11 minute read
Sports
09 09
2022 Prep football: Matoaca at Hanover 7:00 p.m.
Advertisement
09 10
2022 Prep cross country: Pole Green Classic at Pole Green Park 8:30 a.m.
| Youth, High School, College, Recreational & Professional
Raiders rebound with win over Wildcats
By Weldon Bradshaw for the Times-Dispatch
MECHANICSVILLE — They labor in anonymity.
They rarely get the kudos, but, hey, neither do they expect them.
Playing in the offensive line, you see, giving their quarterback time to execute, and opening holes for their runners is a matter of pride.
Their reward, they feel, is the prodigious effort they expend.
“Our No. 1 responsibility is to recreate the line of scrimmage,” said Atlee guard Brock Taylor Thursday after the Raiders dispatched visiting Deep Run 38-14. “Most importantly, we want to protect our guys in the backfield.
“I don’t really care about individual success. If the scoreboard says a win, I’m fine.”
Standing in the half-light outside the Raiders’ team room, Taylor, a 6-3, 285-pound junior, was speaking for Dylan Kildoo (6-1, 260), Matthew DiGiovanna (6-2, 250), Jacob Rose (6-4, 265), and James Nicholson (6-4, 270), the other big guys who man the trenches and enabled the home team to amass 365 yards on 45 plays.
“That unit has grown really tight,” said Atlee coach Matt Gray. “They want to pave the way for guys like J.J. (Lewis) and Bryce (Bucholz) and protect a guy like Brooks (Hollins). They don’t get their name in the paper a lot. They’re good with that. They’re a humble group, but they’re hard-working, and they’re fun to coach.”
Dave Lawrence/The Local
Atlee lineman Brock Taylor (72) fi ghts off a double-team block in the Raiders’ 38-14 win over visiting Deep Run Thursday night.
On a refreshingly clear, temperate, low-humidity evening with a brilliant crescent moon looming in the western sky, Taylor and company provided the blocking that allowed Hollins to connect twice with Tae Gilpin for touchdowns and Lewis to carry 21 times for 244 yards (and three scores) and Bucholz eight times for 58.
“The O-line was doing the work,” said Lewis, whose TD runs covered 55, 71, and 24 yards. “They were making everything big and driving down the field. They had everything wide open.”
Without allowing Deep Run to touch the football, the Raiders (1-1) scored 17 points in a 1:04 span in the second and third quarters to stretch their 14-7 lead to 31-7.
A well-placed 35-yard Zachary Tschantre punt that rolled dead at the Deep Run 5-yard line set the momentumaltering sequence in motion.
The Atlee defense stopped the visitors three-and-out, and Gilpin returned the ensuing punt 10 yards to the Wildcats’ 35. Five plays later, Hollins directed a laser to Gilpin just inside the back line of the end zone 15 seconds before halftime for a 14-yard score. Tschantre added the point-after.
Tschantre then pooched the kickoff high in the air, his teammate Iziah Riley fielded it on the Deep Run 30, and 1.5 seconds before halftime, Tschantre drilled a 37-yard field goal.
“Sometimes the ball rolls your way,” Gray said. “It worked out exactly the way we wanted it to.”
Atlee received the secondhalf kickoff, and on its second play Lewis swept right, reversed direction, and raced 71 yards to the house. Tschantre once again drilled the extra point, his fourth of five.
“It was a cutback that was intended to happen,” Lewis said of the quick hitter that proved the Wildcats’ undoing. “The line just made a huge hole.”
The Raiders allowed Deep Run 219 yards (139 rushing, 80 passing) on 59 plays and stopped drives on their 27 and 12 (with team defensive efforts)
see RAIDERS, pg. 18
Patriots open season by thrashing Godwin
By Tim Pearrell Richmond Times-Dispatch
HENRICO — In case some folks are wondering what’s in reserve for Patrick Henry this season after losing a lot of firepower to graduation …
The Patriots started on an answer by throttling Mills Godwin 32-7 in their opener on Thursday at Godwin.
Several newcomers began to make their marks for Patrick Henry, along with an old one — 5-foot-7, 165-pound senior dynamo Gracyn Ross.
Playing wide receiver and running back, Ross racked up 135 yards rushing and receiving and two touchdowns. He also played safety on a defense that settled in after allowing an early score.
“We’ve got young guys stepping up in those roles,” Ross said. “There’s a lot of talk we lost a lot and we’re not going to be able to produce like we did. I think we’ll be just fine.”
So does coach Ken Wakefield, whose team went 10-3 last season. The last loss was 16-14 in the region final to eventual Class 4 state champ Varina.
