Indian River Outlasts Maury in Scoring Fest
Indian River outlasted Maury 76-41 last Friday night in Chesapeake in the quarterfinals of the Class 5, Region A playoffs. That means the Braves, at 8-3 overall, will play host to Southeastern District foe Nansemond River (7-4), in the semifinals this coming week.
I went through my database to see how the Indian River-Maury game ranks in terms of total points.
This is the list I have, including all Southeastern Virginia schools, but the 117 is the highest scoring games between the old Triple-A schools....
Top Scoring Games:
140 Surry County 76, Lancaster 64 in 2012
137 Mathews 73, West Point 64 in 2011
132 Lancaster 70, Charles City 62 in 2010
124 Westside (Smithfield) 124, Southside (Dinwiddie) 0 in 1967
117 Indian River 76, Maury 41 in 2017
116 Westside (Smithfield) 110, Sussex Central 6 in 1968
114 Northampton 64, Sussex Central 50 in 1996
111 New Kent 76, Tabb 35 in 2001
111 Manteo (N.C.) 63, Atlantic Shores 48 in 2009
110 Nansemond-Suffolk 66, Greenbrier Christian 44 in 2015
110 St. Anne's-Belfield 64, Greenbrier Christian 56 in 2017
Southampton Academy had a game where both teams added up to 154, but that was in 8-man football.
Inside the Numbers:
Indian River Stats:
Indian River had 547 total yards. with 469 rushing and 78 passing.
Braves running back Nashun Overton carried the ball 16 times for 307 yards and two touchdowns - one measuring 75 yards and the other being 70 yards. His backfield mate Ricardo Ray chipped in 41 yards and scored five touchdowns on nine carries.
Another Indian River tailback, Carmello Sweat, ran the ball 12 times for 83 yards and a touchdown. Starting quarterback Rasheen Brooks completed 6 of 10 passes for 78 yards with a touchdown pass to Isaiah Hyman. Brooks was picked off once, but he also had eight rushes for 38 yards and a score.
The Braves even made an impact on special teams. Demetri Payne returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown, plus had another long return of 77 yards down to the three-yard line of Maury.
Maury Stats:
On the night, Maury had 491 total yards with 380 through the air and 111 on the ground. They went over 500 total yards, but lost 12 yards on a lateral on the final play of the game.
Commodores senior quarterback Kevin "Bam" Mills completed 28 of 57 passes for 380 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran the ball 12 times for 126 yards and a touchdowns. That gave him a total of 506 yards while accounting for five touchdowns.
The two primary targets were sophomores KeAndre Lambert and Ty Granger. Lambert, the nephew of former Maury standout and current Seattle Seahawks Pro Bowl safety Kam Chancellor, finished with six receptions for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Granger caught 13 balls for 181 yards and a pair of scores, plus returned an interception 60 yards to the end zone.
In closing, these two teams combined for 17 touchdowns and more than 1000 total yards of offense. The first half took 1 hour and 40 minutes to complete with Indian River leading 48-28 at intermission. A couple of Indian River secondary starters did not play.
Rick Alliss with the High School Football Scoreboard Show on ESPN Radio 94.1 contributed some statistical info for this report.