Central Region Review - Week 2
Week 2 is in the books and what did it leave us with?
Well there were five shutouts with the closest a 21-0 victory in favor of Thomas Dale in the ‘Battle of Chester’.
There is no shortage of offense despite the shutouts with 8 teams scoring 40+ points but only one scored over 60 points and that would be Hermitage that scored 62 points.
We went into the week with 16 undefeated teams and we came away with remaining 11 remaining that way. Varina, Highland Springs, Glen Allen, Douglas Freeman and Thomas Jefferson all took losses this week. 4 of those 5 who took their first loss did so by 7 or fewer points.
We came into the week with 15 winless teams and we come away with only 12 still looking for that first win of the season.
So about those games? What happened? Well let’s find out.
Game of the Week – Maury 14, #1 Varina 13
In a battle of two programs who could be playing come early December in their respective classes, Maury came out on top. In this contest it was a battle of defense with Maury succeeding at containing a Varina offense with three studs in the backfield. That was never more clear than in the fourth quarter when the Commodores kept the Blue Devils from converting crucial fourth downs. Penalties hurt more than anything, one such example being a SirPaul Cheeks TD being called back.
I said it multiple times that night to my media brethren that Varina was beating themselves more than Maury was. Of course a missed PAT did not help matters at all. You can read all about this game here, In A Battle of 757 v. 804, Maury Comes Out On Top.
Must-See Matchups
#2 Manchester 25, #9 Glen Allen 22
The Lancers and Jags had never met previously but in all fairness Glen Allen has only been around since 2011. That said, sign me up for more of this series in the future. The Lancers trailed 15-8 at the half and it appeared it just would not be their night, until it was. The Lancers ground game was the path to victory as opposed to Landen Abernathy‘s arm. With 4 seconds remaining in regulation following a 94-yard drive by the Lancers, it appeared we might have our first overtime game of the season. Marvin Nolasco would have none of that as he booted in a 28-yard field goal to keep the Lancers undefeated.
#8 Armstrong v. #5 Thomas Jefferson
See my recap of this one here, Armstrong Holds On For 21-14 Win Over TJ!
Hough-NC 17, #4 Highland Springs 14
The second biggest game in the region with all due respect to the Lancers and Jags could be found on Airport Drive. The Springers found themselves down 10-0 to a nationally ranked Hough team out of North Carolina. Of course the Springers are never out of any fight and fight back they did. Eric Byrd didn’t put up quite the numbers he did a week ago but he did rush for 51 and more importantly scored a TD. Antoine Richardson at QB delivered a touchdown of his own and had two picks against the Huskies. The Springers had a 14-10 lead headed to the fourth quarter but you don’t become a nationally ranked team for nothing. The Huskies had a late touchdown to seal the Springers fate.
Midlothian 21, Douglas Freeman 3
Are the Trojans for real? We know about Gibson Gross at QB but how about this Trojan defense. Just three points allowed through the first two games of the season. The Trojan defense was led by Bryson Whitlow and Jayshaun Anderson who had a combined 15 tackles, 2 for a loss. Six different Trojans tackled the Mavericks for a loss and that typical strong run game of Freeman was held in check with 9 yards to show for!
Prince George 49, JR Tucker 0
We only had to wait to the Royals second game of the season for Coach Tom Hall to record his 200th win. The Royals looked completely different from the team we saw a week ago that could do nothing right. LJ Hewlett had himself a game as the centerpiece of the offense. Hewlett put up 324 yard of offense, 209 of that in the ground game where he scored 3 TD’s. LJ also was at QB where he threw 2 TD’s. While the offense was improved, so too was the defense with William Bostic forcing and recovering a fumble in addition to an INT. It was the best of nights for the Royals at the expense of a Tigers defense that has given up 132 points through 2 games.
Upset Alert – Meadowbrook 41, Kecoughtan 0
I thought the Monarchs were poised for an upset but I did not expect this. The Monarchs took an early 14-point lead early and then just piled on in the second half. There was no shortage of offense in this one with Deshaun Chisem throwing for 270 yards with 1 TD in the air and another on the ground. Kaden Jones who announced himself to the world last week had 163 yards receiving off of 5 catches plus a TD to his name. The ground assault was led by Tyshaun Jackson who hit on 114 yards and TD of his own. Not to be overlooked is the fact that the Monarchs pitched their second straight shutout.
Rest of Region
Granby are the Comets but they might have felt like they were hit by one after the Generals fired 55 at them. The Generals didn’t come by air this time, they came by ground to the beat of 237 yards! Pair that with the 181 yards through the air via Zion Boisseau and you have an offensive assault Granby has no answer for. The Generals QB had 5 TD’s to his name and 3 more came courtesy of Kaevon Wiggins & Joshua Adams. Now this offensive show of force gets its first real test of the season with Highland Springs this coming week.
At halftime of this contest the Panthers had a comfy 48-0 lead over Henrico. The Warriors were never a threat in this contest as Hermitage showed their offensive might. Two different QB’s, Myles Brooks and Ben Yeanay threw TD’s. Yeanay threw for more yards but Brooks threw more touchdowns. The real fuel for this Panther fire came by way of the ground game where the Panthers torched the field for 322 yards and 4 touchdowns. Leading the charge on ground was Breon Bonner but the offense cannot do it alone. Defensively the Panthers were led by Darryl Woodson, Braden Reid and Dillan Webb who combined for 22 tackles alone on a night where the Panther defense amassed 65. A big night for the Panthers, a long night for the Warriors.
