Tallwood Stuns Salem, Savors Senior Night
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style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
background:yellow;mso-highlight:yellow'>Lions Pull the Upset, Beat Previously
Unbeaten Salem:
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
style=>
line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Amidst the pouring rain
and whipping wind, it was a Senior Night to remember at Tallwood
High School in Virginia Beach to start November for the host Lions, who
welcomed in an undefeated Salem SunDevils team that
was looking to push its mark to 9-0 before a regular season finale showdown
with top-ranked Ocean Lakes. Those Lions
had other ideas.
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Tallwood
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
came in having not scored on Salem since 2007.
To further put it in perspective, the current juniors on both teams were
in Elementary School, fifth grade, the last time Tallwood
had scored against Salem prior to Friday night.
But the shutout pitched this time would be by the Lions, keeping a
class=SpellE>SunDevils team that averages 32 points per game off the
scoreboard the entire second half.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Sparked by an improved defense that came up with three
takeaways and a persistent ground attack led by senior
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Kentory Matthews, Tallwood scored 21 unanswered
points in notching a 28-9 upset that significantly boosted their chances of
cracking the postseason party in 2013, one year after finishing just 1-9
overall.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Incredible," declared Tallwood
Head Football Coach John
class=SpellE>Kepple. "The
seniors have stepped up and this is an emotional game for seniors, but everybody
has come together as a team."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>To begin the game, Tallwood
used a four-play, 65-yard drive that took only 1:21 off the clock, capped by
Matthews' 39-yard scoring run. It was
the first of two touchdowns on the night for him.
style=> Salem answered with a 24-yard field goal from
Tyler McKee and would take the lead,
9-7, on Malik Butts' three-yard
touchdown run with 3:21 left in the second quarter.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Three turnovers, all in the second half by Salem,
contributed to 14 Tallwood points.
style=> The SunDevils were
held to 64 yards of offense on 22 plays over the game's final two
quarters. Meanwhile, the Lions converted
a pair of third downs and a fourth down to keep drives alive, plus stopped
Salem on fourth-and-15 in Tallwood territory in the
final period.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Even though the Lions entered having given up 151 more
points on the season than Salem, their players had plenty of confidence they
could spring the upset.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We came into this game knowing we had a chance.
style=> Nobody believed in us, but we believed in
ourselves. The defense definitely showed
up on a rainy night, and the offense did, too," remarked Tallwood
there-star safety Christian
class=SpellE>Byrum, who's committed to play his College Football for
Old Dominion.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We came out with heart and wanted this one.
style=> The senior class really wanted this one.
style=> This game was probably the biggest game of my
life so far."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
mso-highlight:yellow'>Matthews' Moment:
style=> Not only has it been a winning season for
class=SpellE>Tallwood, but also a record-setting one.
style=> Quarterback Reggie Rudolph broke the school passing record and
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Will Howard shattered the receiving
marks. Matthews joined the list by
breaking the school-record for rushing yards, finishing with 176 on 33 attempts
against the SunDevils to close out his regular season
with 1197.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Although it wasn't statistically as dominant a
performance as his 200-plus yard efforts against First Colonial or
class=SpellE>Landstown, this one was clearly more meaningful and
challenging considering the opponent and stakes.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"This is definitely a special feeling.
style=> I knew it was going to be a rainy game, so I
had to pound the ball and fight for every yard I got," Matthews said
afterwards.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"There was a lot of motivation and at the same time a
lot of pressure coming in because people were telling me I'd have to run the
ball even more because it's rainy. We
didn't come out with a mindset of feeling pressure, but just wanting to beat
Salem."
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
Unsung Names Step Forward:
style=>
line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Names like
class=SpellE>Byrum, Matthews, Rudolph and Howard have been headliners
all season long for Tallwood.
style=> What helped them turn the corner and beat one
of the top ranked teams in the state was the play of some unsung, supporting
cast members.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>The game's biggest play came on fourth-and-15 in the
fourth quarter with Salem threatening to score and only down two.
style=> SunDevils sophomore
QB Jarrel
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'> Lightbody dropped
back to throw and had the ball stripped by Tallwood
senior defensive end Shamir Tyner.
style=> The loose football was scooped up by junior
defensive end Darien Williams, who
enjoyed a breakout game with eight total tackles and two for loss.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Williams not only came up with the takeaway; he ran 54
yards for a touchdown that gave the Lions some much-needed breathing room in
the form of a double-digit lead. Other
under-the-radar names made their presence felt on the Tallwood
defense.
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Josh
James,
a senior defensive back, came up with
an interception on the very next possession.
