JAMES CITY — Warhill rode a dominant second half to a 36-14 win over Tabb on Friday at Wanner Stadium in a Bay Rivers District game that had huge playoff implications for the Lions.
The 14th-ranked Lions (7-2 overall and district), with winless Gloucester left on the regular-season schedule, virtually clinched the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Class 4 Region A playoffs. That means they’ll begin the playoffs at Wanner Stadium and, with a quarterfinal win, would likely return there for the semifinals to play rival Lafayette.
“This was really big,” said Lions quarterback Carson Strickland, a junior who completed 6 of 9 passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns, in addition to running for a touchdown. “We were 6-2 and they were 6-2, so we showed them tonight what we’re made of.
“It was Senior Night and we wanted to come out and dominate for our seniors.”
One of those seniors, running back Braden Terns, contributed mightily to that domination. He ran 12 times for 174 yards, with touchdown runs of 34 and 53 yards in the second half.
The Lions led only 13-7 at the start of the second half, when the Tigers recovered a fumble by Ryan Kline at the Warhill 26 and were poised to take the lead. But Kline and the Lions turned the tide by turning the Tigers over on downs.
In between a tackle and series-ending pass breakup by ZCarion Turner, Kline sacked Tabb quarterback Corbin Eckert for a 3-yard loss. The second half was mostly Warhill from there.
The Lions needed just four plays to drive 74 yards, with Terns’ 34-yard TD run and Devon Price’s two-point conversion making it 21-7. Terns had a 35-yard run on the Lions’ next possession, which ended with Strickland passing 20 yards to Micah Mason to make it 28-7 early in the fourth quarter.
One play after Eckert passed 18 yards to Solomon Limehouse for a touchdown to give Tabb a glimmer of hope at 28-14 with 5:34 to play, Terns ran 53 yards for a score. He added a two-point run to make it 36-14.
Warhill wide receiver Braden Terns makes a catch during a victory against Tabb at Wanner Stadium on Friday night. KENDALL WARNER/DAILY PRESS
“We’ve seen him do that in practice, but he came out lights-out for this game,” Warhill coach Jerome Rhodes said of Terns’ big outing.
The first half of the much-anticipated showdown was very competitive. Strickland threw 14 yards to Price for a touchdown to give Warhill a 7-0 lead after an early Tabb fumble.
The Tigers recovered their poise and marched 69 yards in 17 plays for a score. Khalil Outlaw ran five times for 23 yards on the drive, while Eckert completed 3 of 4 passes for 24 yards. Josh Gunthinger capped the 9-minute, 16-second possession with a 5-yard run to tie the score at 7.
Warhill followed suit with a drive of 14 plays covering 80 yards and 8:43 of the second quarter. Strickland was the star, completing 3 of 4 passes for 50 yards and running three times for 18 yards — including the 1-yard touchdown that put the Lions ahead 13-7 shortly before intermission.
