Shutout victory guarantees most successful New Kent football season in 10 years

New Kent defenders Jason Godbey (55), Hunter Pitts (1), and Wyatt Terry (6) combine to drag down Bruton ball carrier Michael Tignor.

Alan Chamberlain photo

With a 28-0 shutout of Bruton, the latest edition of New Kent Trojan football accomplishes what nine others before it could not— win more than two games in a single season.

Friday night’s victory before the home crowd is number three on the year thus far, and puts the Trojans in the running for a winning season. And to find the last such campaign, one must go back to 2003. That team finished 7-4, bowing out in the playoffs that year. New Kent now stands at 3-1, poised for a potential playoff appearance that would wipe out that 13-year drought.

As for the Bruton win, New Kent’s offense had its moments, but the defense earned the lion’s share of accolades. The Trojans held the Panthers to 106 total yards and seven first downs, three by penalty. Trojan head coach Clark Harrell attributed the feat to analyzing opponents’ success on offense over the first three games.

“We’ve given up 10 touchdowns this year,” he said. “Four were on long pass plays and three others were short runs that were set up by long passes.

“So we made some changes,” he said. “We’ve been pretty solid against the run all year. Something we specifically worked on is adjusting to what the other teams do. Our defense is solid, and that’s something we take pride in.”

The defense stopped Bruton’s lone red zone penetration of the night, coming early in the second quarter of a scoreless contest. Defender Hunter Pitts dropped running back Mike Rodgers for a six-yard loss on first down from the Trojan 19 yard line. Bruton then ran out of downs at the 23, and the Trojan offense went to work.

New Kent overcame a personal foul call near midfield with a 33-yard Richard Flournoy-to-Zach Simmons aerial, moving the ball into Bruton territory. Four plays later, blockers sealed the left side for Ryan Curle’s 20-yard scamper into the end zone.

Next series, the defense forced a Panther punt from the visitors’ 18. That led to a five-play, 51-yard march capped by C.J. Reeders’ nine-yard TD dash over the right side. Reeders’ conversion run opened a 14-0 halftime advantage.

Running back Lamont Brandon (18 carries, 128 yards) followed the left side of his line over the goal line from a yard away early in the fourth quarter. Another Reeders’ conversion upped the count to 22-0.

Garrick Edwards tacked on the final TD, diving in from two yards away with just over a minute left in the game. New Kent finished with 307 total yards.

Afterward, Harrell said he impressed upon his players the importance of next week’s home affair with Grafton.

“It’s getting down to nitty-gritty time,” he said. “Depending on what else happened tonight, we play either for second place or a tie for second place in the district next week. New Kent hasn’t played in a game that means this much so early in the season.

“I told our guys that four wins might get us in the playoffs, but we felt like with five wins we’ll probably be in,” he said. “It’s always been my belief if you’re going to be good, you’ve got to stop somebody, and I think we can with our defense.”