WS Chronicle

BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY 

THE CHRONICLE

Carver’s JV team came into last Thursday’s clash against Surry Central seeking their first victory of the sea-son.  The Yellow Jackets were able to overcome some early penalties and defeat the Golden Eagles by the score of 30-8.

From the opening kickoff the Yellow Jackets were on the attack.  Jonyvi Fogle returned the kick for a touchdown but it was called back because of an illegal block in the back.  That did not deter the Carver offense from scoring on the first play from scrimmage when quarterback  D’Angelo McMillan threw a play-action pass to Jonathan Hudgins for a 42 yard touchdown pass, putting Carver up 6-0. Surry Central attempted to respond to the early score but went three and out on their first possession, forcing them to punt. Upon receiving the kick, Hudgins returned the kick for an apparent touchdown but was again called back because of a penalty. As with their first possession, the Carver offense negated the penalty by scoring on a quarterback scramble by McMillan but that too was called back because of yet another penalty flag.

Fortunately for the Yellow Jackets, their defense held strong and prevented any momentum from Surry Central. Early in the second quarter, McMillan scored from 16 yards out on a scramble to extend the lead to 12-0.

The Golden Eagles, who primarily run the ball, were unable to find any running room against the Yellow Jacket defense until they drove deep into Carver territory during the second quarter.  They scored their one and only touchdown of the game when they ran off tackle and scored on a run from 10 yards out, shrinking the lead to 12-8 going into the half.

Yellow Jacket head coach Walter Black says he loves to win and to be able to pick up his first victory as JV head coach feels good.  He said he hopes his team can come out this week and play as well as they did in the second half of last week’s game.

“I thought we started very fast, but we didn’t finish the first half very well and that was attributable to the spirit Surry Central dis-played. They didn’t quit, they fought hard and we kind of lost focus and they made it a good ballgame, but I really appreciate the way our team finished the game. They finished like they want to be champions, and I’m happy about that,” said Black.

The Golden Eagles attempted to build on their late first half score as they had possession to begin the third quarter. They unfortunately fumbled on that drive and Carver recovered. The Yellow Jackets scored a few plays later when McMillan hooked up with Fogle for a touchdown pass.

The Carver defense continued to hold strong as they did not allow any more Golden Eagle drives to develop into points. McMillan struck again late in the third with his second rushing touchdown of the night, putting Carver up 24-8 going into the fourth. Kevon Springs capped off the scoring for Carver was he ran a quarterback keeper in from 32 yards out late in the fourth quarter.

Surry Central head coach Monty Southern said his team did not play as well in the second half and was disappointed in the mental penalties his team committed.

“We felt like we finished the first half pretty strong. We went down two scores pretty early, but we battled back and was able to score late in the first half,” Southern said. “It felt like we had a little momentum, but Carver made some nice plays because they have a lot of speed. It’s frustrating because on defense, we felt like we set the edge pretty well but every time we did-n’t they made us pay for it.”