Second half KW scoring spree too much for New Kent to overcome

New Kent's Trenton Orie wraps up King William's Austin Simons as teammates Darren Jones (37), Hunter Pitts (7), and Austin Goins (back) join in to assist him.

Andre' Jones photo

New Kent’s football team was poised to take down arch-nemesis King William in its opening contest for the 2014 season. Unfortunately for the visiting Trojans, fatigue and big plays by the host Cavaliers led to a dramatic downfall.

King William quarterback Jake Jones threw for three touchdowns and accounted for an additional two touchdowns on the ground as the Cavaliers turned a close game into a 73-22 rout last Friday night.

The Cavaliers’ high-powered offense wasted little time out the gate. A blocked New Kent punt deep in Trojan territory set up prime field position for the hosts, who would score on a Camajae Peatross 11-yard run to give King William an 8-0 lead.

Rather than be deterred by the quick score, New Kent bounced back. The backfield duo of Davion Barnes and Trenton Orie used key blocking to make their way down the field. Barnes’ 41-yard scamper would set up Orie’s eight-yard touchdown run and cut the lead to 8-6.

King William waited until the end of the opening quarter before striking quickly once again. A poor 7-yard punt set up first and goal for the hosts at the 11 yard line. On the next play, Jones connected with Austin Simons for the touchdown. A fumble on the ensuing kickoff by the Trojans would eventually lead to another touchdown for King William and a 23-6 lead after the first quarter.

New Kent settled down, returning to the ground game and attacking King William. Barnes weaved his way in and out of traffic for a 17-yard touchdown run. Orie’s conversion run would cut the lead to 23-14.

King William answered the score with Jones’ eight-yard dash, but Darren Jones’ 47-yard kickoff return put the Trojans inside their opponent’s territory. More combination running from Orie and Barnes led to the latter scoring a touchdown from six yards out and slicing King William’s lead to 31-22 heading into the half.

But the halftime break seemed more of a curse for the Trojans. King William’s Michael Cunliffe ran three consecutive times, his third for 21 yards and a score. After a three and out for New Kent, King William’s Jones connected with Lafayette Pendleton on a tunnel screen for a 56-yard score. Then after a miscue on the snap on the Trojans’ next possession, the Cavaliers scored on the subsequent play, with Jones connecting with Jamal Johnson. An additional score off a New Kent fumble at the end of the third coupled with two touchdown runs in the fourth quarter would seal the scoring for the hosts.

After the game, Trojans’ head coach Dan Rounds spoke about the pace of the game and the sluggish start by his team.

“We came out the gates slower than what we have been doing at practice and in our scrimmages,” said Rounds. “However, I do like the way we responded in the first half and we kept fighting.

“Unfortunately, as the game progressed we had cramps and our players started to go down,” he continued. “That is what took a 10-point game at the
half to what you saw on the scoreboard.”

New Kent (0-1) opens Bay Rivers District play and travels to York on Friday.

New Kent—– 6 16 0 0—– 22
King William—– 23 8 28 14—- 73

1st Quarter
KW (9:27)- Peatross 11 yard run (Brown run) 8-0
NK (7:24)- Orie 4 yard run (kick fail) 8-6
KW (3:07)- Simons 11 yard pass from Jones (Jones run) 16-6
KW (1:49)- Berry-Tucker 1 yard run (Dandridge kick) 23-6
2nd Quarter
NK (8:57)- Barnes 17 yard run (Orie run) 23-14
KW (4:06)- Jones 8 yard run (Simons pass from Jones) 31-14
NK (1:03)- Barnes 6 yard run (Orie run) 31-22
3rd Quarter
KW (10:06)- Cunliffe 21 yard run (kick fail) 37-22
KW (7:33)- Pendleton 56 yard pass from Jones (Dandridge kick) 44-22
KW (2:43)- Johnson 16 yard pass from Jones (Dandridge kick) 51-22
KW (1:57)- Peatross 22 yard run (Ortiz run) 59-22
4th Quarter
KW (8:57)- Jones 51 yard run (Dandridge kick) 66-22
KW (2:45)- Ortiz 3 yard run (Dandridge kick) 73-22

Rushing (attempts/yards)
NK- Barnes 19/106, Orie 22/92, Pitts 2/3, St. Clair 3/8, Goins 1/-2, Jenkins 1/6.
KW- Cunliffe 5/50, Peatross 10/129, Jones 8/124, Ortiz 7/42, Berry-Tucker 1/1.

Passing (completions/attempts/yards)
NK- Orie 0/2/0, St. Clair 0/1/0.
KW- Jones 8/12/116, 3 TD, 1 int.; Huffman 0/1/0.

Receiving (receptions/yards)
KW- Pendleton 2/66, Simons 3/17, Plummer 1/10, Johnson 1/16, Carter 1/7.