Homecoming is a sacred part of the High School experience. From the dance to the week leading up often filled with days of celebration, to the special halftime show at the Friday night football game where a king and queen are crowned, it's something teenagers will remember for the rest of their lives.

That was no different when 1-3 Tallwood welcomed rival 0-5 Kempsville as the Battle of Kempsville road took center stage at homecoming for the Lions.

There was hope for the Chiefs, who last earned a victory in 2013 when they stunned Tallwood 25-20 on the road.

Tallwood, looking to not be the team Kempsville snapped their 61-game losing streak (the state's longest currently and second longest in VHSL history) against, pounced on the Chiefs early and often on their way to a 32-0 drubbing of their rival. By prevailing, the Lions moved to 2-3 on the season at the midway point of their 2019 campaign under the direction of veteran Head Coach John Kepple.

“Our guys stepped up to the challenge,” said Kepple, in his Kepple said. “There were a lot of things going on, a lot of stuff being said on the Internet. Kempsville coaches were trying to pump their guys up and get things rolling, but it fired us up. It gave our guys an opportunity to come take care of business, but not make things personal.”

Tallwood went for two on each of their scores and made each. The scoring started after a pass interference call on Kempsville gave Tallwood 1st and 10 on the Kempsville 25, which would eventually lead to a Gunner White 10-yard touchdown run, one of his two on the night, accompanied by another score from DK McKelvin

“I knew coming into the season those guys were going to be tough and they were going to be great runners. We find a way to get both of them on the field at the same time and to get our offense going,” Kepple stated of his squad's rushing attack.

“I have to give it all to my offensive line,” exclaimed White, shouting out members of the unit - Tyler Halliday, Myles Lee, Chris Johnson, Addison Marko and Dequan Knox. That core of seniors paved the way for his big night.

“We have been struggling the last few weeks, but I've been pushing them and they all stepped up. pushed them and they stepped up, they all stepped up.”

Combined, White and McKelvin ran for over 250 yards and three scores in the rout. That type of production takes pressure off Carlos Lamoso, the team's first-year starting quarterback in his sophomore year, and a defense that had yet to hold anyone under 24 points in a game until this shutout.

“It’s great," White said of this performance. "We know that is what we are capable of doing, but we haven’t done it the last few weeks. This should be an every week thing because we bring a lot to the table. If one of us is tired, the other one just steps right in and delivers."

Tallwood notables:

QB Carlos Lamoso: 4-14, 90yds, TD

RB Gunner White: 153yds, 2 TD, 2 rec, 5yds

RB DK McKelvin: 115yds, TD.

WR Darrien Henderson: 1 rec, 6yds, TD

WR Tay Revis: 1 rec, 35yds, int.

Kempsville notables:

QB Dyshaun Newby: 10-19, 103yds, int

RB Quran Boyd: 9yds

WR Antonio Brittle: 5 rec, 55yds.

Total Rushing: 33yds

With half of the season down for Tallwood, they sit at 2-3 with games at Bayside and Cox, and home contests with First Colonial, Cox, and Princess Anne left on their schedule. Right now they don't want to worry about the playoff picture or get caught up in scoreboard watching how other teams do.

“We just have to stay focused on us, not what other people are doing,” Kepple said. "Bayside is coming up next week, so we have to focus on them and enjoy the homecoming win, but make sure we get ready for next week. The biggest thing (we have learned) is that we just have to focus on us. The games that we lost, we played some really good teams and we made mistakes."

Tallwood will look to continue their winning ways when the Lions travel to Bayside next week. The Marlins secured an important 14-12 win over Princess Anne to snap a athree-game losing streak and keep their slim playoff hopes alive in Region 5A. It'll be a Saturday 2 PM kick-off on October 12th at Bayside as the Marlins celebrate their Homecoming.

As for Kempsville, the Chiefs will try to break the streak against Granby before hitting the bye week. Granby rallied last Thursday for a 9-7 win over Wilson, snapping their own losing streak of 17 games that dated back to the 2017 campaign.

For Tallwood, their bye week has come and gone, as they had week four off prior to last week’s game against Ocean Lakes, which the Dolphins won 28-8. This win over Kempsville certainly helps their playoff hopes as they entered the past week No. 10 out of 11 schools in Region 6A. Only the top eight qualify for the postseason, and a victory on the road at Bayside would go a long way towards them getting back to the playoffs.