Lafayette lays lumber on New Kent, dismantles Trojans 46-7 in football home opener

New Kent’s Xane Taz (left) delivers a blow to Lafayette running back Nazeer Wolmart during an early first quarter run.

Robb Johnson photo

New Kent’s football team entered the 2023 season with hopes of rectifying a missed playoff bid in hopes to prove that their previous winning seasons weren’t flukes. But an invading Lafayette Rams team proved why they were still the premiere leader in the Bay Rivers District on the gridiron.

Lafayette gashed the Trojans for 28 second half points as they routed New Kent 46-7 in the district opener for both teams on Friday Night.

New Kent was first to strike the scoreboard. After Lafayette’s Naeer Wolmart muffed the ball on a punt, New Kent’s Chase Wiles pounced on the ball deep in Lafayette territory. The result from the Rams’ botch resulted in Trojans’ signal-caller Khoen Christian sneaking across the goal line to provide the hosts a 7-0 lead with 1:48 remaining in the first quarter.

But that would be the last time New Kent showed any sense of urgency in the contest. On the Trojans’ next offensive play, an all-out blitz from the Rams forced Christian to get rid of the ball earlier than he wanted to. The result was an interception by Lafayette’s Erick Zeledon. Two plays later, Rams quarterback Hayden Olesky connected with Elijah Matthews on a 39-yard touchdown strike. A subsequent two-point conversion would put the Rams ahead 8-7, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

On Lafayette’s next offensive series, running back James Spencer faked handing off a reverse, discombobulating the New Kent defense and leading to a 37-yard touchdown scamper. After a New Kent punt, the visitors struck again, with Matthews the recipient of a screen-pass that went 32 yards down to the Trojans 11-yard line. A field goal pushed the Rams’ advantage to 18-7 heading into the halftime break.

After the intermission, Lafayette ramped up their offensive output. The duo of Olesky and Matthews connected once again, this for a 39-yard score early in the third quarter. On the next series, Spencer found a hole in the gap of the Trojan defense and toted the ball 57 yards for another Rams touchdown. One additional Ram score in the third quarter and one in the fourth extended the final margin.

New Kent (0-2) travels to Grafton on Sept. 14.