Warhill kickoff return cuts short New Kent comeback

New Kent receiver Chase Dunn spins out of the grasp of Warhill defender Devonte Dedmon after hauling in a first quarter pass.

Alan Chamberlain photo

If Warhill’s Devonte Dedmon had missed the bus for the trip to New Kent, it would have suited the host Trojans just fine. Unfortunately for the Trojans, the Lions’ all-everything performer showed up.

Dedmon ran for 165 yards and a touchdown, caught passes for 68 more plus a touchdown, and threw for another 42 as well as a TD. He also intercepted a pass and ran back a kickoff 95 yards to the end zone. The latter feat proved most significant as the runback deflated a New Kent team energized just moments before by a game-tying touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

From there, the Lions added an insurance score on the way to turning back the winless Trojans 34-18. With the Sept. 22 outcome, the Trojans fell to 0-3 in the Bay Rivers District football standings and 0-4 overall.

“Most times, you can take a handful of plays that make the game,” Dan Rounds, the disappointed New Kent head coach, said afterward.

The contest appeared winnable from New Kent’s standpoint. The Trojans scored on their opening drive, marching 65 yards in eight plays. Running back Trey Lee carried six times for 51 of those yards, including the final two. Charles Johnson’s placement opened a 7-0 lead.

Warhill answered on its first series to pull within one, but New Kent drove deep into Lion territory on its next set of downs. Lee swept the left side from 13 yards out, but a holding call nullified the score. The hosts settled for Johnson’s 28-yard field goal to extend the lead to 10-6. That advantage, however, did not last long.

Just over a minute later, Dedmon scored on a 60-yard pass play to put the Lions in front. Then the Trojans fumbled away the ensuing kickoff, giving the visitors a short field for another scoring drive that created an 18-10 halftime bulge.

“You can’t make those kind of mistakes,” Rounds said. “I told our guys we let off on the throttle in the second quarter. We’ve got to keep it wide open and not let off.

“I hate it when we don’t play to our potential, and we didn’t in the second quarter,” he added. “When you’re in a fight, you’ve got to fight all four quarters.”

The hosts, however, capitalized on a Lion miscue to overtake their guests. Chase Dunn pounced on a fumble by the Lions’ Seth Mallory to get the Trojan offense back on the field at the hosts’ 34 yard line.

After a four-yard loss on first down, Dunn swept the right side and scampered across the field covering 67 yards before being forced out of bounds at the Warhill three. From there, Lee plunged across the goal line. Luke Mechling then connected with tight end Christian Hill-Sanders in the back of the end zone for the tying two-point conversion.

Dedmon, however, quickly answered on the ensuing kickoff, sprinting through a gap in front of the New Kent bench to hand his team the lead for good.

On its next series, New Kent reached the Warhill 33, but faced a fourth down and six situation. Another miscue, this time a delay of game penalty, and it became fourth and 11. The Lions sacked Mechling to take over on downs, ultimately driving for another TD to lock up the win.

“I think we’re right there,” Rounds said. “We have to realize that every opportunity is so important, but the fact is we make inopportune mistakes and they capitalize on them.
“But I like the way we fought and fought to the very end,” he said. “To our credit, that’s a good sign.”

Warhill———– 6 12 0 16 —— 34
New Kent——– 7 3 0 8 —— 18
1st Quarter
NK (9:11)- Lee 2 yard run (Johnson kick) 7-0
Warhill (4:54)- Thompson 1 yard run (run fail) 7-6
2nd Quarter
NK (11:10)- Johnson 28 yard field goal 10-6
Warhill (10:08)- Dedmon 60 yard pass from Thompson (run fail) 12-10
Warhill (8:48)- Dedmon 23 yard run (pass fail) 18-10
4th Quarter
NK (10:36)- Lee 3 yard run (Hill-Sanders pass from Mechling) 18-18
Warhill (10:23)- Dedmon 95 yard kickoff return (Dedmon run) 26-18
Warhill (2:01)- Broaddus 31 yard pass from Dedmon (Broaddus pass from Thompson) 34-18

Rushing (attempts/yards)
Warhill- Dedmon 16/165, Thompson 11/16, Mallory 5/5, Braxton 1/0.
NK- Lee 18/73, Chalmers 15/74, Mechling 3/12, Dunn 1/67.
Passing (completions/attempts/yards)
Warhill- Thompson 5/12/121. 1 TD, 1 Int.; Dedmon 2/3/42, 1 TD.
NK- Mechling 12/22/144, 1 Int.
Receiving (receptions/yards)
Warhill- Dedmon 2/68, Broaddus 2/37, Braxton 1/25, Menendez 1/22, Thompson 1/11.
NK- Dunn 5/66, Braxton 3/36, Bentley 2/26, Robinson 2/16.
Interceptions
Warhill- Dedmon.
NK- Martin.
Fumble recoveries
Warhill- Eubanks.
NK- Dunn.
QB sacks
Warhill- Blocker.