WS Chronicle

Photo by Timothy Ramsey

BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY 

THE CHRONICLE

This JV season for the Carver Yellowjackets has been somewhat of a tumultuous one.  They started off the season not being able to play their first four games due to lack of players then somewhat rebounded to finish 2-4 for the year while only having around 20 players on the roster.

Last Thursday night they attempted to close out the season on a high note with a victory against South Stokes, but the final score was 34-20, with Carver on the losing end. From the onset of the game, the Sauras wanted to establish their running game which they did on the first drive of the game.  It seemed as though the toughness of South Stokes caught the Carver defense off guard and they surrendered a touchdown to the Sauras on that drive to face an early deficit.

Carver could not generate any offensive continuity in the first quarter, was halted by penalties and they were forced to punt. With a little over two minutes left in the half, South Stokes went on the attack once again.  Aided by more Carver penalties, South Stokes scored another touchdown to take a 21-0 lead at the half.

South Stokes varsity head coach Paul Hall says he was proud of his kids and both teams fought hard during the game.

“We knew Carver was kind of slim in numbers, so they have a lot of kids playing both ways and we jumped on them early but they fought right back,” said Hall.  “It was a good football game and I’m just proud of these kids.  We are excited about the future.”

“We are a Wing-T team and the kids have bought into it and at times it’s tough to defend.  The kids worked hard all off-season and during practice, so I think it looks good for the future of being a solid football team, too,” said Hall of his team’s running game.

It was a tale of two halves for the Yellowjackets as they came out of the locker room and scored on their first drive.

Chissar Brooks broke a 50-yard run into the end zone to put Carver on the board.  The Sauras quickly answered on their next drive to put them back up by three scores.

Undeterred by the score, the Yellowjackets took the ball right back down the field and scored another touchdown.  At the start of the fourth quarter, Carver needed to make a stop on defense to give their offense an opportunity to bring the score closer. Unfortunately for the Yellowjackets, the Sauras scored another touchdown, this time through the air.

Carver fought hard to the bitter end and was able to put up a late touchdown when Maurice Reid ran it in from four yards out to make the final score 34-20.

Carver head coach Walter Black says this year has been a learning experience and his team has to play better when they step out on the field.

“If we could erase all the mistakes we made in the first half, the second half was almost an even game,” said Black. “We’ve got to be able to stop some people, and I was happy we were able to move the ball in the second half running the ball.  They were a very good team that came well prepared, well motivated, and they came at us.”