'Feline Fury' Helps Tabb To Win
Corey Patrick scored two touchdowns as Tabb kept its Bay Rivers District playoff hopes alive with a 30-6 defeat of Jamestown on Friday. Photos by Jason Norman
Woodside celebrates its 43-13 win over Kecoughtan on Saturday at Todd Stadium.
After Tabb charged away from visiting Jamestown for a 30-6 victory Friday night, the football team wasn't the only group ready to celebrate. Hundreds of the Tabb faithful roared onto the field before the final seconds had even ticked off, rejoicing over the school's first Homecoming victory in nine years, while keeping their Bay Rivers District playoff hopes alive and virtually ending the Eagles'.
But even with all the thrills around him, Tiger coach Matt Lawson was already looking into next week.
To get into the postseason, his squad (4-3, 4-2) will have to win out, and get by with a little help from its enemies around town. Next Friday, they'll head to Poquoson to battle an Islander squad that, after a 35-15 loss to Bruton on Friday, might be on the wrong side of ravenous.
"We can't worry about (the playoffs) right now," Lawson said. "We have to worry about Poquoson. We can let the kids enjoy Homecoming tonight, and Monday, we'll get started again."
For the Jamestown (3-4, 2-4) game, he continued. "We talked about how we had to put the game away. We had to make some adjustments defensively, and once we got that done, it really went well for us. Defensively, we stuffed them, and offensively, we just completed it."
"It" was the running game, at least in the second half. Corey Patrick broke open a close game by running 52 yards for one touchdown and 61 for another, over half of his total yardage for the night.
"We're not just worried about winning Homecoming," Patrick said. "We want to get to the playoffs."
After Nick Henderson put the Tigers on the board with a field goal nearly eight minutes into the first quarter, Chris Ham snared a slant from Rex Harrison and bolted 76 yards for a touchdown. But the extra point missed, leaving the Tigers up 9-0 at the half.
"The coaches told us we'd have to get at least two much touchdowns, and we kind of put it away in the second half," Patrick said.
He starting the procedure with just under five minutes left in the third quarter. Moments after starting the drive with a 19-yard run to the Tabb 46, Parker charged through the middle and down the right side of the field for his first score of the night.
There was a huge hole, and there was one guy to beat," he said, "and then I just went all the way."
While his team's defense was holding the Eagles to 12 yards over the first 18 minutes of the second half, Parker went back to work with about nine minutes left. On his team's first play from scrimmage after an Eagle punt, he plowed through the right side of the line, and down the sideline.
Encountering a trio of defenders, he twisted back, ran nearly straight across the field, then motored toward the left side before diving into the endzone.
"It looked like it was going to be open outside, and then I cut back in," he said. "There was one guy that I made miss, and there was another dude in the middle of the field, so if I got past him, I was good."
DeVinn Harrison scored Tabb's last touchdown on a four-yard run with 6:11 to play, but Alex Hunter ruined the Tigers' shot at a second-straight shutout with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Devian Washington in the last minute.
In other district action, York recovered from last week's loss to Smithfield with a 58-6 drubbing of Warhill, while Smithfield snared its own Homecoming victory with a 28-3 win over Lafayette.
Woodside 43, Kecoughtan 13
Back on the Peninsula, Woodside had to battle a much stronger off-field opponent long before beating Kecoughtan 43-13 at Todd Stadium on Saturday, effectively ending the Warriors' playoff hopes.
"We probably had 20-25 guys at some point during the week out sick," said Woodside coach Danny Dodson. "I don't know if it was that H1N1 virus, but a lot of guys were sick."
Nolan Monroe, Daniel Reid, and Justin McFadden all scored as Dodson's squad roared to a 28-0 halftime lead on the Wolverines' way to their seventh victory of the season.
"We didn't do what we should have done in the second half, but we fought through a tough week," Dodson said. "You always want to finish out a win. It wasn't as pretty as I wanted today, but it was good."
Justin Stewart ended Woodside's scoring with a 51-yard fumble return for a touchdown, his second such score of the season.
"It's about being in the right place at the right time," said the junior. "I was nervous. I was about fall on it, but I wanted a touchdown."
In Friday's district action, Phoebus snared its fourth shutout of the season with a 17-0 defeat of Hampton, while Warwick did a similar job on Denbigh, 20-0. With the season coming down the final stretch, Woodside goes to Gloucester on Friday, while Phoebus hosts Denbigh on Saturday.
