The Royals last win over Hopewell was 2014 and since that time Hopewell has beaten Prince George 4-years in a row by an average of 29.5 points although the last two wins were in shutout fashion. So why would this year be any different?
Well the Royals were 6-2 coming into this game, their best season in 20 years! The Royals had skill players such as Tahir Johnson at QB, Tavian Morris at WR and Curtis Allen at RB who has been one of the biggest surprises of the season. Why could they not compete with Hopewell?
I'll give you two words why... Henderson & defense. The Royals have not seen a player the caliber of TreVeyon Henderson and boy did he prove that to be true with 5 touchdowns, all in the first half no less!
However it was that defense in the first half to compliment the quick offensive strikes that truly dictated the outcome of this game. The defense was as nasty as they come forcing the Royals to 5 punts, a turnover on downs and they coughed up the ball once. Not the start the Royals were hoping for.
The second half was slightly better for the Royals but the Royals still were no match for the Blue Devils as they improved to 9-0, 1 win away from their first undefeated regular season since 1969!
1st Quarter Highlights
The first quarter was largely dominated by Hopewell...
Defense was the story with Anthony Hale, Kaiveon Cox and Jarin Goode bringing the pressure to QB Tahir Johnson. It was Cox who actually got to the QB with a sack and it was Cox who pressured Johnson into an errant pass that was nearly intercepted if not for hitting the ground first. The Royals only were able to muster one first down as Hopewell would not relent on defense.
The Hopewell offense would not relent either... TreVeyon Henderson scored 3 first quarter touchdowns... A quarterback keeper and short field to work with setup the first Hopewell touchdown. The second touchdown came on the first snap and the third touchdown came from four yards out after Robert Briggs nearly scored a big touchdown of his own with a run of 58 yards!
Hopewell could not be stopped in the first quarter!
2nd Quarter Highlights
It was more of the same in the second quarter between the Blue Devils & Royals except for turnovers on both teams part.
Hopewell had a drive going with Robert Briggs running the ball, TreVeyon Henderson hauling in a pass of 16 yards. However the drive was extinguished when Kaiveon Cox who had been exceptional on defense fumbled the ball.
Jaden Banks of Prince George recovered the loose ball and put together a productive drive that saw Tahir Johnson hit Willie Jennings with a 17-yard pass. Any gains made by the Royals were never sustained.
When the Blue Devils got the ball back it did not take long to find the end zone again. A 93-yard drive was highlighted by a 33-yard pass to TreVeyon Henderson and Henderson punching it in from 56-yards out for the score. It did not take long for the Blue Devils to be on the offensive again as the Royals fumbled the kick return and although it looked as if the drive would prove to be unfruitful, on a punt with everyone yelling watch the fake, the Blue Devils pulled off the fake with TreVeyon Henderson scoring from on a 43-yard run! Just like that it was 33-0 Blue Devils.
Prince George got the ball back but with little time left in the half, it was a matter of just letting the clock run out on a couple of plays.
3rd Quarter Highlights
The third quarter saw just three possessions between the two teams...
Hopewell had the ball first and was spreading the ball out a bit more between TreVeyon Henderson, Robert Briggs and Kaiveon Cox. The trio was able to move the ball but not to the level for which they did in the first half. The Royals defense was playing a bit better having made some adjustments at the half. Defensive End Chris Allen was a beast in the second half and on this drive alone he had 3 tackles on the Blue Devils. Hopewell would go for it on fourth down and come up empty.
This would pave the way for the Royals first score of the night as they would end the shutout. From their own 32 Curtis Allen would break off an 18 yard run. Allen was the focal point on this drive and he was having success moving the ball out and inching the Royals deeper into Hopewell territory. After a penalty, the Royals found themselves facing a 1st & 25 from the Hopewell 35. After another Allen run, the Royals went airborne and that is when Tahir Johnson found Tavian Morris for a 29-yard touchdown! Just like that the shutout was over.
The Blue Devils then found themselves forced into their first 3 & out of the night with Chris Allen again bringing it on defense.
4th Quarter Highlights
Into the fourth quarter we went.
Prince George had two opportunities to close the gap and make a game of it with the Royals but both times disaster struck.
Prince George had what appeared to be a 70-yard drive going after Tahir Johnson and Tavian Morris hooked up multiple times on the defense to move the ball to the 16 of Hopewell. It looked as if the Royals would score a again but the Royals coughed up the ball and there to recover was Hopewell's very own Keyon Williams.
Hopewell made good on the turnover. The Blue Devils put together a 90-yard drive behind Robert Briggs and Kaiveon Cox... TreVeyon Henderson left the game after two plays coming off hobbling a bit. Briggs finished off the drive on a 15-yard run for the Blue Devils 6th touchdown of the night.
Prince George's second possession of the quarter started at the 37. Tahir and Tavian again hooked up but the biggest offensive play came from Johnson on a quarterback scramble that saw him take the ball out to the 20 with a host of Blue Devils in hot pursuit! On the very next play however Hopwell's defense stepped up! Johnson was sacked for a loss of 10 by none other than Keyon Williams. The Royals made up for it with an 18-yard pass to Curtis Allen. Allen also was the recipient of a 5-yard pass that suddenly had the Royals 1st & goal at the 7. Then John was sacked again and the Royals attempted three passes and all proved incomplete to turn the ball over on downs allowing Hopewell to run out the clock.
Players of the Game
Without any question the player of the night for Hopewell was junior TreVeyon Henderson. Henderson scored 5 times for the Blue Devils while rushing for nearly 200 yards with 187 yards on the ground.
On the Royals side of the ball, I do give it up to QB Tahir Johnson. Although the quarterback took his fair share of hits, he orchestrated the only touchdown of the game for the Royals in addition to putting the Royals in position for another score or two. Much of his success came in the second half but by the end of the game this young man had 162 yards passing on 13 of 27.
Extra Points
Matoaca is all that stands in the way of Hopewell and their first undefeated regular season since 1969!
Hopewell has given up just 7 points in the last 3 games versus the Royals.
Hopewell has won the last 6 meetings at Prince George.
Despite the loss, Prince George at 6-3 is still a near lock for the playoffs for the first time since 1994!
