Maury Tops Bethel 56-7 at Darling Stadium

Maury made the trip across the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel to play Bethel at Darling Stadium to open their season and walked away having blown out the opposition.

Backed by three scores from Rivals four-star prospect Keandre Lambert, and four touchdown passes from quarterback Eric Gibson, the Commodores stormed to a 56-7 win to open their 2019 season.

By half-time, the Bruins trailed 42-7 and knew there would be a running clock in the second half of the coaching debut for Creighton Incorminias, a Bethel grad that was an assistant on the coaching staff when they last captured a state title in 1992.

Gibson, a transfer from Granby, carried on the recent legacy of new QB's at Maury as he completed 13 of his 18 passes for 284 yards and four touchdowns. There was no denying that he enjoyed distributing the ball to his his new weapons at receiver. That included Navy commit Dashaun Peele hauling in a touchdown in the first half and the same for Lambert and running back C.J. Beasley, a Virginia Tech commit.

In the second half, Gibson threw a strike to Ty’Shaun Granger, who earlier this week committed to Towson. Beasley also ran in an 8-yard score.

There were questions about who would get the start at QB for the Commodores after they've seen the likes of Kevin 'Bam' Mills and Alvonte Lawton put up school record numbers the last two seasons. Gibson didn't disappoint in his first showing.

"(Eric) has been doing really well. You never know what you are going to get out of a new kid,. Having Kevin Mills, he was new, but we knew he was good. Same thing [with] Vonte," commented Maury Head Coach Dyrri McCain. "Now you have another new kid. He(Gibson) showed some flashes. Obviously you have to get better at a few things but he is going to be fine."

Given that he didn't turn the ball over and was able to spread the ball around effectively to all of the different players, Gibson has to feel confident he'll be among the area's passing leaders like predecessors Lawton and Mills were.

"It was great to get out there with a whole bunch of studs," Gibson remarked. "I've got great guys around me at wide receiver and they catch it like their lives depend on it. Big shout out to my offensive line,; they don't get a lot of credit and they do a lot of work, a lot of the dirty work. I just had to stay calm and trust in God and trust in my self. We have been working hard all off-season."

Keandre Lambert, the highly sought after 2020 recruit, caught a 51-yard touchdown in the first half to go with punt return touchdowns of 68, and 60 yards to make his mark on the season opener.

"Well, we expected to dominate,. We have been putting in work since the end of last season. We remember what our last game felt like playing against Highland Springs, so every team we play they are going to have to pay for it," Lambert exclaimed.

"Last year I think I got one punt return. I made it a self-goal that I'm returning a lot this year. We preach on it, work on it a lot and we just bring it to the field."

McCain recognizes that a player of Lambert's Caliber is too good to only use in one facet of the game.

"We are trying to bring more to his (Lambert) game than just being a receiver at the next level," McCain noted. "He is going to have to play special teams whether it be kickoff or punt return, just trying to put him into a position to succeed at the next level also."

For Bethel, the lone score was a pass from Caleb Beard to Isaiah Smith in the first half on a 6-yard score. The offense never got working quite right and it seemed like whatever Maury did on offense worked throughout much of the game.

Maury's KeAndre Lambert chats with VirginiaPreps.com's Reese Becker after his team's 56-7 win over Bethel at Darling Stadium on Saturday, August 31, 2019.

Lambert scored a trio of touchdowns, two of which were on punt returns, in the season-opening performance. He also spoke briefly on his recruitment as well before the team's next contest, which comes on Friday, September 13th against Norfolk rival Lake Taylor at Powhatan Field.

Maury's new starting quarterback Eric Gibson chats with VirginiaPreps.com's Reese Becker after his team's 56-7 win over Bethel at Darling Stadium on Saturday, August 31, 2019.

A former QB at Granby, Gibson threw for 284 yards and four passing touchdowns.

The Commodores will look to go to 2-0 when they host Lake Taylor at Powhatan Field in Norfolk on Friday, September 13th.

Maury Head Football Coach Dyrri McCain chats following his team's 56-7 season-opening win over Bethel, marking the third consecutive year the Commodores defeated the Bruins. The win came on Saturday, August 31, 2019 at Darling Stadium in Hampton.

The Commodores next play host to Lake Taylor on Friday, September 13th at Powhatan Field in Norfolk.

Here at the key stats from Maury's 56-7 win over Bethel.

Maury QB Gibson: 13-18, 284 yards, 4 TD.

Maury RB Beasley: 17 yards rushing, TD, 65 yards receiving, TD

Maury WR Lambert: 1 rec, 51 yards, TD, 2 punt return TDs (68,60 yards)

Maury WR Laborn: 3 rec, 54 yards.

Maury WR T.Granger: 4 rec, 67 yards, TD

Bethel QB Beard: 12-19, 103 yards, TD, int

Bethel RB Hicks: 7 yards rushing.

Bethel WR Branch: 3 rec, 43 yards, 1 rush, 12 yards.

Bethel WR Gaffney: 2 rec, 8 yards.

Bethel TE Smith: 2 rec, 31 yards, TD.

Maury heads into a bye week before their matchup with Lake Taylor, who beat Phoebus 23-22 on Saturday, while Bethel looks towards their Thursday night game against Heritage (Newport News).