POQUOSON — It was Poquoson running versus Southampton passing in their Class 2 Region A semifinal Friday at Poquoson Middle School. The No. 2 Islanders never passed the ball, nor did they need to, as their Wing-T rushing attack netted 429 yards in a 42-6 win.

The victory moved the Islanders (11-1) into a long-anticipated matchup at No. 1 Armstrong (12-0) — a 20-13 winner over No. 4 Thomas Jefferson in the other semifinal — on the Wildcats’ home field in Richmond. The Islanders have won the region the past three years.

Some thought Southampton (7-5), with a prolific passer in Zayden Pope (2,013 yards passing, 19 touchdowns) might provide some resistance. And, with Pope completing five passes for 40 yards and driving the Indians to the Poquoson 15-yard line to start the game, that looked possible.

The Islanders held, took over on downs and then ran wild. Austin Conley (nine carries, 154 yards) ran 39 yards to make it 7-0 on Poquoson’s first possession.

After Dom Galacgac intercepted a Pope pass, the Islanders drove 48 yards on eight plays for a score. Cody Little (10 carries, 101 yards) ran in from 4 yards to make it 14-0.

The defense, which allowed just 150 yards (126 passing), set up the next touchdown with a fumble recovery at the Southampton 19. Galacgac (nine carries, 87 yards) covered that distance on the next play as Poquoson led 21-0 with 10:06 left in the first half.

Southampton’s passing efforts finally paid off, thanks to some trickery. Miguel Bradshaw’s 35-yard pass to Qmarai Allen for a touchdown on a receiver option made it 21-6.

A Southampton penalty gave the Islanders a short field after the kickoff, and they took advantage in the form of a 21-yard touchdown run by Galacgac. That increased the lead to 28-6 late in the first half.

Southampton efforts to chop into the lead late in the first half were futile, as Brayden Agnese, Carter Jones and Nate Quiroz continually harassed Pope, who was sacked five times. Conley ran 62 yards for a score on the second play of the third quarter.

He added a 5-yard touchdown run one play after Little ran 42 yards. That gave the Islanders a 36-point lead and a running clock with 7:57 to play in the third quarter.

“I thought we did a good job blocking tonight, everybody,” Poquoson coach Elliott Duty said. “The linemen, tight ends, running backs all did a good job opening holes.

“We gave up a couple of plays (defensively) and bent, but we almost had that (Southampton touchdown pass) stopped in the backfield. To limit a team like that to one big play, I think we did OK.”

https://www.dailypress.com/2025/11/22/poquoson-runs-wild-in-region-semifinal-win-over-southampton/