Sports

09 23

2022 Prep football: Atlee at Patrick Henry 7:00 p.m.

09 23

2022 Prep football: Armstrong at Hanover 7:00 p.m.

| Youth, High School, College, Recreational & Professional

Raider runners head pack at RVA Relays

By Dave Lawrence Sports Editor

MECHANICSVILLE — Atlee’s Raider boys led the way at the RVA Relays at Pole Green Park Saturday. The great depth of the Raider boys cross country team gave them advantage in the team title stakes.

With a fourth-place finish in the boys championship race, a win in the ‘B’ race and a thirdplace in the ‘C’ race, Atlee’s boys won the overall team championship.

The Raider girls excelled as well, finishing third in the girls championship race.

The performance overall was unexpected given the fact that the Relays were just the second competition for the Raiders this season.

“I was really pleased with how our teams ran and competed,” said Atlee head cross country coach Neil Mathews. “We haven’t raced but, you know, one time this year at this point. So that being the second time we’ve been out there competing, we competed very well and I was just thrilled with how both teams did.”

In a cross country relay, rather than all runners tackling a 5-kilometer course, teams of five compete relay style with each individual running 2.5-kilometer legs. Atlee’s championship race quintet of Jake Stanley, Patrick Allen, Carson Echard, Travis Albon and Josh Haley finished in 38:10, behind Patriot (37:32), Glen Allen (37:59) and Mentor (38.02).

Dave Lawrence/The Local

Above, Atlee’s Courtney Mudd passes the half-way point of the anchor leg in the girls championship race in the RVA Relays at Pole Green Park Saturday night. Mudd’s 8:40 split wrapped up a third-place fi nish for the Raiders. Right, Hanover’s Ellie Agustin brings the Hawks home for a seventh-place fi nish, also in the girls championship race.

The Raider quintet of James Mulcahy, Owen Guest, Ashton Shultz, Justin Patterson and Christan Schultz won the boys ‘B’ race in 41:10. Atlee’s ‘C’ team of Jack Halferty, Braden Silveria, Jace Gourley, Mason Lahrman and Jonah Willard finished third in that race in 43:33.

Atlee’s girls championship team of Amelia Waggoner, Addison Crow, Teagan Gilhooly, Sarah Bland and Courtney Mudd finished third in 44:41 behind Deep Run (44:20) and Western Albemarle (44:27).

“Our girls’ numbers aren’t quite all the way there but we’re getting close,” Mathews said. “Our team ran very strong and as a team really surprised us. We knew we were pretty solid, but we didn’t know we were going to do what we did last night.”

Hanover’s girls likewise finished in the top 10 of their championship race. The Hawks — Hannah Clarke, Adelynn Carpenter, Alli Crytser, Bella Faudale and Ellie Agustin — finished seventh in 45:30.

“They had fun,” said Hanover head cross country coach Rich Firth. “We had some good performances as a team.”

Mechanicsville and Patrick Henry both held their own against the field, which included teams from all over the state as well as from other states.

In the championship races, Mechanicsville’s boys —

Connor Butchyk, Curtis Fox, Josh Gray, Carter Smith and Jack Standridge — finished 19th in 29:38. The Mustang girls team of Andi Darko, Sara Hale, Ines Hon Delcourt, Abby Hughes and Reese Osborn finished 32nd in 53:04. “It went pretty well,” said Mechanicsville head cross country coach Joey Wingo. “I was happy with both my boys team and my girls team. We ran faster than last year in both ‘A’ relays and we placed higher — and then, you know, each of the individual runners all had their best time in the RVA relays compared to the previous year. So I was very pleased with that. It was a good day.” The Patrick Henry quintet of Landon Morris, Thomas Leff, Jameson Tobin, Marcus Parrish and Andrew Senfield finished 23rd overall in the boys championship race. Dave Lawrence can be reached at dlawrence@mechlocal.com. The Mechanicsville Local September 21, 2022 15

Patriots rebound with shutout of Wildcats

By Dave Lawrence and Rob Witham Mechanicsville Local

ASHLAND — Patrick Henry’s football team knew it had some work to do after a close loss to Glen Allen on Sept. 9. The Patriots clearly put forth some effort to correct their mistakes last week.

The team never gave its visitor, Deep Run a chance as Patrick Henry rolled to a 39-0 walloping of the Wildcats Friday night.

The Patriots amassed more than 400 yards total offense. Still, they have plenty to work on.

“We’ve still got a lot to fix, but it’s always better to have a lot to fix after a loss,” said Patrick Henry head football coach Ken Wakefield. “Penalties at the wrong times, turnovers — stuff that we’ve got to clean up, but like I said, we’ll take it, learn from it and continue to get better.”

