Titans Roll Past Kecoughtan, 44-7
From left (background), Lake Taylor’s Torrein Edwards, LaBroderick Dean, Eric Sykes, Nicholas Oliver, and Deandre Moore (foreground) shut down the Kecoughtan offense in a 44-7 victory on Friday. Photos by Jason Norman
Derrion Walter (2) and William Hurst (4) combined for 204 yards and three touchdowns in the Titans’ victory.
It's fitting that Lake Taylor's football uniforms are dark red and black. On Friday evening, the colors weren't the only thing that made the Titan defense look like a brick wall.
While the Taylor offense was taking care of business in a 44-7 rout, the Titan line overwhelmed visiting Kecoughtan, recording five sacks and holding the Warriors (1-1) to just 46 total yards.
On the offensive side, Derrion Walter rushed for 146 yards - all but 18 in the first quarter - and a pair of touchdowns, and Eshan Stefanski ran for two touchdowns and threw for another in the Titans' (2-1) second straight big victory
"When you do good on defense, the offense follows up," said linebacker Nicholas Oliver. "There was a lot of film-watching at practice and hard work. This motivates us to keep playing harder and setting the tone."
Both side of Taylor did so right off the bat; after the Titan defense knocked Kecoughtan back six yards on its first drive, Walter took a handoff, rolled toward the right side, and sauntered 44 yards for a touchdown on his team's first play from scrimmage.
However, the Warriors bounced back. On third-and-18 at his own 42, Anthony Dorsey was rushed by a group of Titan defenders. He lobbed a desperation heave down the left side of the field, where teammate DePriest Jace and some defenders leaped for it.
The ball bounced into the air, and landed in the hands of a charging DeVonte Williams, who rumbled all the way for a touchdown. One extra point later, Kecoughtan was up, 7-6.
Walter quickly grabbed the momentum back by charging 74 yards to the Warrior 12, but the Kecoughtan defense buckled down, forcing Taylor to settle for a 30-yard Adrian Bravo-Morales field goal and 9-7 lead. But Eric Sykes fell on a Warrior fumble two plays later, and Stefanski charged 15 yards up the middle for a touchdown and 17-7 advantage.
Another Warrior drive fizzled, and Stefanski tossed a 19-yard touchdown pass to Aharon Neil to go up 24-7. Oliver sacked Dorsey for a 14-yard loss to end the half.
"We knew that Dorsey was a heck of a quarterback, and we had to contain him," said head Titan Hank Sawyer. "Our game plan was to make them feel the pressure on every play. We had two guys on the backs and two guys on the quarterback."
William Hurst sparked the Taylor offense back to life by rushing 35 yards to the Warrior six early in the third quarter, and Stefanski scored from three yards out for a 30-7 lead. Melkin Reaves saved another Taylor touchdown by wrestling a fumble away from three Titans, but the Taylor defense forced a squibbed punt to the Warrior 12, and Stefanski ran for a touchdown on the next play. Though Walter didn't carry the ball in the second half, he finished out the team's scoring with a 38-yard punt return for a touchdown late in the third quarter.
The Warriors head to Todd Stadium next Saturday to battle Denbigh, while the Titans get next week off, then go to Old Dominion University's Powhatan Field to face Granby.
"Our defense is always behind us, no matter what," Hurst said. "They keep putting pressure on the offense, so the offense can run the ball, can't throw the ball, can't do nothing! We're not losing anymore, and we're bringing the state championship back to Norfolk!"
