New Kent turns on offensive fire power in decimating Bruton 54-7

New Kent’s Ben Christian (3) makes a dive into the end zone to kick off the scoring run for the Trojans.

Robb Johnson photo

It took a while for the New Kent Trojans to get going during the Oct. 16 home football contest against the visiting Bruton Panthers. But once they did, the momentum never stopped.

After only leading by one point midway through the second quarter, the Trojans strung together 47 consecutive points to put away the visiting Panthers 54-7 in the Bay Rivers District contest.

On the opening drive, New Kent had little trouble finding the end zone as Sherman Wynn’s plunge from three yards out provided a 7-0 lead.

Bruton’s defense stifled New Kent on the next possession, as Khalon Murrell’s interception of New Kent quarterback Ben Christian ended the first drive. Bruton would milk the clock over the next eight minutes of the game, attempting to keep the ball out of the high-octane Trojan offense. The Panther offense eventually lulled New Kent’s secondary to sleep as Bruton quarterback James Carlyle-Greene connected with Abraham Owens on a 65-yard passing score. The subsequent conversion failed, keeping New Kent ahead (7-6) with 5:43 remaining until the halftime intermission.

But those Bruton points woke up the Trojan offense. On New Kent’s next possession, the hosts drove 65 yards down the field in less than two minutes, capped off by Christian’s 15-yard run. After the Panthers went three-and-out, it took New Kent less than two minutes again to score, once again capped off by a Christian run.
Still not done, the Panthers were forced to punt to New Kent return man Dylan Bowman. This time, Bowman found his way down the sideline and was able to get inside the 10-yard line. A few moments later, Chase Wiles two-yard run into the end zone added more points to the home team total, which resulted in a 27-6 halftime advantage.

In the second half, the Trojans’ defense continued to give Panthers a fit. Bruton’s offense stalled, returning possession to the hosts. New Kent took advantage as Christian dashed into the end zone from 14 yards away and increasing the lead to 34-6. New Kent added three more touchdowns to initiate a running clock and walk away with the victory.

New Kent improves to 5-2 on the season.