New Kent football season ends at powerful Lafayette

New Kent linemen Joe Dixon (65), Trent Ragland, and Dean Powell provide protection for quarterback Richard Flournoy who spots receiver Kyle Coles open in the end zone for a touchdown on the game's final play.

Alan Chamberlain photo

The final curtain fell Thursday night on New Kent’s 2015 football season. As expected, Lafayette’s unbeaten Rams rolled to a 48-12 victory. But the visiting Trojans’ performance was not without its bright spots.

“I think we did some good things at times,” said Trojan head coach Clark Harrell, whose team ended its season at 2-8.

“We battled them, and we didn’t lay down,” he said. “I kind of thought we’ve evolved this year and battled all year so that we’re not that far behind a lot of teams in this district.”

One positive note was senior running back Davion Barnes who carried 34 times for 194 yards, putting him over the 1,700-yard mark for the season. Against the Rams, most of his yards had to be earned the hard way, but he managed to break through on runs of 53 and 55 yards that set up his team’s touchdowns.

Another bright spot, New Kent’s defense stopped the Rams on downs on two occasions. And a forced fumble, recovered by the Trojans’ Nick Carreon, stopped another Ram drive.

The hosts, however, dominated early on, gobbling up yards in huge chunks to score on their first two series. Those drives (four plays each) covered 58 and 62 yards, respectively. Just under five minutes into the game, Lafayette owned a 14-0 lead.

New Kent’s offense responded after Lafayette’s second score. A 35-yard aerial hauled in by receiver Slater Gammon from backup quarterback Richard Flournoy, pressed into duty the week before due to an injury sustained by starter Mike Burt, advanced the Trojans for the first time into Ram territory. Moments later though, a high snap resulted in a fumble that stalled the drive after reaching the Ram 31.

The Rams added another TD on their third series, taking advantage of blown pass coverage, but the Trojans stopped the hosts’ next series on downs at their own 28-yard line. After converting on fourth down and one to keep the drive alive, Barnes burst through the middle on a 53-yard scamper to the Ram 6-yard line. From there on second down, he twisted and turned his way into the end zone to cut the Ram lead to 21-6 with 4:13 left before halftime.

Lafayette scored the next 27 points before the Trojans mounted a scoring march on the game’s final series. Barnes’ 55-yard burst reached the Ram 5-yard line. As time expired, Flournoy scrambled left out of the pocket, firing a strike to receiver Kyle Coles just inside the end zone.

Flournoy completed six of 10 passes for 60 yards and the TD. New Kent, meanwhile, totaled 240 yards while Lafayette amassed 454.

Afterward, Harrell praised his team’s composure and never-give-up attitude, both on and off the field.

“I’ve learned that when the leaves turn brown, the weight room takes over,” he said. “The stronger teams take over, and we’ve played hard in every game.”

As for the future, Harrell said matters bode well for the Trojans who lose just six graduating seniors from their 37-man roster. More than half of next year’s returnees will be from the current year’s sophomore and freshman classes.

“I’ve always said that you play your young players. As they grow up, your program grows up,” he said.

“It’s nice to have all 11 starters returning on defense,” he added. “I’ve never had that in all my years of coaching. We’ve got something to build with and now we’ve got to go out there and do it.”