Maury starts fast in defense of title

NORFOLK — Maury’s state title defense began quickly and explosively.

Junior Ahmarian Granger pulled the ball in from a potential handoff and bolted 54 yards down the left sideline on the game’s first play to propel the No. 2 Commodores (1-0) to a 32-8 win over Booker T. Washington on Friday.

Granger and senior EJ Gibson split time at quarterback, with Granger handling the zone-read offense and Gibson the go-to for passing plays. But wherever Granger was, the threat level rose.

In the fourth quarter, which Maury began with just an 11-point advantage, Gibson floated a downfield pass that appeared to be overthrown before Granger extended his right arm to snag the ball and complete a 46-yard touchdown.

Gibson shook off a slow start to finish 7 of 17 for 141 yards and two scores, including a 34-yard touchdown on fourth down to Da’Jon Evans that made it 19-8.

Almost perfectly balanced, Maury’s offense racked up 300 total yards between 144 passing and 156 rushing.

Senior Demonte Dunlap rushed for 95 yards and two scores, showcasing agility and speed when, in the first quarter trailing 8-6, he shimmied and dashed down the right sideline for another one-play drive of 54 yards to match Granger’s.

The host Bookers hung around for much of the game, converting two fake punts and scoring a defensive touchdown when Rodney Hammond snatched a possible pitch out of the quarterback’s hands and ran in from 10 yards to steal an 8-6 lead.

The score salvaged a quiet night from Hammond, a star running back who signed with Pittsburgh, as he had 12 carries for 28 yards against a stout Maury defense.

Overall, Maury held Booker T. to 82 total yards with two turnovers.

Next, Maury prepares for a top-five showdown against No. 3 Lake Taylor at 7 p.m. Friday.

Cape Henry Collegiate surged in the fourth quarter Friday night to defeat the Catholic Crusaders 58-48 for the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association state invitational Division I boys basketball title.

Playing i n Benedictine’s Richmond gym, the Virginia Beach and TCIS rivals traded runs all night. Catholic went ahead 7-0, but top-seeded Cape Henry recovered and led 22-21 at halftime. In the first half, the Dolphins’ Christian Moore had 10 points and Bryson Spell added eight.

Catholic moved ahead 38-31 with about even minutes remaining, but the unbeaten Dolphins then made their decisive move.

Because of the pandemic, the VISAA did not sponsor its usual basketball championship tournament this year but left the door open for its members to arrange one. Many of them did so.

In the Division II final Saturday, Blue Ridge won its third VISAA championship in a row, handling Norfolk Collegiate 68-37.

The Oaks were set to play Highland in a semifinal Thursday, but the Warrenton school withdrew because of COVID-19 concerns.

Girls

In the girls invitational championship game, Saint Gertrude — which shares the Richmond gym with its brother school, Benedictine — defeated Catholic 56-36 on Friday.

The host Gators (15-3) led 13-6 after one quarter and 30-12 at the half.

Catholic’s Cate Carlson had 15 points and eight rebounds and Taylor Ethridge scored 11 points. Ethridge’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer was the Crusaders’ only field goal of the second quarter.

The Crusaders finished 12-4, with all of their losses to Saint Gertrude.