Unbeaten Lafayette rolls past New Kent 42-14

New Kent fullback Kyle Coles (30) is congratulated by quarterback Richard Flournoy after scoring the Trojans' first touchdown.

Alan Chamberlain photo

First two possessions out of the gate, Lafayette’s unbeaten Rams incurred 45 yards in penalties, including a personal foul call that negated an 83-yard punt return for touchdown. Both series ended in TDs anyway.

New Kent’s host Trojans got one score back, but from there, the powerful Rams pulled away for a 42-14 win. The decision apparently ends New Kent’s football season at 4-6, although an extremely slim chance remains for the Trojans to back into the playoffs provided a few other teams vying in the region suffer losses.

“We knew it would be a tall order,” New Kent coach Clark Harrell said regarding the prospect of upsetting Lafayette.

“[The Rams] have got about four Division I players,” he said. “The things they do and good teams do is if you make a mistake, they make you pay. The impressive thing is they all tackle well. Andy’s [Ram head coach Andy Linn] teams are always weight room-strong and they’re physical.”

Despite three holding calls, the Rams needed just five plays to take the lead for good capped by running back Caleb Kraegenbrink’s 32-yard dash. Kraegenbrink (12 carries, 143 yards, 3 TDs) scored his second TD, this time from 53 yards out, on the second play following the aborted punt return.

Aided by a Ram personal foul call for a late hit out of bounds, New Kent responded with a 65-yard scoring march. The drive’s key play took advantage of a Ram defense keying on New Kent’s running game with soft coverage on Slater Gammon, the Trojans’ lone wide receiver.

Ram defensive back Hezekiah Grimsley, assigned to cover Gammon but playing well inside of the receiver to respect the run, got turned around as Gammon made a diving catch at the Ram one yard line on a 27-yard Richard Flournoy aerial. Fullback Kyle Coles lost a yard on the next play, but crashed into the end zone on second down.

Julian Thacker’s point-after kick cut the Ram lead to 14-7 late in the first quarter. Lafayette, however, added a pair of second quarter touchdowns to take a 28-7 halftime lead.

New Kent added a second TD with time running out in the game. Coles (18 carries, 82 yards) sprinted 46 yards to the Ram six-yard line and carried the final five yards behind the blocks of John Holland and Dean Powell. Thacker’s placement created the final score.

New Kent finished with 188 yards, 151 on the ground. The Rams, meanwhile, amassed 406.

The Trojans’ 4-6 record is the best any New Kent team has posted in the past 10 seasons. Harrell, who was hired to turn the program around, said there’s more work to do.

“We should be set for next year if we do the things we need to do to get better, and that starts in the weight room,” he said. “We start two seniors on offense and three on defense so the nucleus of our team is still very young.

“I told the players we’ll have to watch the other scores,” he added, pointing to the playoff possibility. “If we don’t go, I still feel we’ve accomplished a lot of things and set this program in the right direction.”