The Season Kicks Off!
by Andy Hilton, recruit757
Lafonte Thourogood of Ocean Lakes (Photo: Andy Hilton/recruit757)
What a great night for Football!
The Beach District opened play tonight along with Norcom and Lake Taylor in separate games against out-of-region opponents. There were already a few heated contests. Welcome to Football Season!
At Princess Anne, hopes were high for new season of PA Football. Coach Ray Gatlin has his players believing, but winning wasn’t in the cards tonight against Ocean Lakes. PA took the ball from the opening kick, couldn’t drive and punted after three plays. The night started for Ocean Lakes with a one play drive for a touchdown. Lafonte Thourogood connected with sophomore Eli Harold on a 58 yard toss, ending with a stiff arm and a touchdown. From there, the romp was on.
Ocean Lakes posted a 37-0 score at halftime and never looked back. The running clock rule was in effect as Ocean Lakes added two more scores and called it a night. The final: Ocean Lakes 51, Princess Anne 0. The Cavaliers will get another shot at their first win of the season next week against an opponent who will provide a more even match, First Colonial.
Landstown Steps On The Field (Photo: Jon Fritz/recruit757)
First Colonial faced off against Landstown tonight in a game that pitted teams from the middle of the pack in 2009. FC and Landstown traded scores early on and the game was all knotted up at 7-7. First Colonial sprinted out to a lead from there and took control at 20-7 only to falter to the running game of Landstown quarterback Larry Joshua. Joshua did the Patriots in with his legs as First Colonial fell in the end. The final: Landstown 26, First Colonial 20.
At Bayside, the Marlins faced off against Green Run. Green Run grabbed the lead early on a field goal, then Bayside bounced back and led at the half 7-3. Bayside almost coasted to the finish, but Green Run tacked on a touchdown late to almost come within striking distance. The final: Bayside 21, Green Run 10.
Salem and Kempsville had one of the most anticipated Beach matchups of the night. Both teams have their stars, but tonight it took a while for either team to get their offense going. Salem managed to have the lead 12-7 going into the last six minutes of the game. That’s where all of the action happened. With three minutes left, Salem quarterback Bucky Hodges scored and Salem tacked on the extra point in order to expand their lead to 19-7. Salem only had to hold onto their lead. On the ensuing drive, Salem’s Ronald Dailey intercepted a Rex Harrison pass with a minute and half to go. In the process of running down the clock, Brion Daniels broke free and scored a thrill 15 yard touchdown to completely ice the game for the Sundevils. Salem managed 14 points in the final three minutes. The final: Salem 25, Kempsville 7.
#3 Kellam RB Dean Morrocu (Photo: Bill Whitlow/recruit757)
At the Sportsplex, Cox and Kellam faced off. Cox held the lead early and had no problem holding Kellam off throughout. Kellam Running Back Dean Morrocu went down with an injury in the first quarter and that affected the Knights running game. The game wasn’t without its close moments, but Cox led 7-3 early on, 13-3 at half and finished the game going away. The final: Cox 30, Kellam 17.
In Norfolk, Lake Taylor looked for revenge. The Titans traveled to Haymarket and started off their season with a loss last year, 28-7. This year, Battlefield traveled to Norfolk and found a heated rematch with Lake Taylor. Both teams struggled offensively as the teams fought for field position throughout. After three quarters, the teams were nearly deadlocked. Battlefield held a 7-6 advantage. The Bobcats managed an eight yard touchdown in the final minute of the game to seal the win. The final: Battlefield 14, Lake Taylor 6.
Lastly, the Greyhounds of I.C. Norcom took on Northeastern High School of North Carolina. The Eagles, out of Elizabeth City, were overmatched by the speedy Greyhounds. I.C. Norcom dominated throughout. A late score by Northeastern put them on the board, but this game was out of reach early. The final: I.C. Norcom 26, Northeastern 6.
There will be more stories to come this weekend, plus photos and video from the games kicking off the season. Thanks for checking out recruit757.com!
- Andy Hilton
Beach District Preview
by Andy Hilton, recruit757
Lafonte Thourogood of Ocean Lakes (Photo: Andy Hilton/recruit757)
Because of a round-robin schedule that requires a bye week for all teams, the Beach District kicks off a week before everyone else in the area. School isn’t even in session yet and every team plays this Friday save Tallwood. That means you’re getting the District Preview early. Oh what a preview it is….
