Sixth-ranked Sussex Central capitalizes off Charles City

Charles City’s James Adkins (21) and Charles Vaden (3) are able to to clip the legs of Sussex Central running back Rakeem White.

Andre' Jones photo

With Group 1A’s sixth-ranked Sussex Central Tigers rolled into Charles City on Sept. 13, Charles City head coach Alan Jones Sr. expected his team to get a dose of reality from a much more physical team. That dose came early, often, and in multiples.

The hosts Panthers were no match from the onset, as former district rival Sussex Central (2-0) cruised 68-0 victory, dropping Charles City’s record to 0-3 on the year.

From the opening kickoff, Sussex controlled the game. Tiger return man Michael Jarrett fielded the ball, found a hole in the center of field and cruised untouched for 79 yards and a Tigers score and a quick 8-0 lead.

After a Panthers 3 and out, Jarrett was the recipient of a Deqwandre Jones pass on fourth down and matriculated down to the 12-yard line. On the next play Jones connected with Dashaun Barrow for the next points. Churrio Scott added a touchdown run and Sussex led 24-0.

The second quarter went from bad to worse for the Panthers. Pinned at their own four-yard line, Charles City punter Michael Callahan took the snap and launched a punt. Unfortunately, the low line drive punt deflected off a teammate’s back and landed in the end zone, where it was recovered by Mack Procise and upping Sussex’s lead to 32-0.

Charles City’s offensive backfield would fall victim in the frame as well. Starting running backs Tesean Greene and Jaquane Wyatt left the game with arm injuries. Not too far behind, backup running back Cecil Tyler suffered a concussion, retiring him from the contest.

Sussex continued to thrive, garnishing three additional touchdowns before the halftime, with the guests leading comfortably 52-0. The Tigers would ask one touchdown in both the third and fourth quarters to close out the lopsided affair.

After the game, Jones commented about the contest, hoping his team steps up their intensity in practice.

“We play a more physical, aggressive team,” said Jones. “This is a learning experience for them. I hope they will use what happened tonight and develop an attitude of what they need to do to win and stay competitive.”

Charles City struggled on office, not accumulating a first down until 3:40 left in the second quarter. That first down was assisted on a Sussex Central roughing the passer penalty. The Panthers biggest play on the night consisted of Troy Crawley connecting with Charles Vaden on a 31-yard pass. For the game, the Panthers totaled only eight offensive yards.

Sussex Central — 24 28 8 8 —— 68
Charles City——– 0 0 0 0 —— 0

1st Quarter
S (11:48) Jarrett 78 yard kickoff return (Jones run) 8-0
S (4:22) Barrow 12 yard pass from Jones (Scott run) 16-0
S (2:21) Scott 24 yard run (Scott run) 24-0
2nd Quarter
S (11:03) Procise 0 yard blocked punt recovery (Shaw run) 32-0
S (7:15) Scott 1 yard run (Parham pass from Jones) 40-0
S (4:57) Pearson 50 yard punt return (run failed) 46-0
S (1:41) Boone 3 yard run (Scott run) 52-0
3rd Quarter
S (3:30) Boone 27 yard run (Shaw run) 60-0
4th Quarter
S (10:08) Pearson 42 yard run (Davis run) 68-0

Rushing (attempts/yards)
S- Boone 7/84, Scott 5/63, Pearson 2/60, Jarrett 4/45, Davis 2/10, Jones 2/1, White 4/1, Delk 2/-2
CC- Jefferson 3/9, Gordon 1/-2, J. Wyatt 6/-5, Tyler 1/-6, Crawley 1/-7, Vaden 4/-9, K. Wyatt 11/-33
Passing (completions/attempts/yards)
S- Jones 3/5/112, 1 TD
CC- K. Wyatt 0/10/0, Crawley 4/10/61, 3 int
Receiving (receptions/yards)
S- Hill 1/62, Jarrett 1/38, Barrow 1/12
CC- Vaden 3/45, Jefferson 1/16