Blaser. Smithfield’s passing game isn’t anything to sneeze about either with WR Chris Pierce (19Rec. 349Yds. 6TD’s) arguably the most explosive player in the Bay Rivers. They got their running game going against Warhill with William Robinson rushing for a pair of touchdowns and 353 yards, only 15 yards off the school-record set by Dyrell Roberts back in 2007. Poquoson’s defense must stop him and Pierce to win.
Matt Says: Smithfield 26-21
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Poquoson 23-20
Coach Young Says: Poquoson 21-20
Gloucester (1-4) at Phoebus (5-0) . . . Since being held to 46 yards rushing on 37 attempts in a 7-0 triple-overtime win over Bethel, the Phoebus ground game spearheaded by Jomari Becnel has been much more effective the last three games. During that span, they’ve averaged 205 yards rushing per game with Becnel picking up 116 yards on 30 touches in a 16-14 squeaker with Kecoughtan. Look for those numbers to only increase against a Gloucester team that was torched for 76 points by Hampton.
In that 69-point loss to the Crabbers, the Dukes used their third different quarterback on the season in Elijah Shaffer, who completed 18 of 24 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown, but was picked off three times. Owen Rousselle is a dependable option through the air for them with 11 grabs for 106 yards and a score on Hampton. But Marlon Carter and Da’Quan Lewis give the Phantoms one of the better defensive back combos in the PD. Phoebus QB Justin Wright has completed 56% of his passes the last four games and faces a Gloucester defense allowing 78.4% completions.
Matt Says: Phoebus 42-6
VHSL-Reference.com Says: Phoebus 48-8
Coach Young Says: Phoebus 33-0
