Powerful Lafayette disposes of New Kent in road contest

Lafayette quarterback Cesar Ward (right) steps up in the pocket as New Kent’s Hayden Smith (2) reaches out to slow him down.

Robb Johnson photo

New Kent’s Trojans faced a major road test as they hoped to make Friday, Oct. 13 a superstitious day for the home-standing Lafayette Rams. Unfortunately for the Trojans, Lafayette’s dominance of the Bay Rivers thwarted the visitors.

Lafayette jumped out to stay from the start and cruised to a 33-6 victory over New Kent.

Less than 30 seconds into the contest, DeaMario Tyler trotted 31 yards into the end zone for a 7-0 advantage. On New Kent’s first possession, quarterback Ryan Curle connected with Evan Branch on a 62-yard strike. However, after being backed up, Lafayette’s Jack Irwin stripped Curle on a pass attempt, resulting in teammate Armonii Burden’s scoop and score from 46 yards out and a 14-0 lead for the Rams.

New Kent’s defense held steady the next few series, pressuring Rams quarterback Cesar Ward and forcing miscues by the hosts. On a crucial third down play, Lafayette was called for a hold. Instead of declining the penalty to make it fourth and 12, the Trojans accepted it.

“They gave me the wrong spot of the football,” said Trojan head coach Clark Harrell on the play. “The referees told me the ball was spotted at the 40 and not at the 13-yard line. If that was made clear to me we would have had them punt and give us the ball.”

Instead, the Rams made the visitors pay as Ward connected with receiver Ish Roy on a 45-yard pass. A few plays later, Jordan Ballowe carried the ball from 31 yards in to bestow a 21-0 halftime advantage for the hosts.

New Kent struggled for the remainder of the game, being held to a mere one yard on the ground in the second half and 78 for the game. The Trojans lone bright spot came when Curle connected with wide receiver Slater Gammon on a fade into the corner of the end zone.

After the game, Harrell talked about the competitiveness and fight shown by his team.

“I am proud of my team because we were one of the teams that didn’t clock,” he said, refereeing to the running clock rule when a team has a 35-point advantage in the game. “I was happy with the way we continued to fight and we have been working on our passing game the last two weeks. I see some good things that came out of our offense tonight.”

New Kent drops to 4-3 and will host Smithfield on Oct. 20 as part of the school’s homecoming event.