Voters in The TimesDispatch preseason Top 10 were uncertain about PH, ranking it ninth. Wakefield, though, has gone 26-8 in his first three seasons with the Patriots and has established them among the area’s top programs. He expects to stay there.
“Everybody’s looking at us,” he said. “The reality is we have talent here. We’re extremely confident as a coaching staff we can coach our kids up to play at a high level. … My expectation is for us to be competitive regardless of the year.
“I think this team will slowly and surely continue to get better as the season progresses.”
Godwin, which opened its season last week with a 20-7 victory over Kecoughtan (Hampton), went 85 yards on its second possession and took a 7-0 lead on Daniel Viener’s 31-yard pass to Nick Clark (four catches, 81 yards).
Good field position on the kickoff and a facemask penalty helped PH reach the Godwin 33 on the next possession. Junior starting quarterback Grayson Johnson was in until that point, but Wakefield, feeling his team “needed something a little different,” inserted junior quarterback Jayden Brown.
Brown’s second play was a 30-yard TD strike to Jeremiah Grant on a slant route. His second pass was an 8-yard completion, and his third was to Ross in the flat that Ross turned into a 50-yard TD. Ross shed a tackler on the sideline, ignoring a facemask in the process.
Brown stayed in thereafter, finishing 8 of 13 for 141 yards and three TDs. Playing cornerback, he also knocked away a pass in the end zone on defense. Johnson, who also plays linebacker, was 1 of 3 for 15 yards and had 28 yards rushing on eight carries.
“Each quarterback has different strengths, and we’re going to continue to play them both as the season goes on,” Wakefield said.
Ross started last season at wide receiver and about half the season in the secondary. Wakefield describes him as pound for pound the strongest player in the state. He can deadlift more than 500 pounds and squat more than 400.
His hands are a strength, too, latching onto a 26-yard TD pass after juggling it against tight coverage.
Along with the catches, Ross had 59 yards on 13 carries. Shamar Williams added 72 yards rushing, including a 35-yard TD.
Grant, a 6-3 junior, also had a nice evening. He caught five passes for 72 yards and used his length in the secondary to disrupt some passes. PH intercepted two passes, one of which sophomore Montrell James took 51 yards for a score.
“If you asked going in this game, ‘Who’s Jeremiah Grant?’ Well, people will find out he’s a good football player,” Wakefield said.
“We don’t ever talk about rebuild. That’s not what we do. We continue to grow and we continue to get better each
Shaban Athuman/Times-Dispatch
Above, Patrick Henry’s Jayden Brown (15) leaves Mills Godwin defenders behind in the visiting Patriots’ 32-7 victory Thursday night. Left, Patrick Henry’s Gracyn Ross (2) carries the ball past Eagle defender Logan Rhoades (12).
see PATRIOTS, pg. 18 The Mechanicsville Local September 7, 2022 17
R-MC has questions, gets answers in win
By Dave Lawrence Sports Editor
ASHLAND — Against the backdrop of the nearly completed Duke Hall, the 135th Randolph-Macon College football team took to Day Field Saturday evening with looming questions. Specifically, who would be their quarterback?
With Presley Egbers departed and Brecht Heuchan injured, the duo that led the Yellow Jackets to an average of 41 points per game a year ago were replaced with veteran senior Andrew Ihle and transfer Drew Campanale.
And the beat went on.
Randolph-Macon scored touchdowns on all five first half possessions and did not punt until late in the fourth quarter of a 49-7 rout of North Carolina Wesleyan in the first meeting ever between the two schools.
“I thought they played well,” said head coach Pedro Aruzza of his new tandem. “I thought they had their best week yet this week. Yeah, it was good.”
Ihle got the start and led Randolph-Macon (1-0) on a seven-play, 70-yard drive, capped by a 2-yard touchdown run. Late in the first quarter, a 76-yard drive ended with Ihle powering his way to the end zone from 15 yards out.
That drive also showed off Ihle’s arm, as he hit speedy wideout David Wallis for a 47-yard completion.
After a Nick Hale 1-yard scoring run made it 21-0 in the second period, it was Campanale who connected with Wallis on a 71-yard touchdown strike. Just 23 minutes into the game, the rout was on.
Ihle would connect with Zach Bowman on a 4-yard pass to finish the first-half scoring, as the Yellow Jackets took a 35-0 lead to the half. Campanale led two scoring drives in the second half, throwing touchdown passes to Davis Clemmons and Jo Jo Marinella.