The Patriots scored 13 points in three different quarters, starting with the first. From their first score, the Wildcats were on their back foot, and the Patriots made it clear who was in charge.

Patrick Henry’s tandem of quarterbacks, Jayden Brown and Grayson Johnson, performed well combining for 19-of-23 passes for 245 yards. Brown was 12-of-15 for 185 yards and two touchdowns — a 28-yard connection with Jeremiah Graham and a 14-yard strike to Gracyn Ross.

Johnson connected on 7-of8 passes for 60 yards. He also ran for a touchdown.

Ross led all receivers with 11 catches for 138 yards.

Shamar Williams was the Patriots’ workhorse on the ground. Williams finished with 13 carries for 77 yards. He scored one touchdown on

Dave Lawrence/ The Local

Above, Patrick Henry’s Jeremiah Grant (7) artfully dodges Deep Run’s Behrad Davari (12) in the Patriots’ 39-0 victory Friday. Left, Patrick Henry’s Shamar Williams (3) gets help in the form of a block from teammate Gracyn Ross (2).

a 3-yard run and another on a 20-yard fumble return.

Two-way connections

HENRICO — The connection between Beau Sahnow and Cole Elrod works both ways.

After Sahnow had thrown two touchdown passes to Elrod in the first half of Hanover’s 41-24 victory Friday night, the offense flipped the script, as Elrod threw a scoring pass to Sahnow, as the combination outdueled Mills Godwin quarterback Daniel Viener to pull away in the second half for a victory.

Key to shutting the door down on the Eagles were consecutive defensive plays by Zach Tyler, who, on a delayed blitz, sacked Viener to force a third down-and-24 situation. On that play, Tyler, in coverage, intercepted Viener near midfield, returning the ball to the Mills Godwin 11 to set up another score.

Grady Fahed continued his top notch defensive play with eight tackles, four of them for losses. Peyton Seelmann had 16 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown.

Hanover (3-0) now enters Capital District play at home this Friday when the Hawks welcome surprising Armstrong, who, at 2-1, upset Goochland 26-14 Friday night. The following week, defending Class 4 state champion Varina comes to Hanover to close out September. Both games kick at 7 p.m.

Rebels rough up Raiders

RICHMOND — Atlee gained traction at times, but not enough to overcome host Douglas Freeman Friday night.

Raider quarterback Brooks Hollins led the team offensively, running for a touchdown and completing 18-of-31 passes for 148 yards and three interceptions. J.J. Lewis rushed 20 times for 82 yards and a touchdown, and Bryce Bucholz had nine carries for 36 yards and another touchdown.

Scott Holmes was Hollins’ favorite receiving target, catching seven passes for 64 yards.

Dave Lawrence can be reached at dlawrence@mechlocal.com.

Deep Run 0 0 0 0 — 0 P. Henry 13 13 0 13 — 39

PH — Ross 14 pass from Brown (Crabbe kick) PH — Ross 31 run (kick failed) PH — Grant 28 pass from Brown (Crabbe kick) PH — Williams 20 fumble return (kick failed) PH — Williams 3 run (Crabbe kick) PH — Johnson 2 run (run failed)

RUSHING

DR: Taylor 15-12, Taber 7-(minus 5), Kaltsounis 1-0; Gauch 4-(minus 26); PH: Ross 2-36, Williams 13-77, Sylvia 2-9, Johnson 4-27, Brown 5-(minus 6), Johnson 5-21.

PASSING

DR: Gauch 8-16-69-0; PH: Brown 12-15-185-0, Johnson 7-860-0.

RECEIVING

DR: Taylor 3-34, Patel 3-21, Dube 1-6, Kaltsounis 1-8; PH: Ross 11-138, Grant 3-63, Sylvia 2-11, Roose 2-25, Keck 1-8.

Yellow Jackets 3-0, but still have much to learn

By Rob Witham for Th e Local

ASHLAND — Camp is behind them. They hold two home wins and a successful road trip to Washington, D.C. Now, on their bye week, preparing for Old Dominion Athletic Conference play, one question hovers over the RandolphMacon College football program?

Who are they?

Their defense is stingy against the run, allowing 96 yards over three games — just 62 yards to Southern Virginia University in Saturday’s 47-20 victory. Their offense, guided by two quarterbacks who didn’t take a snap for the Yellow Jackets in 2021, is averaging 45 points and 500 total yards per game.

But the Yellow Jackets, preseason favorites in the ODAC, were expected to win their three non-conference games, and win big. Now, the seven-week sprint known as conference play is on the horizon. The good news coming out of Saturday’s victory was the ability to get reps to players far down the depth chart, key experience for critical situations down the road.

“I thought they were pretty dialed in. We had our best week of practice,” said RandolphMacon head coach Pedro Arruza. “I think we played hard. I don’t think we played well. We’ve got some things to clean up.”

