Judges Respond, Pound Skyline 45-0
WINCHESTER, VA - The Handley Judges, coming off a hard fought 23-14 loss to the #2 ranked Sherando Warriors, came into Saturday's game against the Skyline Hawks looking to prove that they were a legitimate team despite their 1-3 record. At the end of the day, the Judges looked like the team everyone expected them to be, pounding the Hawks 45-0 behind the play of quarterback J.J Dorsey.
Dorsey opened up the scoreboard on the day with a 4 yard touchdown run on the first offensive drive for the Judges, giving them a 7-0 lead with 9:48 to go in the first quarter. After a 3-and-out by the Hawks, the Judges scored another touchdown, as Dorsey completed a 5 yard pass to Justin Banks to increase the Handley lead to 14-0.
The second quarter started with the Judges' kicker, Graham Sharples, nailing a 42 yard field goal, putting the Judges up 17-0. Three minutes later, the Judges scored again with Dorsey completing a 15 yard pass to T.J. Butler, making the score 24-0. After an interception by Terrell Corley, the Judges scored again as Dorsey scampered 13 yards into the end zone, giving the Judges a 31-0 lead going into halftime.
At halftime, the Judges Athletic Association celebrated its 50th anniversary. To celebrate the occasion, the JAA buried a time capsule scheduled to be opened in the year 2057, when the JAA will celebrate its centennial year.
Handley kept the pressure on in the second half, and Jeremiah Wilson increased the Judges lead with 4:27 left in the third quarter when he scampered 8 yards for a touchdown, putting the Judges up 38-0. At the start of the fourth quarter, Dorsey was taken out and Geremi Long took over the duties behind center. The Judges scored one final time in the game when Chris Williams galloped into the end zone, increasing the score to 45-0 and giving the Judges an impressive win in front of the home crowd. After the game, head coach Tony Rayburn was very pleased with how his team responded after falling to some good football teams early in the season.
"We came in fired up and ready play. We were looking to avenge some hard fought losses that we have had in recent weeks and we did just that," said Rayburn
Not only did the offense, led by Dorsey's 4 total TD's, put on an impressive show on Saturday, but the defense may have been even more phenomenal, as they only allowed 3 first downs. Skyline only ventured into Handley territory twice in the game. Handley also registered two interceptions and a fumble recovery in the win.
With the win, Handley improved to 2-3 and will face Central next week for their homecoming game. Kickoff set for 1pm on Saturday. Skyline fell to 3-3 on the season and will play host to Sherando on Saturday as well at 1pm.
