Lafayette earns revenge, top seed
Rams earn eighth Bay Rivers title in nine seasons, home-field advantage in playoffs
Lafayette revisited Bailey Field, the scene of its worst nightmare a year ago, and enjoyed nothing but sweet dreams. Riding a defense that gifted it good field position early and often, the No. 6 Rams defeated York 49-6 in a Bay Rivers District game Friday night.
The victory avenged a 28-21 loss to the Falcons at Bailey in 2019 that broke the Rams’ streaks of 60 district victories and seven district titles. The Rams punctuated their eighth Bay Rivers title in nine seasons by vaulting to a 28-0 halftime lead.
As with all four of their firsthalf touchdown drives, the Rams (5-0) began their first possession in York territory. Luke Hanson completed two passes of 11 yards to Donald Gatling, the second for a touchdown as the Rams drove 48 yards in eight plays to take a 7-0 lead.
After the defense forced a York punt after three downs, the Rams’ offense started their second series at the Falcons’ 32. Hanson gave Lafayette a 14-0 first-quarter lead with a 1-yard touchdown run a play after Sam Boyer ran for 30 yards.
The Rams’ defense forced turnovers to set up three of the next four touchdowns. Jaylin Pretlow’s interception of a York pass gave the Rams the ball at the Falcons’ 41.
University of Virginia recruit Mike Green followed with a spectacular diving catch of a Hanson pass for a 27-yard gain that paved the way for Miguel Reel’s 5-yard touchdown run. A play after the ensuing kickoff, Lamont Jones returned an interception 23 yards to the York 7, a distance Reel covered with his run on the next play to give the Rams a 28-point lead at intermission.
“We’ve played great defense all year, but we haven’t played takeaway defense,” Lafayette coach Andy Linn said. “Our goal this week was to get a few takeaways.”
It was rinse-and-repeat for the Rams in the third quarter, when they needed just eight plays to score three touchdowns that stretched their lead to 49-0. A fumble recovery gave the Rams a short field and offensive lineman Lawrence Tyler the opportunity to realize a dream by running one yard for a touchdown.
Tyler did his part blocking on the pair of 32-yard touchdowns in the third quarter — one a Hanson pass to Boyer and the other DeMarcus Lawrence’s run. The outburst assured the Rams of the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage in the Class 3 Region A playoffs.
Kase Butler capped his career for York (1-3) on Senior Night by running nine yards for a touchdown in the final minutes to avert the shutout.