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Covenant football falls in state semis to Atlantic Shores

By Jimmy LaRoue / Scrmmageplay.com contributor

 

Covenant freshman running back Rick Weaver proved to be a handful even for an octopus-like Atlantic Shores defense that frequently needed at least four players to bring him down.

 

But the Eagles weren’t able to sustain drives, and the host Seahawks used their speed, an experienced quarterback and a quick-strike offense to race out to a 30-point first quarter lead on their way to a 51-8 win Friday in the VISAA Division III semifinal at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex.

 

“We came into this as an underdog, and I think everyone had the mindset of winning, but we had some players go down early that were big players on our team,” said senior slot back and outside linebacker Austin Hall. “Other people had to step up, but it didn’t work out the way we wanted to.”

 

Atlantic Shores (10-0) will host Nanesmond-Suffolk in next Friday’s VISAA Division 3 championship game. Covenant (5-6) finishes one of its better seasons in recent memory.

 

“We haven’t been here since 2008,” said Eagles coach Dave Hart. “It’s a huge accomplishment for the whole team, especially the seniors. They’re the ones that led us here. It was a good experience for us.”

 

Weaver had 28 carries for 158 yards and accounted for all eight of Covenant’s points – a 13-yard touchdown with 45 seconds left in the second quarter and then he rushed in for the ensuing 2-point conversion.

 

“We did have some big plays, and we did get the run game going a little bit, but to stay consistent, especially toward the end of the drives and put the ball in the end zone, that was tough,” Hart said.

 

Atlantic Shores had little trouble finishing drives, though it didn’t hurt that most of them didn’t last long.

 

The Seahawks offense produced 611 total yards, 298 in the air on 9-of-13 passing and three touchdowns from three-year starter Ryan Chamberlain and 313 yards on the ground — 239 of those yards coming from Brandon Hall, who also scored three touchdowns on just 10 carries.

 

Atlantic Shores coach Wayne Lance said his offense hasn’t always been this consistent or prolific, despite having now outscored opponents 445-95 in 10 games.

 

“A lot of people look at our scores and say ‘how do you say you’ve struggled to do that? But I think a lot of times we’ve been hit or miss with some things,” Lance said. But, he added, “they buckled down, we were able to run the ball effectively, we were able to throw the ball effectively, the line blocked, it was great execution and I’m really proud of what they were able to do.”

 

Covenant won the coin toss but deferred, which had an immediate impact as two consecutive kicks went out of bounds.

 

Atlantic Shores started its first possession on its own 45 and needed just three plays to reach the end zone as Chamberlain threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Fries just 34 seconds into the game, the 2-point conversion run from Christian Martin putting it up 8-0.

 

The Eagles came into the game looking to control the clock with their run game, and at times were able to do so, their first drive starting with promise, as they picked up a first down before having to punt.

 

The Seahawks, though, mostly stuck to the formula of striking quick and often, needing just four plays and 1:38 to score on a 26-yard run from eighth-grader Valerian Johnson.

 

Once again, Covenant moved the ball on the ground and earned another first down but stalled and had to punt again.

 

This time, Atlantic Shores struck immediately, getting a 51-yard touchdown pass from Chamberlain to Jordan Cannady (5 catches, 122 yards), with a 2-point conversion from Chamberlain to Noah Jacks giving the Seahawks a 22-0 advantage.

 

The next Eagles drive was their best of the opening 12 minutes, but it came at a high cost as Huemme re-aggravated a shoulder injury after being tackled hard to the turf out of bounds on a third-down play

 

The game was delayed for more than 10 minutes as Huemme was stretchered off the field and the two teams came together on the Atlantic Shores sideline to pray. Huemme was taken to a nearby hospital and was with the team by the end of the game.

 

“It was a roll-out pass and he got tackled out of bounds,” Hart said. “He just got his shoulder slammed into the turf, just re-aggravated the injury he took against North Cross earlier in the year (Oct. 30).”

 

Freshman quarterback Luke Sorensen led the offense capably but was put in a tough spot having to come in for a 4th-and-10 play on the Seahawks 35 and the Eagles weren’t able to convert.

 

“I was really impressed with Covenant having a back-up quarterback to come in, and they moved the ball,” Lance said. “It wasn’t like they just went backwards from there.”

 

Once more, Atlantic Shores wasted no time taking advantage, as Hall closed the first quarter with a 68 yards touchdown.

 

Facing a 30-point deficit, the Eagles started its next drive in solid field position with a 30-yard kickoff return from Stephen Wilder. They then used up more than seven minutes of the second quarter, getting some strong running from Weaver, but two sacks and a penalty put the drive into stall and they punted again.

 

“We definitely started playing a little bit harder,” Hall said. “Rick definitely stepped his game up a little bit after he went out, just because with a young quarterback, we had to really step it up and run the ball as hard as we could to help him out.”

 

Lance acknowledged the difficulty in bringing down Weaver — listed at 5-foot-10, 235 pounds — and said he doesn’t look forward to having to contain him in the future.

 

“Oh gosh, he’s a big boy, and that was something we had talked about all week and worked on, and still, he’s just a force, and unfortunately for me, he’s a freshman,” Lance said. “He does a great job of running balanced.”

 

Atlantic Shores was well on its way to scoring again, a 58-yard pass from Chamberlain to Fries getting it out of its own territory, but a sack from Covenant sophomore lineman Cole Harvey and then a fumble recovery by sophomore linebacker Joe Payne ended the threat.

 

The loss ends a campaign that was a big step forward for the Eagles and with a young roster, Covenant should be in position to build on that success next year.

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