What was billed as one of the top games in Virginia this past weekend turned into a runaway as Hampton cruised to an easy 63-7 win over Bethel Friday night, handing the visitors their most lopsided loss in history.
Hampton (Va.) (7-0, 6-0) rumbled for 340 yards on the ground, averaging more than nine yards per play, to secure the win and move on to next week’s showdown against top-ranked Phoebus.
What eventually would turn into a blowout didn’t start that way, as Hampton found itself trailing for the first time all season. Hampton quarterback
David Watford fumbled the snap on first-and-goal from the Bethel 2-yard line and the Bruins then put together a nine-play, 90-yard drive, capped by Frank Brown's 8-yard touchdown pass to Brendan Cole with four seconds left in the first quarter.
The lead didn’t last long. Two minutes later Hampton running back
Kavon Bellamy (183 yards, 3 touchdowns) capped a five-play drive when he rumbled in from 4 yards out to tie the game, and the Crabbers ran away with it from there.
Hampton (7-0) travels to
Phoebus (Hampton) (7-0) Friday night.
2. Salesianum (Wilmington, Del.) handed first loss: It wasn’t within the First State’s borders, but top-ranked Salesianum suffered its first loss Friday night, falling 27-6 to
George Washington (Philadelphia, Pa.).
Washington (6-1) turned two Sallies turnovers into touchdowns, including on its very first drive after the Eagles’ Jamear Seals recovered a Salesianum fumble on the opening kickoff. Washington quarterback Tony Smith completed 10 of 21 passes for 147 yards and three touchdowns
Salesianum’s high-scoring senior running back
Ryan Kilpatrick was held to just 84 yards and one touchdown (5 yards) on 20 carries. Salesianum (5-1) will look to rebound when it plays at
Plymouth Whitemarsh (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) Friday night at 7 p.m.
3. Calvert Hall (Md.) caught off guard by Georgetown Prep (North Bethesda, Md.): Calvert Hall last week scored perhaps one of its biggest upset wins in school history when it upended Gilman to move into sole possession of first place in the powerful MIAA A Conference. But the Cardinals didn’t stay there long.
Turnovers and penalties were the difference as Georgetown Prep caught Calvert Hall off guard and came away with a 21-14 win in a key conference game Friday night.
Little Hoyas senior defensive back
Joel Blockowicz created the biggest turnover of the night when he returned an interception 85 yards for a score with 3:37 left in the third quarter to give Georgetown Prep its final margin of victory.
Calvert Hall (7-1, 2-1), now in a three-way tie for first place with
Gilman (Baltimore, Md.) (4-2, 1-1) and Georgetown Prep (5-2, 2-1), also lost two fumbles and committed nine penalties for 90 yards.
Gonzaga High's Kevin Hogan.
Photo by Tom Lemming
converted three turnovers into points and that was the difference in the game as the Eagles cruised to an easy 42-22 win over
Archbishop Carroll (Washington, District of Columbia) in a Washington Catholic Athletic Conference matchup Saturday afternoon.
Quarterback
Kevin Hogan scampered 70 yards for a touchdown following the Lions’ first fumble and then, on their next possession, the senior captain connected with sophomore wide receiver
Paris Person to put the Eagles up 14-0.
Gonzaga would go on to score 35 points before the Lions finally got on the board when junior tight end
Ej. Norris caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback
Jarid Brown to make the score 35-6 at the half.
Hogan completed 5 of 12 passes for 119 yards and three touchdowns through the air and also scored one rushing touchdown.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
* Jhurell Pressley, senior running back, Red Lion Christian Academy (Bear, Del.): Scored five touchdowns and finished with 267 yards on 12 carries in the Lions’ 61-35 win over Allegany (Pa.).
* Jamall Wright, senior quarterback, Norcom (Portsmouth, Va.): Threw two touchdown passes and ran for another in Norcom's 20-14 victory over Churchland (Va.), Wright's former school.
* Julian Gee, sophomore setter, Padua Academy (Wilmington, Del.): Posted 39 assists to lead the Pandas to a 3-1 (25-18, 20-25, 25-23, 25-17) win against previously undefeated Caravel Academy.
* Connor Frazier, senior quarterback, Damascus (Md.): Rushed for 134 yards on 23 carries and completed 14 of 17 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown to lead unbeaten Damascus to a 27-20 win over Sherwood.
GAME TO WATCH
* Phoebus (7-0, Va.) hosts Hampton (7-0, Va.) on Oct. 22 as the top two teams in Virginia, as ranked by the MaxPreps Freeman Football Rankings, square off.
RECRUITING NEWS
* Brandon Bolden, a 6-foot-10 junior big man at the Middle School (Crozet, Va.), has verbally committed to Georgetown University.
THE BUZZ
When teams in any sport at any
level have large leads there is no excuse to continue to pile it on. Why would
a field hockey team with a double-digit lead continue to shoot constantly
instead of just playing keep-away? Why would a potential state Player of the
Year, who scored plenty in the first half, still be allowed to shoot and score
in the second. It’s not fun, it’s not fair, and most importantly, it’s not
right. … With its 16-8 loss to Delcastle on Saturday, Brandywine High’s football losing streak has reached 22. The Bulldogs were forced to forfeit their two wins this season for using an ineligible player.
Jon Buzby is the sports columnist for the Newark Post, a freelance writer, and color commentator for the 1290am The Ticket High School Football Game of the Week. You can reach him at jonbuzby@hotmail.com.
