New Kent trounces Charles City 62-27 in benefit football game

New Kent running back Davion Barnes (3) sidesteps the tackle attempt by Charles City's Craig Jones Jr. (8) and eludes the pursuit of Mason Jefferson (4) on his way to a big run.

Andre' Jones photos

Charles City’s Panthers and New Kent’s Trojans collided on the gridiron for the first time in 15 years last Friday evening. And while the record books will remain unchanged, the benefit game reaped just that for the visiting Trojans.

Trojan running back Davion Barnes accumulated 274 rushing yards along with four touchdowns as New Kent trounced Charles City 62-27 in the exhibition contest with more than 600 spectators on hand in the rivalry of schools that are 20 minutes apart.

New Kent wasted little time finding the end zone. On the opening kickoff, senior R. J. Morris received the ball at the 22-yard line and split Panther defenders up the middle, dashing 78 yards for an early touchdown. Trojan special teams scored again a few moments later, as a bad Panther snap on a punt attempt resulted in a safety and an 8-0 New Kent lead. After a Charles City free kick, Trojan running back Bryce St. Clair would dash 40 yards on a jet sweep to up New Kent’s margin to 14-0 less than three minutes into the contest.

The hosts were able to calm down New Kent’s aggressiveness after the rocky start, using a rushing attack led by junior Cecil Tyler and a mixed pass and run attack by fellow classmate and quarterback Troy Crawley. Tyler’s 40 yards on the ground and 38 yards from Crawley positioned the Panthers at the two yard line and threatening to score.

But Trojan defenders stepped up, resulting in Charles City’s David Smith fumbling the handoff on the exchange and St. Clair scooping the ball up for the visitors and giving them breathing room to start the next drive. Two plays later, Barnes scored on a 55-yard run to give the hosts a 21-0 advantage to carry into quarter two after Julian Thacker’s placement.

The Panthers drove the ball down the field at the end of the first quarter to set up their first score of the game when Tyler plunged in from two yards out (21-7). Charles City continued to settle down, as New Kent quarterback Mike Burt’s pass intended for Slater Gammon was intercepted by defensive back Kyle Jones who returned it deep into Trojan territory. One play later, Crawley scrambled 19 yards into the end zone for the hosts, cutting the lead to 21-13.

After the Trojans turned the ball over on downs, Charles City moved the ball once again into the red zone. But Crawley’s pass intended for Jones was intercepted by New Kent defensive back Ryan Curle. New Kent would capitalize shortly after the turnover, with Barnes scampering 72 yards for his second score of the night and giving the guests a 28-13 halftime lead.

Charles City emerged from the break focused, as running Mason Jefferson found a hole between offensive linemen and raced 50 yards for a touchdown to get the hosts within one score (28-21).

But it was one spectacular play by Barnes that led the Trojans to what would amount to a 34-6 scoring run. On second down from the team’s own 49, Barnes cut to the right of the offense and was wrapped up by Panther defenders. As the Panthers attempted to tackle and rip the ball, the Trojan running back performed a spin, tossing off two defenders and racing to the end zone in front of the hosts’ sideline for a 35-21 lead. Barnes added another touchdown at the end of the third quarter to double up the score for the guests (42-21).

Charles City’s attempts to solve the Trojan running game were futile, as two additional touchdowns added by Hunter Pitts were paired with an Evan Branch interception return for a score pushing the Trojans ahead 62-27. Only Tyler’s run into the end zone accounted for the lone score in the final quarter for the hosts.

After the game, New Kent head coach Clark Harrell spoke about the team’s effort and improvements that needed to be made prior to the Sept. 3 season home opener against Colonial Heights.

“When I got here, the biggest thing we had to work on was tackling,” said Harrell. “And while we made some nice licks, we didn’t wrap up tonight.

“We’re working very hard on it and tonight, we made a lot of adjustments from our scrimmage last week at Spotsylvania,” he continued. “Our coaches did a good job adjusting.”

As far as offense and the spread, Harrell is hoping to get just a little more out of the team.

“It’s very hard to defend,” he said about his offensive scheme. “That offense allows us to get the ball to the athlete in open space. Right now, we just need to make better decisions.”

On Charles City’s sideline, head coach Steward Greene commented on the need for an improved effort from his team.

“We’ve got to check our attitudes at the door because simple things hurt us tonight,” Greene said. “We killed ourselves with simple things such as hustling and penalties.

“New Kent is a very good team, but we got to get back to fundamentals.”

The Panther head coach, however, did note positives that the team had and could look forward to building on in their Aug. 28 home season opener against Cumberland.

“We moved the ball very well down the field and we were able to get around the edges,” he continued. “Once we fine tune some things such as blocking assignments, we’ll be fine.

“The good thing about this game is that it doesn’t count and it gives us a good measure of where we are and where we need to be,” he concluded.

Charles City opens its season on Aug. 28 at home against Cumberland, while New Kent will host Colonial Heights in a Thursday night clash on Sept. 3.

Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
New Kent—– 21 7 14 20 62
Charles City- 0 13 8 6 27

1st Quarter
NK (11:48)- Morris 78 yard kickoff return (kick fail) 6-0
NK (10:22)- Safety (bad snap on punt) 8-0
NK (9:11)- St. Clair 40 yard run (kick fail) 14-0
NK (2:24)- Barnes 55 yard run (Thacker kick) 21-0
2nd Quarter
CC (11:36)- Tyler 2 yard run (C. Jones kick) 21-7
CC (9:33)- Crawley 19 yard run (kick fail) 21-13
NK (1:43)- Barnes 72 yard run (Thacker kick) 28-13
3rd Quarter
CC (11:16)- Jefferson 50 yard run (Tyler run) 28-21
NK (10:19)- Barnes 51 yard run (Thacker kick) 35-21
NK (1:27)- Barnes 12 yard run (Thacker kick) 42-21
4th Quarter
NK (9:10)- Pitts 32 yard run (Thacker kick) 49-21
NK (6:41)- Branch 62 yard interception return (Thacker kick) 56-21
CC (5:31)- Tyler 6 yard run (kick fail) 56-27
NK (3:48)- Pitts 32 yard run (kick fail) 62-27

Passing (completions/attempts/yards)
NK- Burt 1/5/-1; 1 int.
CC- Crawley 11/21/173; 3 int.

Rushing (attempts/yards)
NK- Barnes 17/274, 4 TD; Pitts 5/95, 2 TD; St. Clair 1/40, 1 TD; Morris 5/33; Curle 1/12; Burt 4/-2.
CC- Tyler 25/205, 2 TD; Jefferson 10/104, 1 TD; Crawley 11/21, 1 TD; Smith 2/2; Shine 1/2.

Receiving (receptions/yards)
NK- Curle 1/-1.
CC- Smith 2/52; K. Jones 3/43; Tyler 3/41; Bassatt 1/16; C. Jones 1/12; Hicks 1/9.

New Kent’s Mike Dorer (71) pounces on the ball a tad too late for a touchdown as teammate Jason Godbey (55) protects him from Panther punter Michael Callahan (55). The play resulted in a safety.

New Kent’s Bryce St. Clair (12) runs away from Panther linebacker Rashawn Shine on his way to a 40-yard touchdown score on his only carry of the night.

Charles City Panther defender Kyle Jones (left) steps in front of a pass intended for Trojan wideout Slater Gammon for an interception as teammate Brian Hicks (9) assists on the defensive coverage.

Charles City cornerback Mason Jefferson (4) breaks up a pass attempt on fourth down intended for Trojan receiver R.J. Morris (7).