Falcon peewees stun Varina to advance to title game
C.J. Reeders ran for 216 yards and three touchdowns while Evan Branch added a touchdown plus 164 yards on the ground as the New Kent Falcons’ varsity peewee team toppled Varina’s unbeaten Blue Devils 41-32 in the Metropolitan Youth Football League semifinals.
The Nov. 20 victory propelled the Falcons into last Saturday’s championship clash with Chamberlayne, another unbeaten. The semifinal triumph at Henrico’s Dorey Park avenged the 10-1 Falcons’ lone loss, a 29-20 early season setback at the hands of Varina.
In the rematch, the Falcons needed all the offensive firepower they could muster. Varina scored on its first possession, but New Kent flexed its ground game muscle on the ensuing series. Branch found an opening off the left side on New Kent’s second play, scampering untouched on a 79-yard TD run. Edward Davis’ conversion run put the Falcons on top 7-6.
Varina, however, responded less than a minute later. Mark Parker’s 26-yard TD run following a Falcon personal foul for a horse collar tackle regained the lead for the Blue Devils.
But on the first quarter’s final play, Reeders dashed through a big hole over the right side on the way to the end zone 62 yards away. He then ran for the conversion and a 14-12 New Kent advantage.
Varina appeared to move back in front on its next series on a 49-yard Bryce Patron run, but a personal foul call wiped out the TD. New Kent’s defense then stiffened, forcing a punt that netted just one yard and enabling the Falcons to take over on the Blue Devil 30 yard line. From there, New Kent drove to the 14 from where Reeders burst up the middle to help extend the Falcon lead to 21-12.
But Varina roared back, scoring just before halftime on Patron’s 24-yard sweep around the left side. The Blue Devils regained the lead at 24-21 early in the third quarter on a misdirection play as Parker bolted 44 yards.
New Kent answered Parker’s score immediately. On their first play, the Falcon offensive line opened another gaping hole for Reeders who galloped 56 yards for his third TD. Branch’s conversion run made it a 28-24 contest.
The seesaw format, however, continued as Parker capped an eight-play, 52-yard drive with a 21-yard run. A subsequent two-point conversion put Varina in front 32-28.
The lead, however, would be Varina’s last. Branch raced 52 yards to the Blue Devil 11 yard line on the first play of the fourth quarter. Two plays later, Davis rumbled into the end zone from four yards out, handing New Kent the lead for good.
On the ensuing kickoff, Nathan Widasin’s on-side kick bounced off Varina’s Clay Swinger. The Falcons’ Zach Morris covered the fumble near midfield, setting up a drive ending in Wyatt Terry’s 10-yard TD run that put the game out of reach with 4:36 to go.
For the game, the Falcons ran the ball 26 times for 398 yards. New Kent’s defense held Varina to 185 yards on the ground and 13 through the air.