Dinwiddie Defeats Lafayette in 4A East Region
The Dinwiddie Generals will represent the 4A East Region in the State championship game after defeating Lafayette 28-14 on Saturday afternoon. Junior running back Zyan Sturdivant ran for two touchdowns and Tye Freeland had two 4th quarter interceptions as the Generals improved to 14-0. The Generals will play for the 4A State championship next week in Williamsburg as they try for their 2nd State title in the past four years.
Scoring Summary
The Generals capitalized on two Lafayette mistakes to take a 21-7 lead at halftime. Their 1st touchdown came when Lafayette's Hezekiah Grimsley fumbled a punt attempt and was forced to run which resulted in a 10-yard loss back to the Rams 17-yard line. Quarterback Bryce Witt took advantage of the field position finding Freeland for a 19-yard touchdown completion for a 7-0 lead.
Later, in the 2nd quarter, an interception by Juanye Pitt gave Dinwiddie the ball at the Rams 38-yard line. Witt overthrew his receivers on two straight passes but he found the mark on his next throw connecting with Freeland on 4th down for a 35-yard touchdown to give Dinwiddie a 21-7 lead.
The teams traded touchdowns in the 1st quarter. Lafayette tied the game with a 7-play, 73-yard touchdown drive which ended with a 4-yard quarterback keeper from Shiloh Ward with 4:46 to go.
Moments later, Sturdivant ran untouched straight up the gut of the Lafayette defense for a 52-yard touchdown to put Dinwiddie back in front 14-7.
Neither team scored in the third quarter which featured two turnovers on downs and two punts. Lafayette had a touchdown nullified when the field judge ruled Hezekiah Grimsley was out of bounds before catching a touchdown pass. The Rams started the 4th quarter with a turnover after Freeland picked off a poorly thrown pass.
Dinwiddie seemed to put the game away midway thru the final quarter with a 3-play drive, 71-yard drive. Witt and Freeland connected again for a 33-yard completion and Sturdivant covered the final 25-yards with a touchdown run that gave Dinwiddie a 28-7 lead with 6:38 remaining in the game.
Lafayette cut the lead in half with a long drive that was aided by a personal foul and a pass interference penalty. A 16-yard run by Kyle Johnson setup a 1st-and goal for Lafayette from the Dinwiddie 4-yard line. Three rushing attempts netted only three yards before Caleb Kraegenbrink found an opening between the left guard and left tackle for a touchdown with 3:30 to go in the game.
The Rams made it interesting by recovering the onside kick and they made it down to the Dinwiddie 23-yard line before Freeland ended the threat with his second pick with 2:29 to go.
Keys to the Game
While both teams ran the ball effectively the key to the game was the Dinwiddie passing attack which produced 112 yards and two touchdowns compared to only 32 yards and three turnovers from Lafayette. Witt completed 5 of 11 passes with two going for touchdowns while averaging 22.4 per completion. The Rams had the same amount of completions as they did interceptions finishing 3 of 12 passing with no touchdowns.
The Generals deployed a bend-but-don't break defense. The Rams Wing-T formation generated 270 rushing yards on 55 attempts and they finished with 19 first downs compared to 13 for Dinwiddie. Lafayette crossed into Dinwiddie territory on every drive in the second half but they came away with only one score.
Players of the Game
Most Valuable Player
Tye Freeland was my Player of the Game with his play on both sides of the football. He caught three passes for 88 yards while scoring two touchdowns. On defense, he made two 4th quarter interceptions while finishing with five solo tackles.
Dinwiddie Offensive Player of the Game
Zyan Sturdivant was the General's workhorse gaining 104 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries including the 52-yard burst up the middle for a touchdown. Honorable mention goes to Bryce Witt who completed five passes but two went for touchdowns.
Dinwiddie Offensive Player of the Game
K'Vauhan Pope was credited with nine solo tackles including a huge stop on 4th down from the Dinwiddie 27-yard line that stopped a scoring drive in the 4th quarter.
Lafayette Offensive Player of the Game
Running back Caleb Kraegenbrink finished with 153 yards on 27 carries with a touchdown and none of his carries went for negative yards. Honorable mention goes to Kyle Johnson who added 83 yards on 17 carries with a touchdown.