Nicolas-Jakim
Driver, who chipped in 42 yards rushing and a touchdown as the #2 ball
carrier behind Matthews on offense, had a couple of stops on defense from the
linebacker spot. Henry O'Neal added five tackles and
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>DeAndre Hawkins sealed the win with an interception.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Really, out guys have grown up and understood what
we're doing on defense. It's kind of a
learning curve, trying to figure out what works for our guys.
style=> We had some issues at linebacker, moved a
couple guys around, have some new guys playing that position that didn't play
that position last year, so it's taken them a little bit of time to figure out
what's going on," noted Kepple.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"DeAndre Hawkins, who's
playing our outside linebacker, has had a pick every game for the last three
weeks I think. Henry and Nicolas, our
two middle linebackers, are playing outstanding.
style=> They're doing a great job."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
mso-highlight:yellow'>Stuffing the Run:
In the first half, Tallwood had trouble
stopping the run, and as a result, trailed on the scoreboard.
style=> Butts ran for 106 yards on 11 carries,
breaking runs of 50 an 28 yards. They
clamped down on the run in the second half.
He gained just 33 yards on 11 attempts with only one of his final nine
rushes going for longer than five yards.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>How did Tallwood control
Butts?
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"During the zone plays, Coach [Mike]
class=SpellE>Biehl started using more outside blitzes instead of the
inside blitzes and we started to contain the run better," Byrum
explained.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>The win was a bittersweet one for the Lions' defensive
coordinator Biehl; he was a quarterback at Salem when
current Wisconsin assistant Chris Beatty coached the SunDevils.
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Tallwood's
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
improvement on defense is a major reason for their turnaround from being below
.500 after six games to finish two games above the .500 mark at the end of the
regular season. They've gone from giving
up 32.7 points per game to just 9PPG over the past four.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Honestly, they're the big change," Kepple
said of the defense. "They're playing
with so much tenacity, getting after every play and every ball.
style=> Guys are just reading and flying, and it's a
different defense. We say we're not the
same team that we were last year, we're not the same team that we were earlier
this season."
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
background:yellow;mso-highlight:yellow'>Let the Chips Fall Where They May:
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Win or go home.
That's the mantra sung by all players and coaches at any level in sports
when it comes to the playoffs or a single elimination tournament.
style=> It never had more literal meaning than it did
Friday night for a Lions team that would've been on pins and needles had it
lost to Salem.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>For Tallwood, their
win-or-go-home contests started way back in early October after losing to Cox,
34-28. At that time, the Lions were
sitting in a rough spot at 2-4 overall with three losses by six points or less
to the Falcons, Kempsville and Green Run.
style=> They've now reeled off four in a row by a
combined total of 122-36 to secure their first winning season since 2006,
coincidentally the last time they made it to the postseason.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I'm praying to God that we get in,"
class=SpellE>Byrum said.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Entering Saturday, Tallwood
checked in at as the #6 seed in the East bracket of Class 6A-South with a power
rating of 27.80, less than a full point ahead of #7 seed Cox and #8 seed Bayside
with ninth-seeded Bethel 1.30 behind.
Bethel's season is done at 5-5 overall.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Barring something unforeseen, it appears
class=SpellE>Tallwood has clinched a spot in the postseason and now they
go into their bye week waiting to see what seed they will be, projected to be
as high as a #5 seed and as low as a #8 seed.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We're talking that we made the playoffs," admitted
class=SpellE>Kepple. "We told the
guys that we have to win this game, concentrate on Salem, come back and start
looking at numbers and like everybody else start watching what's going on and
see what happens from there."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
href="http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/914/1473817.WMA">
none;text-underline:none'>Postgame Audio with Tallwood
Coach John Kepple
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
Stats:
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Tallwood
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> Lions 28:
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
Kentory Matthews - - 33Car. 176Yds.
2TD's; 2Rec. 15Yds.
Reggie Rudolph - - 7-14 for 46Yds. 0-1TD/Int.
ratio
Nicolas-Jakim Driver - - 9Car. 42Yds. TD; 2
Tackles, QBH
Will Howard - - 5Rec. 31Yds.
Darien Williams - - 8 Tackles (7 Solo), 2TFL, Sack
Christian Byrum - - 8 Tackles (6 Solo
class=GramE>)
Henry O'Neal - - 5 Tackles (4 Solo)
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Salem
SunDevils 9:
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
Malik Butts - - 22Car. 139Yds. TD (11Car. 33Yds. 2nd Half);
1Rec. 8Yds.
Jarrel
class=SpellE>Lightbody - - 7-18 for 49Yds. 0-2TD/Int. ratio
Kyree Burton - - 3Rec. 31Yds; 2 Tackles, PBU
James Stephens - - 9 Tackles (4 Solo), TFL
Trevon Hill - - 8 Tackles (5 Solo), 1.5TFL
Jacob Brown - - 5 Tackles, PBU
David Davis - - 5 Tackles (4 Solo), INT
line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";text-decoration:none;text-underline:
none'>Matthew Hatfield
style='font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>
serves as State Basketball Analyst for
href="http://www.virginiapreps.com">
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text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>VirginiaPreps.com
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115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>, part of the Rivals.com
Network. Check out
href="http://www.twitter.com/hatfieldsports">
text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>Hatfield's Twitter page
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>
115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'> for more sports related updates,
and you can also read his work in the
href="http://www.suffolknewsherald.com">
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text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>Suffolk News Herald
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115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>.
To contact Matthew, please e-mail
href="mailto:hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com">
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text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com
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115%;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>, and don't forget to listen to him
every Saturday at 10AM on
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none'>ESPN Radio 94.1
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