Playoff Bound: We start off with the teams that are practically a shoe-in for a playoff berth. A lot would have to go wrong for these teams to miss out on the playoffs. Ocean Lakes was in that position last year and we all know what happened. They didn’t lose a game on the field, yet they finished 4-6 and missed the playoffs due to an eligibility issue that caused six forfeits. This year will be different.
Ocean Lakes is loaded with talent including several players on the offensive line that are in their fourth year starting. QB Lafonte Thourogood is a senior and he’ll provide the leadership to get the Dolphins into the playoffs. We want to know if they’ll go undefeated this year. The biggest obstacle will be Bayside.
Mark your calendar for October 27 when Bayside visits Ocean Lakes. Bayside is a younger team, but Bayside claimed the District Title last year. Ocean Lakes beat Bayside at Bayside last year. This is the game that may provide the only loss for both teams. They’re both that good. Demetrious Nicholson provides the spark for the Marlins. Look for both teams to finish 1-2 at the top of the Beach District.
In the hunt: There should be at least four or five playoff bids going to Beach District teams. There are no less than four teams going for those remaining two or three bids after Bayside and Ocean Lakes make the inevitable regular season run. Those four teams in no particular order are Kempsville, Cox, Landstown and Salem. All four have strength, but all four have inherent weaknesses that could make them vulnerable to lapses. Too many lapses against teams they should beat could push any one of these teams out of the playoffs.
Travis Hughes of Kempsville (Photo: Andy Hilton/recruit757)
Kempsville has the most star power of the four. Travis Hughes is a BCS level prospect playing on both sides of the ball for the Chiefs. Rex Harrison has come over from Tabb to bolster the QB position in his senior year. Defensively, Kempsville can claim Gavin Williams and Mason Thomas as stars in the secondary. Can the Chiefs jump up to bite Ocean Lakes or Bayside in order jump them in the Beach District hierarchy? This would be the year to do it.
Cox easily has the potential to make a run for the playoffs. D.J. DiNardo is gone, but there’s plenty of good coaching at Cox and plenty of talent to fill the void. There just aren’t any marquee players to speak of. Cox will run the triple option, but will be hurt by the loss of Max Owens at running back. Owens might be out for at least the first half of the season. Fortunately, the schedule has them playing Kempsville and Ocean Lakes later on. Cox visits Bayside on 9/10 and that might be a tough game for the Falcons to prevail in.
Landstown is routinely a contender for a playoff bid. This year’s Eagles are led by Larry Joshua, who could string together a great senior season and lead them to the playoffs. Coach Tommy Reamon is going to have to get the most from his talent and keep the errors to a minimum. Landstown managed a 6-4 regular season record and a playoff berth last year. Expect similar results this year.
Salem is certainly capable of making a run, but they’ll have to do it with young talent. Last year’s Sun Devils finished 6-4 including a forfeit win over Ocean Lakes. This year’s team will have to make the most of a tall receiving corps, who’ll give opponent matchup problems game in and game out. QB Bucky Hodges gets the starting nod as a sophomore. He’ll have to stay efficient in the passing game while the Sun Devil defense does its job, shutting down Beach District offenses.
Rising up: Every other Beach District team has the potential to make a splash. It is high school football after all, and we’re talking about 16-18 year old kids that might find a hot streak or have an off night. There isn’t a team in the Beach District that doesn’t have the potential to win enough games to make the playoffs. Unfortunately for Beach District teams, they have to beat up on each other, so there are only so many wins to go around.
Princess Anne is young and can’t afford any injuries. Coach Gatlin’s squad is motivated to make a turn around, but the key will be keeping everyone healthy. There’s probably no chance of P.A. taking a win out of a matchup against Bayside or Ocean Lakes, but the Cavaliers have to beat the teams they are more evenly matched with. The potential is there. After their opener with Ocean Lakes, they’ll have to make a winning run against First Colonial, Kellam and Green Run in order to get the momentum going.
Gunnar Kane of Kellam (Photo: Andy Hilton/recruit757)
Kellam is intriguing. Next year will be a better year for the Knights, but that doesn’t matter to this year’s team. The team is loaded with juniors and sophomores, many of whom started last year as sophomores and freshmen. Kellam gets a schedule of Cox, Landstown, Princess Anne and Salem right out of the gate, so they’ll know where they stand against the District without having to take their lumps from Ocean Lakes and Bayside early on.
