Turnovers plague Panthers on Homecoming Night, Middlesex rolls 33-2

Charles City’s Jacob Billups (60) rocks Middlesex running back Jayden Kidd with a huge hit after sniffing out a screen pass play.

Andre' Jones photo

In their first football matchup back in August, Charles City fell to Middlesex by a mere point on the day they welcomed back football. During that game, the Panthers didn’t turn the ball over. Unfortunately on Friday night, it was miscues and mistakes that told a different story.

Charles City turned the ball over six times, leading to Middlesex’s 33-2 shellacking of the Panthers to spoil the homecoming football festivities.

The visitors attacked early on the opening drive. A Cameron Lambert to Malik Dandy 40-yard pass would lead to Jayden Kidd’s eight-yard tote to provide Middlesex a 7-0 lead, an advantage they wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the night.

Charles City’s opening drive on offense looked promising, as the Panthers marched down to Middlesex’s red zone. But a high snap over the head of quarterback Taylor Bey saw Kidd recover the ball on defense, returning the ball back to the guests.

A late first quarter interception by Charles City’s Tyshawn Dennis prevented any further damage by Middlesex. But on the transition into the second quarter, another high snapped pinned Charles City deep in their territory. Forced to punt, Middlesex took advantage of the prime field position, with Kidd following blockers on a Power I formation and running down the Chargers’ sideline 54 yards for another score and a 14-0 lead.

More center to quarterback miscues for the Panthers led to another bad snap and turnover, with Middlesex recovering the ball deep in Charles City territory. A carry by Cam Byers accounted for the visitors’ next touchdown, leading to a 21-0 halftime lead for Middlesex by the time halftime struck.

The second half yielded no mercy for Charles City when it came to turnovers. Two additional fumbles and an interception thrown would lead to 12 more points for Middlesex, cushioning their lead. Charles City’s only points came on a safety late in the game.

After the contest, Charles City Head Coach Sherod Jones summed up his thoughts in a few brief sentences.

“We can’t be making mistakes that can be prevented,” he said. “We made mistakes on the field in the game, and we made mental mistakes from lining up in the wrong positions on defense to not finishing tackles.”

Charles City falls to 0-6 on the season and will close out the season this upcoming Friday as they host King & Queen.