VIRGINIA BEACH — It was a nail-biting affair at home on opening night for seventh-ranked Salem, who trailed through three quarters.
With a little more than eight minutes remaining, senior running back Jason Harden burst through the line and bolted 90 yards down the left sideline to score the go-ahead touchdown in the SunDevils’ 24-17 come-from-behind victory over No. 12 Kempsville in a key Beach District tilt Thursday night.
“Kempsville’s always going to bring that game, man. They’re a playoff team,” SunDevils coach Mark Hall III said. “I’m just proud of our team, the way we came back through adversity. It just shows how far we came throughout the summer. And to have that game to open the season, it shows that, you know, we’re ready to play.”
The Chiefs (0-1) were limited to 2 total yards on their next two possessions and were also stymied by two problematic snaps deep in their own territory over quarterback Josh Hawley’s head — the second leading to a Salem recovery 5 yards away from the goal line. Two plays later, Khyre Sutton punched in a TD run from 2 yards for the final margin with 2:01 remaining.
“It’s a playoff atmosphere and you have your ups and your downs, but you just have to make sure you stay composed — our coaches included,” Hall said. “You know, there’s a lot of adrenaline on the sideline, so our guys just made sure the kids were even-keeled and staying humble to win the game.”
Kempsville jumped out to 7-0 lead on an 8-yard run by Tayshaun Johnson less than three minutes into the game. With a little more than three minutes remaining in the first half, Max Clatterbuck booted a 31-yard field goal to put the visitors up 10-0.
The SunDevils got on the board 75 seconds later on a 3-yard plunge by Kasir Patterson to cut the deficit to 10-6. QB Landen Curles spurred the drive with two completions and a 35-yard scamper to the Kempsville 3.
“The biggest thing is they’ve got to come in with the right mentality, take every team, look at them the same and think they’re ready to play just like we are, Hall said.
Midway through the third quarter, Haley connected with Jorden Mitnaul for a 54-yard scoring heave to give Kempsville a 17-6 lead. However, the Sun Devils struck back a little more than two minutes later on Curles’ 5 yard TD dash. He flung a 46-yard pass to Kaden Drenning to set up the score.
Kempsville had a chance to extend its lead in the fourth, but a fumbled snap on a 35-yard field-goal attempt led to a turnover on downs at the SunDevils’ 20.
A penalty forced Salem back 10 yards before Harden tore through for the decisive score.
“We knew eventually he would break one of those runs,” Hall said of Harden, who finished with 14 carries for 147 yards. “Our line works really hard, so it was just a question of when.
“It’s just mentality of the ground and pound — Salem always is known to have a good running back and a good offensive line. So we just were waiting for the opportunity to happen.”
Moments after Sutton’s TD on the following possession, Kempsville appeared to set up the chance for the tying score after Hawley bought time scrambling behind his 25-yard line, throwing across his body to hit a wide-open James Releford, who sprinted across the goal line.
But the play was brought back because of a penalty for an ineligible receiver downfield. Two incompletions then led to a turnover on downs, with Salem running out the clock with the ensuing possession.