First Colonial has a target on their backs this year. They finished at 5-5 last year, but the story is their relationship with Ocean Lakes. First Colonial is the team that notified the VHSL about a potential violation within the Ocean Lakes program, right after their game last year. The VHSL ruling resulted in the forfeit of Ocean Lakes’ win against FC, and resulted in the loss of all five games that preceded it. That makes this season’s rematch between Ocean Lakes and First Colonial on October 1 perhaps one of the most highly anticipated games on the Beach District schedule. The Patriots will have to focus on other things early on in the season. If the fundamentals and execution are there, FC could come out of the Ocean Lakes game with playoff aspirations. The key for them is focus early on, plus a strong finish against Bayside and Cox in their final two games.
Green Run is back to a youth movement. Coach Shawn Wilson has to replace 17 seniors, including 10 that were major contributors on last year’s team. Four of those seniors were major college commits and the JV Stallions team won the Beach with a 7-0 record. Is that talent ready to move up? There are a lot of questions to be answered.
Tallwood has a lot of growing to do, but the potential is there. Last year’s team beat Princess Anne 17-14 and managed to claim a win by getting a forfeit from Ocean Lakes. Other than that, the Lions are ready to move on and improve. Ex-Cleveland Brown Lineman Jon Dunn has come home to Tallwood and should make massive improvements in the line play there. His contributions as an assistant coach could be significant. Tallwood might not be ready for a playoff run, but improving on last year’s 2-8 record would be a step in the right direction.
Expect to see Ocean Lakes and Bayside in the Division 6 playoffs. From there, every other team will fight to finish over .500 and stake their claim to a postseason berth.
- Andy Hilton
Green Run Looks To Playoff Return
by Kellen Owings, recruit757
Tequan Mayfield (Photo: Andy Hilton/recruit757)
Coming off a 5-5 season, the Green Run Stallions will look to rebound and play more like the teams that went 10-2 and won playoff games in 2007 and 2008. Coach Shawn Wilson is tasked with replacing 17 seniors from last year’s squad, including ten major contributors.
Gone are running back Dejor Simmons, who committed to JMU, and quarterback B.J. Waters. Defensive ends Jamal Wallace and Jagger Blehm bring their pass rushing skills to Duke and ODU respectively. Zach Dunston who lined up all over the field for the Stallions, will play at Marshall in the fall.
Wilson believes he has the personnel capable of replacing the departed stars. “We’re replacing some guys, but we have a lot of guys back. We also have some good young kids coming up from last year’s undefeated (7-0) JV team,” Wilson said.
Senior quarterback Tequan Mayfield (5-9 170) returns to steer the offense for a full season. He played four games last year while filling in admirably for Waters after B.J. suffered from an injury. Junior Mark Hall (6-1, 180) has been shining at TE, catching plenty of balls during the summer scrimmages and practices. Dre’quez Lambert (SR 5-10 180) shifts to running back from receiver. He’s working on exploding into his carries, but coach Wilson thinks,”(He) is going to do an excellent job for us this year.” Junior RB Kuawane Hodges (5-8 160) will also see some carries, but coach Wilson says he has “Four or five backs who can run the ball and are good backs who can keep us in the game.”
The entire receiving corps graduated or moved to other positions, but coach Wilson doesn’t see that as a problem. “Our receiving corps wasn’t very good last year, so having new guys will be OK.” The offensive line only lost one starter but will be anchored by All-Tidewater guard David Dean (SR 6-2, 265). “David is gonna do the job for us, everyone pretty much knows that,” Coach Wilson said.
The defense is anchored by a solid group of returning starting linebackers. Senior Kyle Backus (6-1, 220) and juniors Derek Wilson (5-10 190) and Mark Hall form a tough, hard-hitting group that’s one of the best in the Beach District. David Dean will be the run stuffing cog in the middle, freeing up the linebackers to make plays. Senior Demarre Matthews (5-9, 170) moves to cornerback, where he is joined in the secondary by Mayfield and Lambert. Quinton Hinton moves to defensive end, and while he has been playing well, his conditioning has been a problem. “We need to get him in a little bit better shape right now. We’ve been going at it for a while with hard practices. He’s dragging right now, but making plays when he’s coming,” Coach Wilson said.
