New Kent Charles City Chronicle

News for New Kent County and Charles City County, Virginia | March 28, 2024

Late Warhill TD denies New Kent win, ends Trojans’ season

By Alan Chamberlain | November 8, 2014 12:34 am

New Kent running back Davion Barnes follows lineman Grayson Webb (58) and gets a block from Tyler Jenkins (9) on a second quarter run to set up a Trojan touchdown.

Alan Chamberlain photos

Overtime appeared to be a certainty. Locked in a 28-28 tie with Warhill and less than a minute left in regulation, New Kent’s defense had stuffed the visiting Lions’ offense on two straight running plays on the other side of the 50 yard line. But much to the host Trojans’ chagrin, the visitors had no intention of settling for an extra session.

After a time out and with 34 seconds to go, Lion quarterback Bryson Dannewitz hooked up with receiver Elijah Onks on a post pattern over the middle and behind a badly beaten Trojan secondary. Onks easily covered 55 yards to break the deadlock and help hand Warhill a 36-28 victory.

The disappointing loss lowered the final curtain on a 2-8 football season for New Kent. It was a hard outcome for head coach Dan Rounds and his 10 seniors to swallow after the team appeared to have turned their season around over the previous three games, including a win the week before over Bruton.

“I told the seniors afterward that I was sorry we couldn’t win it for them, especially after as far as we’ve come this year,” Rounds said.

“We had a lot of shoes to fill because of injuries, and there was never any doubt in the minds of those young guys who came in. They just came in and did it,” the coach said. “That type of team mentality is great to have in a young group of guys.

“We were really playing hard for that third win,” he said. Having done so would have given New Kent its best record in the seven seasons since Rounds took over the program in 2008.

“We also wanted to finish with two wins in a row,” he added. “That is a help to the program to get players to come out and motivate players in the off-season so we were really fighting for that.”

But it wasn’t to be, and Rounds could only look back at two key drives inside the Warhill 10 yard line that failed to generate points thanks to penalties. Early in the scoreless first quarter, the Trojans reached the Lion 9, but couldn’t overcome a false start infraction. Then early in the final quarter again after penetrating to the 9, an illegal shift call stymied the march.

“You can’t be a ball control offense and have penalties like that,” Rounds said.

Following the first stalled drive, Warhill took the ball 87 yards the other way in 10 plays to jump on top 6-0. New Kent, however, responded with an 11-play, 95-yard march to even the count. En route, offensive lineman Desmond Glover saved the drive, pouncing on a Trent Orie fumble at midfield. On the next play, running back Davion Barnes found a gaping hole over the right side to take the ball to the Lion 2. From there, Orie dove in for the tying TD.

Warhill’s next series ended on the first play. Trojan defender Brian Gray covered a Dannewitz fumble at the Lion 33. A one-yard loss later, Barnes started right and cut back after Lion defenders over-pursued the play for a 34-yard TD gallop. John Elswick’s conversion run opened a 14-6 Trojan lead.

Warhill pulled back within two, but the Trojans took a 10-point lead into halftime on Barnes’ 52-yard sprint to the end zone. At the break, Barnes had amassed 171 yards on the ground, only five less than the entire Warhill team. The Trojans totaled 294 yards rushing over two quarters.

But the visitors closed the gap to 22-20 to open the second half. Then after the other New Kent drive stalled inside the Lion 10, running back Collin Bright raced 89 yards for the visitors’ go-ahead TD. Dannewitz’s conversion pass to tight end Clayton Osterloh created a 28-22 margin.
Orie capped a nine-play, 65-yard march to draw the Trojans even on an eight-yard run with 5:19 left on the clock. The bid to recapture the lead, however, fell short when Orie could not escape defenders on the conversion run.

For the game, New Kent totaled 440 yards, including 431 on the ground. Injuries limited Barnes to only 16 second half yards. He finished with 187 yards in 17 carries. Orie, meanwhile, ran for 171 yards on 23 carries while Elswick rushed 13 times for 63 yards.

New Kent defender James Weaver sacks Warhill quarterback Bryson Dannewitz to thwart a second quarter Lion drive in the red zone.

New Kent defender James Weaver sacks Warhill quarterback Bryson Dannewitz to thwart a second quarter Lion drive in the red zone.