North Carolina Wesleyan (0-1) scored their lone touchdown in the third quarter on a 1-yard run by Trevon Crank. The Battling Bishops were held to 237 yards total offense, all of it in the air. Randolph-Macon ran 65 plays, 48 of them on the ground, churning out 284 of their 523 total yards on the legs of five different tailbacks, along with both quarterbacks.
Defensively, role players from 2021 stepped up to center stage. Silas James lead the team with five tackles. The Yellow Jackets sacked quarterback Chaz Hirschman four times.
The game film will certainly show Arruza and his staff where adjustments need to be made, and the inevitable bevy of improvement for a team just one game into a season filled with the hope of earning their first NCAA Division III championship berth since 2018.
Arruza is taking an excellent approach to this first month of play.
“We’ve got to get better over the course of the next four weeks, and develop some guys,” Arruza noted. “We really have to evaluate some guys, find out who can play, because it’s going to be a gauntlet down the stretch.”
The Yellow Jackets head to Washington, D.C., Saturday for their first game at Catholic University since 2016. They’ll then return to Day Field on Sept. 17 to host Southern Virginia University ahead of an early bye week on Sept. 24. The Old Dominion Athletic Conference schedule begins Oct. 1 at home against Guilford.
746-5853
WEWANTTOBEYOURPLUMBER
email:mwall@timesdispatch.com 8460TimesDispatchBlvd., Mechanicsville,VA23116
Dave Lawrence/ The Local
RandolphMacon quarterback Andrew Ilhle (11) escapes the grasp of an N.C. Wesleyan defender in the Yellow Jackets’ 49-7 victory at Day Field Saturday afternoon.
PATRIOTS
Continued from pg. 17
week. Every team in the country loses kids every year. We don’t ever look at it as we lost a lot of guys. Those other guys have to be ready to play.”
Tim Pearrell can be reached at tpearrell@timesdispatch.com.
Patrick Henry 6 13 6 7 — 32 Mills Godwin 7 0 0 0 — 7
MG — Clark 31 pass from Viener (Lockhart kick) PH — Grant 30 pass from Brown (run failed) PH — Williams 35 run (pass failed) PH — Ross 50 pass from Brown (Crabbe kick) PH — Ross 26 pass from Brown (kick failed) PH — James 51 interception return (Crabbe kick)
RUSHING
PH: Williams 17-72, Ross 13-59, Johnson 8-28, Brown 2-8, Others 2- minus-18; MG: Eakes 11-33, Brown 6-23, Clark 3-12, Others and team 7- minus-18.
PASSING
PH: Johnson 1 for 3, 15 yards, 0 TDs, 0 interceptions; Brown 8-13141-3-0; MG: Viener 15-27-117-1-2; Roberts 2-7-29-0-0.
RECEIVING
PH: Ross 2-76, Grant 5-72, Henderson 2-8; MG: Clark 4-81, Berry 3-38, Busbee 3-22, Others 7-5.
RAIDERS
Continued from pg. 16
and 14 (with a Gilpin interception).
“Winning is fun,” Gray said. “That’s why you work so hard. You have to go through the process to put yourself in a position to win and then take that product on the field and compete. They did that tonight. I’m proud of them.”
Weldon Bradshaw can be reached at sports@mechlocal. com.
CORRECTION: Due to a miscommunication, Atlee golfer Teddy Buchanan was misidentified as J.P. Burkett in a photo caption in the sports section of the Aug. 24 edition of The Local. We regret the error.
Deep Run 0 7 0 7 — 14 Atlee 7 17 7 7 — 38
ATL — Gilpin 21 pass from Hollins (Tschantre kick) ATL — Lewis 55 run (Tschantre kick) DR — Taylor 35 pass from Gauch (Vantre kick) ATL — Gilpin 14 pass from Hollins (Tschantre kick) ATL — FG Tschantre 37 ATL — Lewis 71 run (Tschantre kick) ATL — Lewis 24 run (Tschantre kick) DR — Taber 3 run (Vantre kick)
RUSHING
DR: Miller 19 carries, 97 yards, Taber 3-11, Paster 8-10, Taylor 2-7, Kaitsounis 3-6, Gauch 3-6, Barnes 1-2; ATL: Lewis 21-244, Bucholz 8-58, Hollins 1-0.
PASSING
DR: Gauch 5 completions, 20 attempts, 1 interception, 80 yards; ATL: Hollins 7-15-0-63.
RECEIVING
DR: Taylor 1 reception, 35 yards, David 2-29, Centeno 1-10, Kaitsounis 1-6; ATL: Gilpin 2-35, Holmes 3-13, Clark 1-10, Whitehead 1-5.