David Dean (Photo: Andy Hilton/recruit757)
Most of the recruiters coming to Green Run have been focusing on David Dean, but with his commitment to UVA, the focus has turned to some of the Stallions other stars. Mark Hall has been getting looks from Virginia Tech, Virginia, and Maryland. Mayfield is drawing some interest from Hampton and ODU and Dre’quez Lambert, who excels in the classroom as well as the field, has been getting looks from William & Mary. Guard Darius Bickham (SR 6-2 210) is also an interesting prospect, but will likely be going the junior college route due to grades.
Throughout the summer practices and scrimmages, Coach Wilson has been impressed with his team and their ability to absorb what he and his staff are trying to instill. “I’m pretty pleased with what we’re doing. We got to get the ball in the end zone a little bit more though. We’ll have productive season if we keep doing what we’re doing and the kids listen to what we tell them to do. We’re doing a lot of coaching, coaching them up. They keep listening and taking it all in. We haven’t even gone over our goal line defense (until recently) and we’ve stopped teams down there so that’s good.”
As for coach Wilson’s goal for the season, he’s keeping it small. “Two wins,” he said jokingly, so don’t fret Stallions fans. “Obviously the ultimate goal is always to get to the playoffs and do what we need to do to get to the playoffs. Once you get to the playoffs anybody can beat anybody. Get to the playoffs, do what we need to do in the Beach District and win games week in and week out, that’s our goal.”
If the young Stallions come together, execute as planned, and play up to their talent, a playoff berth out of the Beach District is possible. Last year, the Beach District sent five of its eleven teams on to the playoffs. Green Run will look to get in the mix this year.
- Kellen Owings
Churchland, Bayside, Norcom, Maury, Tallwood, Green Run Pics Posted
by Andy Hilton, recruit757
#12 Deion Stitt runs the Bayside offense vs. Norcom (Photo: Andy Hilton/recruit757)
It was a night full of football on the first night of scrimmages in The 757. We had a full night and couldn’t cover it all.
Check out the Facebook page and catch up on the latest photos of practice at Churchland, the Bayside vs. Norcom scrimmage and the Tri-scrimmage at Powhatan Field between Maury, Tallwood and Green Run. There will be plenty of stories over the next few days including an update on the Tra Nicholson recruiting saga directly from the source, a team preview of Churchland and a team preview of Green Run.
Be sure to check the archives on the blog where you’ll find team updates on Norcom and Tallwood. Bayside’s preview was published just this week and Maury’s is due out soon as well. Before the end of the month, you’ll get a team preview on all of the BRD, Beach, Peninsula, Eastern and Southeastern District schools, plus a few of the area’s best private schools as well!
In the meantime, come on by the Recruit757 Facebook page and you can see all of the pics from tonights action. Click “Like” while you’re there and you’ll get regular updates from recruit757.com via Facebook whenever an article is published.
Thanks for checking out recruit757.com! There’s more action tomorrow night and there will be more stories, photos and video to come from the best gridiron action in The 757.
- Andy Hilton
Beach Passing League Photos Up on Facebook
QB Donnell Staton of Warwick (Photo: Andy Hilton/recruit757.com)
Tonight was another great night for football at the Beach. The Beach Passing League was in fine form with 12 teams in action, five at Ocean Lakes High School Stadium and seven at the community fields nearby. Oscar Smith, Granby, Tallwood, Landstown and Bayside faced off in a round-robin format at the stadium. Ocean Lakes, Cox, Kellam, Warwick, Kempsville, Hickory and Green Run battled at the community fields.
Oscar Smith continued to work out the details of their offense, still stinging a bit from a surprise loss at the Peanut City Shootout. The Bayside vs. Oscar Smith matchup was the game of the night at the stadium. Over on the community fields, Ocean Lakes stood strong but Kempsville and Warwick challenged well. All of the teams continue to use the experience to try new wrinkles in their schemes and get more playing time for starters and role players alike. Every team will look much different when the pads are on and both sides have eleven players come Labor Day weekend.
Photos from the games are now up on the recruit757 page on Facebook. Be sure to stop by. Become a fan while you’re there.
There are a number of new developments with local players and programs, so keep checking back for new stories on recruit757.com. We’re working on the latest news from the local high schools, plus there’s news on the recruiting progress of UVA, VA Tech, WVU, ECU and more. Football season is around the corner… with recruit757.com, it’s football season year round!
