Canova’s field goal caps Rams’ comeback win over Islanders
POQUOSON — With both teams already locked into their seedings, the Lafayette-Poquoson game had no postseason implications. That made the physicality and intensity with which the Bay Rivers District opponents battled on Friday night at Poquoson Middle School all the more impressive.
No. 8 Lafayette rallied from a 14-point deficit, winning 17-14 on Clarke Canova’s 27-yard field goal with 2 minutes, 53 seconds remaining. No. 13 Poquoson had a shot to tie, but Ethan Little’s 42-yard fieldgoal attempt with 11 seconds left fell short and the Rams (8-2) celebrated their hard-earned victory.
“It was a playoff atmosphere and I think that will be good for this team,” said Rams coach Andy Linn, whose team will be the No. 2 seed in the Class 3 Region A playoffs.
The Islanders (7-3) maintained the No. 1 seed in Class 2 Region A despite the loss, but will likely begin their region title defense minus their best lineman. Grady Insley, a two-way starter, injured a knee in the fourth quarter.
“I think confidence-wise, this game helps us going into the playoffs, other than losing Grady,” Islanders coach Elliott Duty said. “Hopefully, we can get him back in the next couple of weeks.”
Insley, like his offensive line mates, threw his share of hard blocks as Poquoson marched 85 yards on 11 plays for a touchdown on its first possession. Baker Green (113 yards rushing) ran 46 yards to give the Islanders a 7-0 lead with
5:09 left in the first quarter.
The Islanders, who outgained the Rams 148 yards to 44 in the first half, stretched the lead to 14-0 midway through the third quarter on Eli Tyndall’s 52-yard touchdown pass to Green. But the Rams’ defense put the clamps on Poquoson thereafter, and the emergence of wide receiver Elijah Matthews proved big in their comeback victory.
Matthews, a senior hurt most of the season, caught five passes from Hayden Oleksy for 112 yards in the second half. He had receptions of 48 and 12 yards before Oleksy threw 28 yards to Daniel Jackson for a TD to cut the Poquoson lead to 14-7 with 32 seconds left in the third quarter.
Nazeer Wolmart’s 20-yard run ignited Lafayette’s 65-yard drive in the fourth quarter. Matthews had a 9-yard reception ahead of James Spencer’s 17-yard touchdown run as the Rams tied the score at 14 with 7:57 left.
Wolmart’s fumble recovery gave the Rams the ball at the Islanders’ 30-yard line midway through the fourth quarter. Six plays later, Canova kicked the three-pointer that held up as the game-winner.
“We were sleepwalking through almost three quarters and we had to go to the passing game to get us loosened up a little bit,” Linn said. “Poquoson is a very physical football team and so are we, and I think we wore them down a little in the end.”