Green Run forfeits opener for using ineligible player
Two weeks ago, Green Run High won its season opener over Kempsville 42-0.
But that victory won’t count as the Stallions had to forfeit for using an ineligible player.
“It happened and we’re moving forward,” said Green Run athletic director Shani Twyman. “We had an ineligible player the first game. He’s no longer on the roster.”
What made the forfeit even tougher for the Stallions is it comes after a close loss to Salem last week,
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757Teamz Top 15 poll, dropping the team to 0-2.
With a short season, the Stallions’ playoff hopes look bleak already.
“It came down to a game of inches,” Stallions coach Brandon Williams said about the 28-27 loss to Salem. “We went into the game wanting to win and felt we could win that game. We’re going to build on that and look forward to the future.”
The Stallions next play play First Colonial, followed by Ocean Lakes and Kellam.
“We have to just keep on playing and try to go 1-0 every week,” Williams said. “It’s unfortunate, but the kids are very resilient, and we have to continue to do what we can control.”
Salem-Kempsville game canceled due to COVID issues
Salem, which improved to 3-0 with the win over Green Run, will have an unexpected bye this week.
SunDevils athletic director Mark Harrison said this week’s game against Kempsville won’t be played.
“Our home football game Friday night with Kempsville is being canceled due to COVID-related reasons with the visiting team,” Harrison wrote in an email. “This will go down as a game not played.”
That also means the SunDevils’ season is reduced from five games to four.
Salem coach Shawn Wilson said he has “mixed feelings” about not playing this week.
First and foremost is his concern for the health of the players and coaches at Kempsville. He also wants his coaching staff and players to be OK.
“This will give our guys a chance to rest because we’re pretty banged up with a lot of guys going both ways,” he said. “This is an extra week of rest for us, try to get some of these guys healthy and healed up. We won’t get any power points for this, so, we’ll see what happens.”
Norview’s first-year coach is off to a great start
Norview first-year coach Ian Rapanick knew he had talent coming back when he was named the new coach 13 months ago.
Rapanick replaced Dealton Cotton, who stepped down to become the head football coach at East Wake High outside of Raleigh, North Carolina.
“I knew that we had potential to be really good, but with COVID and all the time off, I didn’t really know what to expect exactly,” he said.
Rapanick and the Pilots are 2-1 — the program’s best start since 2016.
“I love this group of seniors and juniors that we have,” he said. “I knew that they would do everything they could to help us be successful.”
The Pilots went 4-7, 3-8 and 2-8 the past three seasons.
This season, they lost to Churchland 6-0, but have outscored opponents 64-10 the past two games.
“(We’re) seeing the culture starting to shift in the right direction and the players starting to buy in and believe that we can play with anyone,” he said. “I’m so proud of them for how far we’ve come, but we know that we still have a long way to go.”
New King’s Fork coach gets victory in his first game
King’s Fork first-year coach Anthony Joffrion picked up his first victory as a head coach when the Bulldogs beat Lakeland 42-6 in the season opener.
Joffrion, a former standout lineman at Ocean Lakes and Chowan, is used to winning.
He was an assistant coach at Oscar Smith last season. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach at King’s Fork, when the Bulldogs finished 11-2 and made a playoff run in 2017.
“It feels great to get this first win, but I’m excited that our student-athletes had the opportunity to compete,” he said. “It was fun to enjoy the first win, but now it’s time to lock in and focus on going 1-0 this upcoming week.”
Princess Anne gets huge boost from its “iron men”
Princess Anne’s skill players — quarterback Ryan High, Tychaun Chapman, Zaakir Brown, Michael Newell and D.J. James — are wellknown to high school football fans.
But Cavaliers coach James Yeager said the play of his line, specifically Jayden Truesdale, James Smith and Hunter Sherman, was huge in the upset over Ocean Lakes last week.
“They play 100% of the snaps the entire game,” he said about the trio. “To come out there and handle a fresh defensive line, then go out there and handle a fresh offensive line was big.”
Truesdale and Sherman each finished with seven tackles, while Smith had five tackles, including two sacks.
Lafayette offensive lineman scores TD on first-ever run
An unusual element of Lafayette’s 42-0 win over Warhill was Tommy Gardner’s 1-yard touchdown run that capped the scoring. Gardner, a 6-foot-3, 330-pound center, had never run the ball before.
Rams coach Andy Linn likes to reward his senior offensive linemen with a touchdown-run opportunity if it presents itself. So, don’t be surprised if the Rams are well ahead in one of their final two regular-season games and guard Brady White and tackle Lawrence Taylor run the ball close to the goal line.
“It keeps the game fun for the linemen, which is important, especially this time of year, because I work them hard in practice and have high expectations,” Linn said of the tradition. “The younger linemen think it’s great.”
Denbigh showing signs of a turnaround behind Stewart
Denbigh suffered 33 losses before ending the streak this past season with a win over Bethel. The Patriots recorded a victory in only their second game this season, defeating Heritage 27-12.
Second-year coach James Stewart, whose Patriots were more competitive than expected in a 35-0 loss to Phoebus to open the season, said the two solid performances are sign of a turnaround.
“I feel like we’ve built from the bottom up,” said Stewart, who added that 24 of 26 players on the roster are seeing significant minutes. “The young guys are contributing (two freshmen and a sophomore start on the offensive line) and the attitudes have changed.
“We don’t have any more of the bad attitudes here my first couple of months in the program.”
Peninsula-area schedule changes are adding up
COVID and other factors like Bruton’s injuries continue to significantly alter schedules in the Peninsula and Bay Rivers districts. The upshot is that six games will not take place as originally scheduled this week, although not all are canceled.
Below is an update of games scheduled for this week that have been postponed, canceled or added to this week’s schedule.
Postponed: (status TBA): Phoebus vs. Bethel; Kecoughtan vs. Gloucester.
Canceled: Lafayette at Bruton; York at New Kent; Grafton at Smithfield.
Added: Grafton at New Kent, 7 p.m. on Friday (new game); Kecoughtan vs. Phoebus, noon on Saturday at Darling Stadium (original date was March 5); Denbigh vs. Menchville, 7 p.m. on Monday at Todd Stadium (original date was March 18); Hampton vs. Warwick, 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Todd Stadium (original date was March 5).