Senior defender Corey Sanderlin’s first Indian River touchdown was part of a dominant second quarter Friday night as No. 8 Indian River cruised past host Western Branch 40-7 in Chesapeake.
Tre Pugh rushed for 109 yards on 11 carries, including a 2-yarder for the first touchdown for the Braves (4-1, 3-1 Southeastern District).
Reshard Pope ran for 63 yards and a TD on five carries, and Donovan Brown scored a 10-yard TD on the second quarter’s first play among his six receptions for 37 yards. Elijah Boggs had an interception and a 38-yard TD reception, and Lord Malik Heru completed 13 of 21 passes for two touchdowns and 170 yards.
After David Ortell’s 59-yard TD pass over the middle to Amari Harmon capped a six-play, 75-yard drive by the Bruins (3-2, 1-2) on the game’s first possession, Indian River scored on its first four drives.
But in between the third and fourth of those might have come the game’s most memorable play. The Braves’ defense forced a fumble, and the 6-foot, 280-pound Sanderlin recovered it and took the ball 30 yards to the end zone.
“Grab and go, man. That’s all I’m thinking about,” Sanderlin said. “I saw one dude in front of me and I gave him a stiff-arm. As soon as I grabbed it, I knew I was going and just took off.”
Sanderlin already had given Indian River the lead for good, bobbling a snap as a fullback but nevertheless fighting his way into the end zone for a two-point conversion and an 8-7 lead.
The second half was much more dominated by defenses, though Heru ran for a 7-yard touchdown.
— Reported by Charlie Baumgardner
Oscar Smith dominates in second half
No. 2 Oscar Smith broke out early and got in a groove in the second half for a 50-7 victory at Hickory in a Southeastern District game.
“It wasn’t easy for us,” Oscar Smith coach Chris Scott said. “They got that deep ball on us and we had a couple penalties here and there, and (Hickory) fought back and forth in the first half.”
The game started right for the Tigers as they returned the opening kickoff to the Hickory 13. One play later, Lonnie Andrews took the snap and ran in from 5 yards, and Oscar Smith led 7-0.
Oscar Smith forced a four-and-out and took over at its 18-yard line. It took the Tigers seven plays, and Josiah Jenkins rushed in from 2 yards.
The Hawks, though, hung with the Tigers for the remainder of the quarter, not allowing another score.
The Tigers got on the board again in the second quarter with a Reginald Wallace 1-yard run.
Oscar Smith then intercepted a Hunter Gee pass and followed it with a 55-yard touchdown pass from Andrews to Charles McGlown.
Hickory responded with a 68-yard touchdown strike from Gee to Evan White, cutting the lead to 28-7.
Oscar Smith added another score before halftime as Andrews hit Quali Price for a 34-yard touchdown pass for a 34-7 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Tigers’ defense pinned its ears back and forced an interception, got a safety and held Hickory scoreless. The Hawks were stymied as the Tigers kept rolling.
“I think our run game got going and got a rhythm, and defensively we got a couple turnovers,” Scott said.
— Reported by Greg Giesen
No. 15 Lake Taylor overtakes Norcom
After falling behind by 12 points in a wild first half, No. 15 Lake Taylor recovered to celebrate its homecoming with a 40-26 victory over Norcom in Norfolk.
Keon Johnson scored four touchdowns for the resurgent Titans (5-1, 3-0 Eastern District), including the game’s only two in the second half.
“We were really nervous in the first half,” he said. “We settled down at halftime and did what our offense does.”
Johnson’s first touchdown was a 36-yard interception return with 5 seconds left in the first quarter, which followed TD passes of 28 yards from Norcom’s Emory Hurt to Carlek Phillips and of 21 yards from Lake Taylor’s Kevin Adams to Magerald Clark.
The Greyhounds (1-4, 1-1) then threatened to take control. Marquell Johnson scored on Hurt’s 32-yard pass before Demarcus Edwards ran for a 35-yard touchdown. Edwards then deflated a Titans drive by picking up a fumble and racing 83 yards to the end zone. Suddenly, it was 26-14 Norcom with 1:51 on the second-quarter clock.
But Clark returned the kickoff 66 yards, setting up an 18-yard touchdown run by Keon Johnson. After getting the ball back, Lake Taylor needed just 40 seconds to tie the game, doing so on Clark’s 18-yard reception with 17 seconds remaining. Clark finished with 104 yards on six grabs and was the only Titan to catch a pass.
Longtime Lake Taylor coach Hank Sawyer said, “We knew we were going to run the ball the whole second half — three yards and a cloud of dust.”
After the 26-26 halftime deadlock, the Titans’ defense shut down Norcom in the second half. Keon Johnson’s go-ahead 2-yard run capped a nine-play drive to begin the third quarter, and his 1-yard run and two-point conversion run with 6:44 left in the fourth gave Lake Taylor a 14-point cushion.
— Reported by Gary Lassiter
Other games
Cox 14, Ocean Lakes 10: Jiwan Mack scored a 1-yard run late in the fourth quarter and the Falcons (4-2) won a Beach District game at Ocean Lakes (2-3).
The late touchdown was fueled by the Cox offense finally getting its footing. With a little more than eight minutes left in the game, the Falcons only had 67 yards of offense. But Cox crafted a 70-yard drive for the go-ahead score.
Tyre Jefferies led the Falcons with 141 yards rushing.
Ocean Lakes had a strong game defensively, limiting Cox quarterback Branden Herron to 5 yards passing with three interceptions. Outside of Jefferies, no Falcon had more than 11 yards of offense.
Cox was also strong defensively, limiting Ocean Lakes to 42 net rushing yards and forcing two turnovers.
Scoreboard
757Teamz Top 15
#1 Maury 91, Booker T. Washington 0
#2 Oscar Smith 50, Hickory 7
#3 Green Run 35, #14 Salem 28
#4 Nansemond River 42, Great Bridge 0
#5 Warwick 39, Menchville 0
#7 King’s Fork 45, Grassfield 7
#8 Indian River 40, Western Branch 7
#9 Poquoson 66, Jamestown 10
#10 Lafayette 49, Grafton 7
#12 Kempsville 41, Landstown 12
#15 Lake Taylor 40, Norcom 26
Bay Rivers District
Bruton 34, Gloucester 8
Tabb 27, Smithfield 14
New Kent 40, York 6
Beach District
Cox 14, Ocean Lakes 10
First Colonial 20, Princess Anne 13
Kellam 38, Tallwood 14
Eastern District
Granby 10, Manor 0
Churchland 21, Norview 0
Peninsula District
Bethel 68, Heritage 0
Southeastern District
Deep Creek 31, Lakeland 10
Private schools
Chincoteague 46, Greenbrier Christian Academy 25
Hampton Roads Academy 20, Isle of Wight Academy 14
Nansemond-Suffolk Academy 42, Catholic 6