Beach Passing League Hot Again Tonight
WR Chris Gardner of Kellam lines up on offense (Photo: Andy Hilton)
The competitors have gotten familiar with each other now. After a month of intense games against each other, Bayside, Ocean Lakes, Oscar Smith, Cox, Kellam and Tallwood are essentially figuring each other out. Tonight’s competition was a little thinner due to the absence of Landstown, Granby, Kempsville and Salem, but the teams that made it out made the most of the competition.
Over at Ocean Lakes Stadium, Cox, Kellam, Green Run and Ocean Lakes’ split squad battled it out. The Kellam Knights fared well in their 7×7 matchups. Perhaps the standout of the night for Kellam was wide receiver Chris Gardner. Gardner towered over the smaller DBs from Cox and Green Run. At roughly 6-5 210, Gardner will be a matchup nightmare for most defensive backs in the Beach District. Gardner can expect double teams come the fall. Will Kellam’s QB have the time and accuracy to get the ball to him?
Everyone was missing a few players, but Ocean Lakes’ JV/Varsity mix actually hung in well with the other teams. Tamaric Crews showed great poise in the pocket and moved the ball well down the field as Ocean Lakes’ “B Squad” quarterback. If everything goes according to plan, Crews won’t see the field as QB in 2010, but he’ll be ready to shine in his senior year as Lafonte Thoroughgood moves on to play college ball. Crews is a tall, thin QB who looks like he could be a great scrambler at the high school level. At 6-3 170, Crews should add to his frame over the next 15 months. Tre Bookhart is expected to be a DB of the future for the Dolphins. Bookhart is part of the Class of 2013, and has plenty of time to earn a role in the Dolphin defense. Also scintillating for Ocean Lakes’ B team was wide receiver Shawn Johnson. Johnson is a huge target, but will unfortunately transfer out to attend high school in Georgia in the fall.
Over on the Firefall fields, Warwick, Bayside, Ocean Lakes (A), Oscar Smith, Hickory and Tallwood battled. Tallwood gave Oscar Smith quite a game, but in Smith’s defense, Coach Morgan was rotating quarterbacks in and out, plus he was running a lot of defensive substitutions in and out as well. The Lions fared well against Oscar Smith’s second string defense, but you can’t say that Tallwood would have moved the ball down the field on Raysean Richardson, Darius Jennings and the other Smith regulars if they had been on the field.
Hickory Assistant Rallies the Team (Photo: Andy Hilton)
Bayside looked polished against Hickory, but Hickory looks like they could be a team on the rise. Coach Tim Sitterson now has the middle school, JV and Varsity programs at Hickory all running from the same structure. In a few years as players come up through that program, you may see stronger, faster and more skilled Hickory teams on the field. They’re not yet a threat to Oscar Smith, but Hickory should win a few more games in 2010. Bayside, on the other hand, has the look of a team that’s ready to sweep the Beach District. Their young players are gaining experience quickly and they’re showing that they’re ready from the skill positions. If their line play is in order, Bayside could run the table in the District in 2010.
Ocean Lakes will have something to say about that of course. The Dolphins’ “A Team” looked just as solid as ever tonight. Part of their team was over on the stadium field, but that didn’t make a difference. Lafonte Thoroughgood hooked up with Eli Harold and Steven Brown quite regularly, and Brown looked like an intimidating force on the defensive side of the field. Mark Friday, October 22 on your calendar now. Bayside at Ocean Lakes that night should be a sell out and a barn burner.
This Saturday there are two different 7×7 tournaments in Hampton Roads. Kings Fork hosts a tournament Saturday morning and on the Peninsula, Hampton University’s 7×7 tournament runs in the afternoon. Oscar Smith is the featured team at Kings Fork and Phoebus will defend their Hampton 7×7 title at Armstrong Stadium. Expect coverage from recruit757.com. We’ll be there for you!
VHSL Football Schedule Released – Beach District Edition
Lafonte Thoroughgood, QB of Ocean Lakes
Here’s the first of several installments giving you an overview of the High School Football schedule as it shakes out district by district. We’re going to start with the Beach and also cover the Southeastern, Eastern, Peninsula and Bay Rivers for you. Since the VHSL doesn’t cover Independent Schools, we’ll have to cover those schools at a separate time, once those schedules are released.