The Knights were able to hit multiple big plays against the Yellow Jacket defense, including a 64-yard touchdown pass in the third period which brought Southern Virginia, down 19-13 at halftime, back within six points at 26-20.

The scoreboard read 26 rather than 28 due to two blocked extra point attempts in the first half. Randolph-Macon Oct. 8, followed by a home date with an improved Bridgewater team that also uses two talented signal callers.

Then it’s back-to-back trips to Shenandoah and Washington and Lee, the team that cost the Yellow Jackets an NCAA bid last season.

We may not know precisely who the Yellow Jackets are as we enter October, but, surely, we will know when the month comes to a close.

The Guilford game on Oct. 1 is part of Family Weekend at Randolph-Macon. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

Rob Witham can be reached at sports@mechlocal.com.

Joel Klein for The Local

Randolph-Macon junior running back Kwesi Clarke (25) leaves Southern Virginia defensive back Alex Sewell in his wake as he rumbles 19 yards for his second touchdown of the second quarter in the Yellow Jackets’ 47-20 victory Saturday afternoon at Day Field. Clarke carried the ball 13 times for 78 yards and the two touchdowns as Randolph-Macon improves to 3-0.

(3-0) allowed three quarterback sacks, while JoJo Marinella, who had a touchdown reception in the second quarter, fumbled a punt that was recovered by the Knights and turned into a field goal.

However, the offense scored on six-of-nine possessions. Kyle Ihle’s only punt of the day went 61 yards and was downed by the special teams at the 1-yard line. Four different Yellow Jackets scored rushing touchdowns, including two by Kwesi Clarke of 20 and 19 yards in the second quarter.

Sophomore D.J. Cone’s first carry this season went for 25 yards and a Yellow Jacket score with 2:25 left in the third period which began a 21-0 spurt that put the Knights away for good. Quarterback Drew Campanale’s play continues to impress. He went 14-of-19 for 198 yards and the scoring pass to Marinella.

Andrew Ihle impressed, too, completing both of his passes for 41 total yards while rushing seven times for 40 additional yards, including a 1-yard touchdown run that ended a 12-play drive to open the second half.

Even the defense got points on the board when Knights quarterback Colten Shumway was hit near the goal line, the ball knocked away by Wade Grubbs. Jacob Hutchinson pounced on the football in the end zone for a touchdown.

Back, though, to the original question. Who are the 2022 Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets?

“There’s been some frustration in the way we’ve played these first three games, you know,” Arruza said. “We’ve got a good group of guys, but it’s early. I don’t know how good we are. Our guys know we need to get better, and this is a good opportunity to do that.”

That opportunity is this Saturday’s bye, which is the case for all eight ODAC teams. So when conference play begins on Oct. 1, each conference member must line up seven consecutive Saturdays, starting with the Yellow Jackets’ game at Day Field against Guilford.

That schedule only gets tougher. A trip to Danville for Randolph-Macon’s first conference game against Averett is on

SVU 3 10 7 0 — 20 R-MC 0 19 21 7 — 47

SVU — Brown FG 36 R-MC — Marinella 7 pass from Campanale (K. Ihle kick) SVU — Brown FG 39 R-MC — Clarke 20 run (kick failed) R-MC — Clarke 19 run (kick failed) SVU — Shumway 6 run (Brown kick) R-MC — A. Ihle 1 run (Graham kick) SVU — Boxley 64 pass from Shumway (Brown kick) R-MC — Cone 25 run (Graham kick) R-MC — Team 17 pass from Schaeffer (Graham kick) R-MC — Chatmon 2 run (Graham kick)

RUSHING

SVU: Wood 12-44, Nelson 4-11, Shumway 7-10, Lanktree 2-(minus 3); R-MC: Clarke 13-78, Hale 8-57, A. Ihle 7-40, Pennington 8-38, Cone 2-28, Chatmon 4-9, Highter 1-2, Campanale 4-(minus 1), Deaver 1-(minus 12).

PASSING

SVU: Shumway 16-25-224-1, Audette 0-1-0-0; R-MC: Campanale 14-19-198-0, A. Ihle 2-2-41-0, Lenard 2-8-8-0.

RECEIVING

SVU: Washington 6-101, Boxley 2-69, Pope 1-15, Wood 1-7, Howard 1-6, Lanktree 1-6, Johansson 1-6, Nelson 1-5, Jones 1-5, Francois 1-4; R-MC: Wallis 3-80, Clarke 1-34, Mayfield 3-25, Bowman 2-24, Clemmons 2-24, Marinella 3-24, Hunt 1-15, Pennington 1-13, Campbell 1-8, Chatmon 1-0.