Charles City shines on offense but penalties, defense lead to 66-28 setback on Senior Night
Friday night’s football showcase between the visiting Middlesex Chargers and the hosting Charles City Panthers provided a glimpse of the home team’s future as they celebrated Senior Night. And while the Panthers had sparks on offense, mistakes and the ability to bring down Charger running back JaQuan Griffin proved to be the difference.
Griffin accounted for all eight Middlesex touchdowns as the Chargers pulled away from the Panthers 66-28 in the Panthers final home game of the season.
Charles City set the tone from the opening kickoff, as Raizen Hilliard found a crease in the Charger special teams and raced 77 yards down to Middlesex’s 12-yard line. After a Panther penalty, Charles City’s Shane Jones connected with Joseph Simms on a 17-yard pass for a touchdown. Jones’ pass to Hilliard completed the conversion and provided the hosts with an 8-0 lead.
Middlesex took control of the ball and Griffin began his damage on the ground. Driving down the field, Griffin scored from 21 yards out, the first of seven rushing touchdowns of the night to cut the Panthers lead to two (8-6).
However, on the next drive it was Jones who made a positive impact for the hosts. After two penalties pushed Charles City back to third and long, Jones rolled out for a pass but was unable to find a receiver. Instead, Jones took off down the visitors’ sideline, cut back into the open plane and dashed 67 yards for a score, giving Charles City a 14-6 lead with 5:07 in the first.
Middlesex struck back quickly, With Griffin running 59 yards on his next touch of the ball down to the one-yard line. On the next play, he easily crossed the goal line, with the subsequent conversion tying the game at 14 apiece.
Charles City’s first mistake of the night came on third and long, as Jones’ pass was intercepted by Middlesex’s Nathan Powell. A subsequent penalty resulted in half the distance to the goal, with Griffin once again doing the honors, this time from five yards out to provide the visitors a 22-14 lead at the end of the first half. Griffin’s 55-yard carry in the second quarter accounted for the only score in the frame as Middlesex took a 30-14 lead into the halftime intermission.
In the second half, the Chargers once again exploded out the gate, with Griffin once again scoring and increasing the lead for the visitors (38-14). However, Charles City did not back down, as on their next drive, Hilliard took a reverse in from 12 yards out to cut the lead back down and keep the hosts in contention.
But that positive momentum was short-lived, as on the ensuing kickoff, the ball was pitched to Griffin, who broke one tackle and dashed 70 yards for a score, upping the visitors’ lead. Another score in the quarter provided the Chargers a 52-20 advantage heading into the final frame.
Charles City’s final score of the night came with Jones’ second rushing touchdown, this time from 14 yards out. But two more scores by Griffin solidified his 375 rushing yards on the night, putting the game away.
After the contest, Charles City Head Coach Sherod Jones expressed disappointment in the mistakes his team made.
“Tonight, we had too many mental lapses out there,” he said. “We committed too many penalties that put us in long down-and-distance situations.
“We also didn’t have the heart to make tackles tonight,” Jones added. “We know that number two (Griffin) would get the ball, and he did. We just didn’t want to tackle him and in this game, you have to want to tackle.
“These guys have to commit to each other,” the coach said as he wrapped up his comments. “When they do, the outcome will change.”
Charles City’s Shane Jones’ offensive performance resulted in 100 yards passing and 100 yards rushing. The Panthers remain winless at 0-7.