Rams Win Battle of Unbeatens
The Lafayette Rams advanced to the 4A East Regional championship game with a 48-21 win over Eastern View. The Rams will face undefeated Dinwiddie next Saturday with the winner earning a bid to the VHSL 4A State championship game.
Both Eastern View and Lafayette entered the contest with undefeated 12-0 records and the first half was a slugfest with neither team able to find the endzone until one minute before halftime break. Kyle Johnson capped a 13-play, 98-yard scoring drive with a 18-yard touchdown run to give the Rams a 7-0 lead.
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The 1st half defensive slugfest turned into a 2nd half offensive explosion with five touchdowns in the 3rd quarter and five more in the 4th quarter. Virginia Tech commit Hezekiah Grimsley opened the 3rd quarter with a 73-yard touchdown run just 32 seconds into the 3rd quarter for a 14-0 Lafayette lead. On the Rams next possession, quarterback Cesar Ward found Tristan Packer all alone behind the Cyclones defense for a 27-yard touchdown pass with 9:05 to go in the 3rd quarter to push the lead to 21-0.
The teams would reach paydirt three more times before the quarter ended. Eastern View got on the scoreboard with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Eddie Russell to Zach Thomas with 7:38 to go. The Rams answered with Grimsley navigating his way thru the Eastern View defense for a 37-yard touchdown for a 28-7 Lafayette lead. D'ago Hunter scored from 1-yard out after a 50-yard kickoff return aided by a facemask penalty gave the Cyclones the ball in the redzone. Eastern View trailed 28-14 going into the 4th quarter.
The scoring binge continued in the final 12 minutes with two touchdowns in the first two minutes. Lafayette running back Caleb Kraegenbrink broke several tackles on his 33-yard touchdown run and Eastern View receiver Zach Thomas turned a bubble screen into a 70-yard touchdown reception that made the score 35-21 with 10 minutes to go.
The Rams offense only generated 15 more yards the rest of the game but the defense put the game away with two pick six touchdown returns and a fumble recovery on a Eastern View 1st-and-goal from the Lafayette 3-yard line. Liam Walters returned an interception 60-yards for a score and Queshon Sharpless added a 65-yard interception with under a minute to go