Cox Blanks Bayside 10-0 to Move to 5-0 (VIDEO)

Points were certainly at a premium on Friday night at Frank W. Cox High School in Virginia Beach when the Falcons played host the visiting Bayside Marlins in a crucial game for both squads as they chase a 6A playoff berth.

Through two quarters of play, neither team was able to sniff the end zone with a total nine punts combined and neither team amassing more than 85 total yards of offense. There would be only one offensive touchdown the whole night and that would be enough for Cox to stay undefeated, winning the defensive slugfest 10-0.

With the victory, Cox improves to 5-0 overall on the season for just the third time in school history, matching their best starts from last year and 1991. They also have now beaten the Marlins five straight times after losing to them on six consecutive occasions prior to this winning streak.

"We realized quickly that we need to keep the ball on the ground and play good defense. That's what we're going with and our identity," Cox Head Football Coach Bill Stachelski stated. "We're going to run the ball, try to play great defense and make it a field goal game because we've got some great kickers, and 10-0 is indicative of that."

At night's end, Bayside racked up a season-low 179 total yards on 61 play. Cox also had a season-low in total yardage with 190 on 42 plays. It was the second shutout in three games for a Falcons team giving up only 5.8 points per game on the season.

Early in the third quarter, the special teams units remained in the spotlight with Elijah Murphy of Cox blocking a Bayside punt, while Marlins defensive tackle Elisha Mitchell deflected a Falcons field goal try.

Finally, points were put on the board with exactly four minutes to play in the third quarter on a 75-yard touchdown scamper by Cox sophomore tailback Leno Lester. It was the longest run of Lester's career to date and third rushing touchdown of the season.

"Our line came out strong. At half-time, our coaches made great decisions and we excelled off that," commented Lester.

"My quarterback, Tayvion Robinson, actually told me he was going to give me the ball. He had seen the d-end bite inside. Great blocks by Jahlil Lowe and Jake Wallace, and I was able to burst 75 yards."

On his other 12 rush attempts on the night, Lester gained just 14 yards, but it only took one to make a difference at night's end.

Bayside's sophomore running back, Michael Martinez, ran for 77 yards on 19 attempts.

Ironically, the guy who made maybe the most clutch defensive plays in the Cox win was a guy not listed as a starter before the game. Backup senior defensive back Jaren Jefferson had two takeaways, both in the fourth quarter with Bayside on the move.

Jefferson first recovered a fumble at the Falcons' own 39-yard line with 8:33 remaining in the contest. Then with 4:12 to play and Bayside facing 3rd-and-12 from midfield, Jefferson rose the occasion when he ripped the ball away a Marlins receiver on a pass and took the interception back 50 yards. That would set up a field goal from Carson DiNardo to make it a two-possession game and essentially assure victory at that point.

The Falcons got contributions from all 11 defensive starters and then others, such as Jefferson. They managed to sack Bayside QB J.P. Davis five times with five different individuals - defensive tackles Jackson Morgan and Elijah Murphy as well as linebackers Zack Mauer, Michael Broccoletti and Cullen Lyons.

Also proving to be disruptive and drawing double teams was Clemson commit Jordan Williams, who had 3.5 tackles for loss and caused a fumble.

"We didn't pressure a whole lot because we had to make our minds up to either stay back in coverage, and when we did they found the seams, holes, threw it there and got first downs. Once we mixed in some man-blitzes, that's what really provided the pressure," noted Stachelski.

"We don't have the athletes that Bayside has, so we have to line up properly [and] make sure we're not getting rubbed."

Although this year's Cox team is scoring quite the amount of points on a consistent basis as some previous ones, it's hard to find another squad around dominating as much as they are in the third quarter.

Cox has now outscored opponents 45-0 in the third period this season through five games. At this point a year ago, they had outscored foes 35-3 in the third quarter alone.

Most impressive about the job Cox did defensively on Bayside - a team that came in averaging 32.3 points per game - was the fact the Marlins crossed into Falcons territory on all three of their possessions during the third period. Each series ended in having to punt, one of them being blocked.

Bayside is probably kicking itself that they didn't come out on top in this game and move to 4-1 overall rather than drop to 3-2. They had multiple chances to score and statistically did not get grossly outplayed on the road against a team that had eliminated them from the playoffs each of the past two years.

