Charles City overcomes 2nd half woes, trounces Windsor

Charles City quarterback Jovan Howard escapes the grasp of a pair of Windsor defenders on the way to an eight yard TD run.

Andre' Jones photo

At the beginning of the season, Charles City head coach Steward Greene spoke about how traditionally his football team comes out flat after halftime. He’s glad his team decided to break the tradition.

The Panthers (3-3) scored on each of their three possessions in the third quarter in routing the Windsor Dukes (2-4) 38-14 in an Oct. 5 Tri-Rivers District contest.

The Panthers came out aggressively, pounding the ball against the Dukes’ defense with running back TeSsean Greene. Greene’s three consecutive runs would lead to Jovan Howard’s 26 yard touchdown run. A Neil Friese kick upped the score to 7-0 for the visiting Panthers.

The first play of the second quarter saw Dukes signal caller Justice Chapman throw a pass that was intercepted by Greene. Greene returned the ball to the one where Avery Jones ran it in to help up the score to 14-0.

The Panthers were threatening to score again after crossing midfield when disaster struck. Running back Jaquane Wyatt would be slung around by a Dukes defender, and as he was, the ball came loose and was recovered by Windsor. Chapman would carry most of the load for the hosts as he pounded the ball all the way to the one yard line. There, he handed the ball off to Sharod Ruffin who would find the end zone. A Tyler Fontenot kick sliced the Panthers lead in half heading into the halftime break.

Charles City received the ball after halftime and started to deliver punches. On the first series, Greene took a handoff, broke one tackle and raced 31 yards for a score. The next series saw Howard connect with receiver JeQuan Carroll for a 40-yard completion to set up Howard’s 11-yard touchdown run.

After Windsor retaliated with a Chapman to Caleb Dundlow 40-yard touchdown pass, the connection of Howard and Carroll reunited. Howard found Carroll unguarded down the middle of the field for a 76-yard touchdown. After a failed two-point attempt, the Panthers led comfortably 32-14.

Moving into the fourth quarter, the Panthers begin to milk the clock with the running game. With a plethora of running backs taking carries, the Panthers ran off six minutes before Jaelan Cotman plunged in from one yard out to create the final margin of victory.

After the game, Greene expressed pleasure with his team’s second half performance.

“We need to come to play like that every game,” he said. “We did the little things and showed the determination not to be stopped. We moved the ball down the field and didn’t turn the ball over, and those were the keys to tonight’s success.”

Turnovers were probably the biggest reason why the Dukes were in the game during the first half. The Panthers fumbled the ball twice and threw an interception as well. All three turnovers occurred in Windsor territory ending potential scoring drives.

“We have no more room for error,” said Greene. “With the schedule that we’re facing in the next few weeks, we know our district foes are going to capitalize if we continue to make mistakes like that.”

The Panthers upcoming schedule consist of two teams in the top 10 of the Group A poll in Franklin and Sussex Central, as well as a high scoring offense in Surry County.

“It’s time to buckle down and be as crisp and effective as possible,” Greene concluded.

Charles City—- 7 7 18 6 —— 38
Windsor——— 0 7 7 0 —— 14
1st Quarter
CC (7:06)- Howard 26 yard run (Friese kick) 7-0
2nd Quarter
CC (11:41)- Jones 1 yard run (Friese kick) 14-0
Wind (2:43)- Ruffin 1 yard run (Fontenot kick) 14-7
3rd Quarter
CC (10:21)- Greene 31 yard run (kick fail) 20-7
CC (5:46)- Howard 8 yard run (kick fail) 26-7
Wind (3:01)- Dundlow 40 yard pass from Chapman (Fontenot kick) 26-14
CC (1:08)- Carroll 70 yard pass from Howard (run fail) 32-14
4th Quarter
CC (6:23)- Cotman 1 yard run (kick fail) 38-14

Rushing (attempts/yards)
CC- Greene 14/98, Howard 12/117, J. Wyatt 7/58, Cotman 2/1, K. Wyatt 2/0.
Windsor- Chapman 19/68, Ruffin 7/13, Dundlow 5/18, Eure 4/14.
Passing (completions/attempts/yards)
CC- Howard 2/6/116, 1 TD, 1 Int.
Windsor- Chapman 10/24/97, 1 TD, 2 Int..
Receiving (receptions/yards)
CC- Carroll 2/116.
Windsor- Dundlow 4/44, Eure 2/30, Stevens 2/23, Edwards 1/0.