The Beach District has the easiest schedule to dissect because there are eleven teams in the district. Everyone plays round robin so there are no out of district games. It’s a completely balanced schedule.
Last year the Beach District was a crazy ride. Ocean Lakes jumped out to a 6-0 record and seemed to be ready to cruise to a Beach District title before the unforeseen hit. An ineligble player was uncovered and that set the defending district champions back to a 0-6 record. The decision was protested, but after deliberation, the VHSL decided that the forfeits would stand. Ocean Lakes faced Bayside immediately after the decision was confirmed, and although the game was close, Ocean Lakes defeated Bayside and went on to win all ten games on the field in 2009. Their six forfeits kept the Dolphins from making the playoffs and the Bayside Marlins ended up winning the Beach District at 9-1, but Ocean Lakes seems to be the prohibitive favorite to reclaim the Beach District title in 2010. Wideout Justin Hunter will go on to play at Tennessee, but quarterback Lafonte Thoroughgood will return and will have plenty of weapons at his disposal. The Ocean Lakes defense will be stout as well.
Bayside returns plenty of players from a young district championship team last year. Demetrious (Tra) Nicholson leads the defense from the cornerback position and will play wide receiver on the offensive side of the ball. Last year’s freshman phenom Deion Stitt will return at quarterback and Bayside has plenty of athletes on both sides of the ball including Anthony Cooper and Mike Hayes at WR/DB, Derek Taitano on the line and Jeton Beavers (6-5 240) at tight end and defensive end. Beavers was ineligible last year but looks to be a beast for the Marlins.
The Ocean Lakes vs. Bayside rematch falls in week nine on the schedule, the eighth game of the season for each team. It would be intriguing to see each team be undefeated going into that game, but both squads have plenty of hurdles to overcome before they reach each other. There could be surprise teams on the schedule, but the main hurdle for Ocean Lakes appear to be Kempsville in their fourth game. Ocean Lakes’ schedule is back loaded with the strongest competition: Bayside at home, Cox away and Landstown at home to finish out the schedule. Bayside has to worry most about Cox at home in game two, Landstown away in game three and Kempsville at home in game seven.
Steven Boyser, future QB for the Cox Falcons
There are plenty of other intriguing Beach District games all over the schedule. Cox will look to qualify for the playoffs for the third year in a row, yet they have what could be three tough games right out of the chute. The Falcons have Kellam at home, then travel to Green Run and Bayside in weeks two and three. Cox learned to generate offense with the tandem of DJ DiNardo and Troy Ruediger over the last two years. In 2010 it looks like they will lean on Steven Boyser at quarterback.
Bucky Hodges will lead the Salem Sundevils as a sophomore QB in 2010. Coach Robert Jackson is hopeful that the Sundevils can surprise a few teams along the way and contend for a district title. Salem just missed the playoffs with a 6-4 record last year. All of their losses came to playoff teams, so perhaps this year they can catch a break or two and break through. Salem will see how much they’ve progressed once they’ve faced off against Kempsville and Ocean Lakes in the first two weeks of the season.
Here’s the complete schedule for the Beach District:
Friday 8/27: Green Run @ Bayside – Cox @ Kellam -Salem @ Kempsville – First Colonial @ Landstown -Ocean Lakes @ Princess Anne
Thursday 9/2: Cox @ Green Run – First Colonial @ Princess Anne – Landstown @ Kellam – Kempsville @ Tallwood – Ocean Lakes @ Salem
Friday 9/10: Cox @ Bayside – Salem @ First Colonial – Green Run @ Landstown – Princess Anne @ Kellam – Kempsville @ Tallwood
Friday 9/17: Bayside @ Landstown – First Colonial @ Tallwood – Princess Anne @ Green Run – Kellam @ Salem – Kempsville @ Ocean Lakes
Friday 9/24: Bayside @ Princess Anne – Landstown @ Cox – First Colonial @ Kempsville – Green Run @ Salem – Tallwood @ Kellam
Friday 10/1: Salem @ Bayside – Cox @ Princess Anne – Ocean Lakes @ First Colonial – Tallwood @ Green Run – Kempsville @ Kellam
Friday 10/8: Bayside @ Tallwood – Salem @ Cox – Ocean Lakes @ First Colonial – Green Run @ Kempsville – Princess Anne @ Landstown
Friday 10/15: Tallwood @ Cox – Kellam @ First Colonial – Ocean Lakes @ Green Run – Kempsville @ Bayside (10/16) – Landstown @ Salem (10/16)
Friday 10/22: Bayside @ Ocean Lakes – Cox @ Kempsville – First Colonial @ Green Run – Landstown @ Tallwood – Salem @ Princess Anne
Friday 10/29: Bayside @ First Colonial – Ocean Lakes @ Cox – Green Run @ Kellam – Kempsville @ Landstown – Princess Anne @ Tallwood
Friday 11/5: Kellam @ Bayside – Cox @ First Colonial – Princess Anne @ Kempsville – Landstown @ Ocean Lakes – Tallwood @ Salem
New Beach 7×7 Photo Gallery on Facebook
Kempsville DB Gavin Williams
Check out the recruit757 page on Facebook for new photos from the Beach 7×7! Tonight’s games featured matchups between Ocean Lakes, Bayside, Cox, Kempsville, Green Run, Oscar Smith and Warwick on three fields simultaneously. Where else will you see Oscar Smith take on the best teams at the Beach? Where else would you see Warwick travel to the southside and get a good game? 7×7 doesn’t feature grind-it-out running and blocking; but you can see some of the area’s best wideouts, quarterbacks and defensive backs in action without pads and up close.
