New Kent homecoming ends on sour note, Tabb rolls 42-7

New Kent defenders Davion Barnes (3) and Brandon Martin (7) combine to bring down Tabb receiver Antwuan Hicks.

Alan Chamberlain photo

New Kent head coach Dan Rounds summed up last Friday’s Tabb-New Kent football clash in one sentence.

“[Tabb] definitely executed and we didn’t have an answer for them defensively. That’s it. Period,” he said.

The visiting Tigers rolled over the Trojans 42-7, spoiling New Kent’s homecoming celebration. As noted by Rounds, his team’s inability to register a defensive stop proved key to Tabb’s win.

Tabb had just seven offensive series for the game, but six ended in touchdowns and the seventh ran the final minutes off the clock. The Tigers opened the contest with a 65-yard scoring march and followed with TD drives of 75 and 71 yards. To cap off the first half, the visitors marched 99 yards to lead 28-0 at the break.

Then the Tigers used most of the third quarter to grind out 98 yards for their fifth score. Tiger running back Brent Hinson (27 carries, 227 yards) capped all five drives with touchdown runs.

“I was surprised how effective [the Tigers] were and very surprised that we couldn’t stop them,” Rounds said, adding, “We were beaten on both sides of the ball.”

The Tigers registered 23 first downs to New Kent’s nine and secured a 453-211 advantage in total yards from scrimmage. The outcome marked a reversal from the Trojans’ last outing a week earlier in which they controlled the ball in shutting out Grafton.

“When it got tough, we stopped doing what we’ve been doing and reverted back to things we’ve been trying to avoid,” said Rounds. “We’ve got to fall back on technique when things are not going well, and we didn’t do that.”

The Trojans (2-3) dodged a shutout with a 79-yard fourth quarter drive that utilized just five plays. Aerials from Luke Mechling to Trent Orie and Kevin Karaffa covering 47 and 28 yards, respectively, set up Mikel Chalmers’ two-yard TD burst.

Tabb————- 14 14 7 7 —— 42
New Kent——- 0 0 0 7 —— 7
1st Quarter
Tabb (8:43)- Hinson 11 yard run (Kelchner kick) 7-0
Tabb (2:05)- Hinson 12 yard run (Kelchner kick) 14-0
2nd Quarter
Tabb (9:46)- Hinson 3 yard run (Kelchner kick) 21-0
Tabb (:37)- Hinson 4 yard run (Kelchner kick) 28-0
3rd Quarter
Tabb (:54)- Hinson 4 yard run (Kelchner kick) 35-0
NK (5:42)- Rountree 31 yard field goal (9-0)
4th Quarter
Tabb (7:56)- Hicks 5 yard pass from Hunter (Kelchner kick) 42-0
NK (3:13)- Chalmers 2 yard run (Rountree kick) 42-7

Rushing (attempts/yards)
Tabb- Hinson 27/227, Smith 9/54, McGinley 6/64, Hunter 3/10, Hehir 3/5, Lake 1/-1.
NK- Chalmers 11/81, Karaffa 9/35, Ward 1/1, Mechling 1/-1.
Passing (completions/attempts/yards)
Tabb- Hunter 8/10/94, 1 TD.
NK- Mechling 5/10/95, 1 Int.; Karaffa 0/1/0, 1 Int.
Receiving (receptions/yards)
Tabb- Hicks 3/15, Burdett 2/38, Laughrey 1/29, Sheffey 1/6, Smith 1/6.
NK- Hill-Sanders 2/21, Orie 1/47, Karaffa 1/28, Schaefer 1/-1.
Interceptions
Tabb- Hunter, Sheffey.