It also came without arguably the Marlins' most explosive playmaker, junior Armani Chatman, who sat out with a calf injury. In his absence, senior receiver Chris Walker stepped up with five receptions for 77 yards, but no one else had two receptions and Davis ended up with 18 incomplete passes compared to just ten completions.

Most discouraging was that Bayside's timing in the passsing game was off, otherwise they could've connected for multiple long touchdowns through the air.

"We had some blown coverages. They just missed a couple long passes," Stachelski acknowledged. "There were guys running alone down the sideline, both in the first and the second half. We're just thankful because it could've been a totally different game and different score."

From a discipline standpoint, Bayside showed improvement from their 21-14 loss to Tallwood as they were flagged for just two penalties for 15 yards. And defensively, they were as rock solid as they've been all season.

They've still yet to give up a 100-yard passer or rusher this year. Linebacker Tray Jones, a junior, led the run-stuffing effort with 13 total tackles.

"They're definitely a big defensive line," said Williams, who also lines up starting on the offensive line for Cox at center. "Shout out to Elisha Mitchell. He gets the job done. He's a big body, clogs gaps and is a hard guy to move."

Next up for the Falcons will be a visit to Salem, the preseason favorite to finish atop the Beach District standings.

Cox has lost six straight to Salem and not beaten the Sun Devils since 2009, prevailing by a count of 19-7 that year.

The Sun Devils come into this matchup having already suffered a loss - 10-6 just two games ago vs. Tallwood. They rebounded, though didn't do so in an emphatic fashion, only beating Green Run 14-6 with star tailback Davonte Williams sidelined from a concussion he suffered at the end of the Tallwood game the week before.

Whether Williams goes or not and his status remains uncertain, but one thing is for sure. That is Cox knows this is a highly important game in solidifying their chances of hosting a first round playoff game, perhaps even beyond, and having a crack at an undefeated regular season as they try to conquer some demons against their city rival.

"We have to play mistake-free football. Every time, we've been in close battles with them. Last year it got away from us a little bit, but the prior two years one was an overtime game and the other was a last-minute field goal by them. We feel like we're right there with Salem," commented Stachelski.

"We're going to prepare just like we would prepare for any other team, but having Bayside this week kind of gives us something similar to what we'll have with Salem. They're coached well, have a tough defense and have haunted us. This could be a critical and pivotal point not only for our year, but the program."

Video Interview with Cox 4-Star DE Jordan Williams (Clemson commit)
Bayside at Cox Photo Gallery via Flickr Here

Cox Falcons 10: (5-0 Overall)
Leno Lester - 13Car. 89Yds. TD
A.J. Smith - 2-4 for 2Yds; 5Car. 17Yds.
Tayvion Robinson - 1-1 for 10Yds; 10Car. 26Yds.
Zach Zyvna - 1-2 for 34Yds. 0-1TD/Int. ratio; 2Car. 10Yds.
Jahlil Lowe - 2Rec. 44Yds.
Zack Mauer - 11 Tackles (3 Solo), Sack
Matthew Broccoletti - 8 Tackles (3 Solo)
Michael Broccolettli - 7 Tackles (4 Solo), Sack
Jordan Williams - 6 Tackles (3 Solo), 3.5TFL, FF

Bayside Marlins 0: (3-2 Overall)
J.P. Davis - 10-28 for 105Yds. 0-2TD/Int. ratio
Michael Martinez - 19Car. 77Yds.
Chris Walker - 5Rec. 77Yds.
Zyaire McNeil - 1Rec. 17Yds.
Tray Jones - 13 Tackles (5 Solo), TFL
Tyree Dozier - 5 Tackles, Sack, INT
Wes Iobst & Elisha Mitchell - 5 Tackles apiece

Matthew Hatfield has covered football and basketball since 2004 for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network, and is a staff writer for Tar Heel Illustrated. Check out Hatfield’s Twitter page for more sports related updates, and you can also read his work in the Suffolk News Herald. To contact Matthew, please e-mail hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com, and don’t forget to listen to him every Saturday at 10 AM on ESPN Radio 94.1.