NK shutout at homecoming

Simply put, New Kent’s Trojans had no answer, either offensively or defensively, for Poquoson’s Islanders. The host Trojans could neither sustain drives nor stop the visitors as Poquoson posted a 35-0 Bay Rivers District football win, ruining New Kent’s Oct. 24 homecoming celebration.

The Islanders built a 14-0 halftime lead, limiting New Kent to only a pair of first downs, and pulled away after the break. The loss dropped the Trojans to 1-6 in the district and 2-6 overall.

“We didn’t make any plays,” complained Trojan head coach Dan Rounds afterward. “We’ve got to find some kind of offense. We moved the ball a little bit, but we weren’t consistent.

“Then we didn’t make any plays on defense,” he said. “We had too many guys running by the ball, and we didn’t keep them off the field. It’s pretty frustrating.”

The Trojans, however, have been plagued with injuries. At the quarterback spot alone, they are down to their third player on the depth chart.

Starter Steven Allen aggravated an ankle injury in the Poquoson contest. Backup T.J. Mason, recovering from a concussion, was in street clothes. Thus in the second half, Kirk Pomfrey, who normally handles the punting chores, took over behind center.

“A lot of people are playing hurt and the injuries keep happening,” Rounds said. “But that’s football. Injuries are part of the game and everybody has them. It’s just unfortunate that we have more than our share at this time.”

But even a healthy Trojan contingent may not have made a difference against the Bay Rivers District leaders. The Islanders, now 7-1, 7-2, scored on their opening possession on a Tee McConnell to Clark Schurz 9-yard pass play. Then in the second quarter, McConnell found Schurz again, this time on a 10-yard completion to mount the halftime advantage.

Still within striking distance, however, the Trojans took the second half kickoff and marched into Islander territory. But McConnell picked off an Allen pass at the Poquoson 16-yard line to set up the visitors’ next scoring drive.

Poquoson overcame two penalties on the way to upping its advantage to 21-0 on McConnell’s 8-yard pass to Luke Hill. New Kent went three and out on its next series, and Hill returned the Trojan punt 55 yards for another touchdown.

New Kent had its best chance to cut into the Poquoson lead after Justin Williams broke loose for a 59-yard jaunt that moved the ball to the Islander five early in the fourth quarter. The hosts advanced to the one, but on fourth down, Pomfrey’s quarterback sneak was stuffed at the line of scrimmage and the visitors took over on downs.

A Trojan fumble near midfield led to Poquoson’s final scoring drive, a nine-play, 54-yard march capped by McConnell’s 4-yard pass to Louie Shearer.

Poquoson limited New Kent to 106 total yards. The Islanders amassed 337 with 269 coming on the ground.