#7 Thomas Dale 21, LC Bird 0
The Thomas Dale defense held the Skyhawks to 74 yards as the Knights pitched their second shutout in 3 seasons. The ‘Battle of Chester’ was dominated by defense with Michael Davis leading the way with 8 tackles and a safety at the end of the game. Javaris Thomas Tucker, Azavion Brown, Cole Lienberger and Marcus Byrd all combined for 18 tackles, 2 sacks and an interception. The Knights had a 12-0 lead at halftime and never looked back. Cole had 2 TD’s on the ground in addition to his work on defense. Wyatt Jessup had 125 yards through the air while hitting 9 of 18 passing. The Knights had no trouble with their rival Skyhawks.
The Wildcats trailed 17-7 going into the fourth quarter before they broke the heart of the Raiders. Atlee lost to Freeman a week ago in a game they led early and it happened for a second week. Connor Pfalzgraf had some magic to work with as he orchestrated a scoring with under 8 to go. Christian Hoffman intercepted Jack Lee giving Connor another stab at it. Connor made good on the opportunity before him sealing the Raiders fate with a 49-yard hookup to Cullen Burch. Burch finished the night with 4 catches and 127 yards of offense! Don’t look now but Deep Run is 2-0 in this young season.
The Hawks were one of many teams piling on the points on their opponents this week. Hanover’s offense had no problem scoring on the Chiefs. JJ Parker had a hand in that and more. On offense he led the way with 125 carries & 2 TD’s as the run game was just part of the story of this victory. The other part is holding a Chiefs offense to just 14 points with Parker making plays there getting to the Chiefs QB for a sack plus 4 tackles. The Hawks looked good but there is still a long way to go in this season.
Hopewell 16, Mecklenburg 14
An 0-2 start was staring the Blue Devils in the face and the only one who could do anything about it was Orrin Beasley. The Blue Devils trailed 14-13 with mere seconds left on the clock. That is when Beasley was called upon to deliver a field goal to win the game with the ball at the 7-yard line. Beasley delivered to give the Blue Devils their first win of the season. Beasley was the hero of the game but the production came via the passing game and Ze’Vion Grammer on the receiving end of that passing attack with 200-yard receiving game off just 7 catches. That is an average of 28.5 yards per catch and he scored a TD on the way to victory as well.
James River 14, Cosby 9
This game was 9-7 Titans for the longest time before James River pulled it off in the fourth quarter. Cosby got an early safety and then tacked on their lone touchdown when Preston McAfee rushed in from 7 yards out. Colby Stephenson of the Rapids ended the shutout when he found his way to the promised land from 63 yards out. That is how it stood for three quarters before with less than a minute to go be the Rapids scored the game winner off a pass. Just like that the Rapids had stolen a win from the Titans and another chapter of this rivalry game was written.
Mills Godwin 48, Patrick Henry 7
Unfortunately there are not many details to share about this game. We know that Braxton Pursell was menacing for the Patriots offense. Braxton wreaked havoc with 20 tackles and a sack making it tough for the Patriots to match offense to offense.
Petersburg 30, IC Norcom 6
Petersburg had a 16-6 lead at the half before they turned it on in the second half. The Wave blanked the Greyhounds in the second half with Micah Scott shining on defense with 5 tackles. The Wave got production from the run game where Cavonta Carey & Jaylen Ray accounted for three touchdowns. The biggest play of the night, however, came from Keyon Ridley who smashed a kick-off 86 yards to the house. Just like that the Wave is 2-0 and looking like a possibly party crasher for the playoffs in Region 3A.
This one was over as Powhatan had built a 38-0 lead by halftime. Powhatan QB Elliott Murphy only completed 6 of his 15 passes but with those 6 completions he had 3 TD’s and 108 yards. Murphy also led the ground game with 96 yards and a TD on 9 carries. Chris DeShazo had 67 yards and a TD of his own while 3 different Indians scored TD’s through the passing game. Ben Whitver had just 1 TD but with 71 yards he led the group in receiving. The Indians had many who contributed to this win as Coach George Bland finds out what he has to work with after a 2-0 start to the season.
Benedictine 38, Matoaca 0
For a second week in a row Matoaca fell to an opponent by the same score and without scoring any points of their own. The Cadets defense held the Warriors passing game to just 83 yards. The run game was non-existent with negative 44 yards! Only 3 Warriors had positive yardage on the ground but that was negated by the 4 who were in the red, no pun intended. Jaelen Penson had 7 tackles to the lead the defensive effort but there was neither enough defense or enough offense to help the Warriors in this one.
Goochland 41, Mechanicsville 23
It could not have been a better start for the Mustangs with Blake Whitley ripping off a 90-yard run to the house on the opening kick-off. Mechanicsville’s defense however had no answers for slowing down the Bulldogs who left a trail of 41 points on the Mustangs. Brennan Ball added a TD on the ground leading the Mustangs with 77 yards rushing while Jackson Whalen brought it home in the receiving game with 86 yards on 3 catches. Jackson also had the other Mustangs TD. A promising start with a disappointing finish.
Southampton 48, John Marshall 0
No info to provide on this matchup.
Nuggets of Knowlege
Varina has lost three straight games to the 757.
Meadowbrook has back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 2015.
Dinwiddie is 2-0 for a 10th time under Coach Billy Mills.
62 points given up by Henrico is the most since they gave up 66 to Varina in 2012.
LC Bird has been shutout in back-to-back games for the first time ever.
Atlee is 0-2 for the first time since the 2017 season.
Monacan has given up 50+ points in back-to-back games for the first time ever.
James River is 2-0 for the first time since the 2011 season.
Mills Godwin’s 48 points is the most for the Eagles since putting 48 on John Marshall in 2016.
Matoaca has been shutout in back-to-back games for the first time since the 1984 season.
Forecasting Accuracy
| Danny Lewis | Jared Jenkins | |
| Week 1 | 18-3 | 18-3 |
| Week 2 | 16-3 | 16-3 |
| Total | 34-6 | 34-6 |