Go to the recruit757 Facebook page, check out the latest photos and while you’re at it click the “like” button and you’ll get regular updates on the region’s best high school and college football from recruit757. See you at the field!
Clifton Richardson and David Dean Commit?
#10 Clifton Richardson (Photo: Diane Cebula)
UVA had another Junior Day this weekend and initial word out of Charlottesville is that they received a couple of commitments over the weekend. About 40 juniors from all around the state came for the festivities. The typical events are campus tours, a basketball game (in this case a loss to #22 ranked Maryland), and lots of camaraderie among the prospective recruits.
The biggest news coming out of the weekend is regarding Menchville athlete Clifton Richardson (6-1 195). According to sources, the Peninsula District burner with 4.4 speed has given a verbal committment to the Cavaliers. Richardson’s father, Clifton Sr., was quoted in the Daily Press as saying that his son had made a “soft committment” but that the younger Richardson hadn’t committed yet.
Richardson has the tools to become another Percy Harvin, so he would certainly add some needed punch to the Virginia offense. Richardson’s impact on his Menchville squad has been hard to measure since the Peninsula District is loaded with highly competitive teams. Menchville hasn’t been able to fight its way to the top of the district, but there’s no doubt that Menchville would be far worse off without him.
David Dean (6-1 270) of Green Run is a Defensive Tackle that Mike London has had his eyes on for some time now. Dean is a force on the D-Line for the Stallions and had claimed UVA as his leader weeks ago. Dean is also now rumored to be a Cavalier commit, which would give Virginia four commitments for the 2011 class.
All of this is unbinding, so you can expect that other teams could still make a run at both Richardson and Dean between now and National Signing Day eleven months(!) from now. It’s happened time and time again. Recruits make early commitments, change their minds, situations change… there are any number of things that could happen over the next eleven months. The commits are a feather in Mike London’s cap. He’s off to a good start. Just don’t count your chickens yet, Cavs fans. There are more offers and more recruiting battles to come.
Green Run DE Dean Leans to Cavs
David Dean (Photo: Virginian-Pilot)
David Dean is one of the rising stars of the Beach District. While defensive ends often lack the sex appeal of a blue chip wide receiver or quarterback, college programs need linemen too.
Dean (6-1 270) of Green Run High School is in a good position. Despite his team’s failure to make the playoffs in 2009, he got noticed in his junior year. Green Run High School sent four seniors from the 2010 class off to college scholarships, including RB Dejor Simmons to JMU, DB Zach Dunston to Marshall, DE Jagger Blehm to Old Dominion and DE Jamal Wallace to Duke. Wallace committed early to Duke, but the remaining three committed not long before National Signing Day. That’s good for the football program, and especially good for juniors like Dean.
Colleges come calling often when there’s college ready talent to be harvested. When college coaches are coming in for seniors, you can bet they’re taking an accounting of the juniors that will be “on the block” soon after signing day. Now it’s David Dean’s turn to be noticed.
Dean already has offers from Duke, Louisville, Virginia and West Virginia. All four schools have gotten players from the area and are recruiting regulars in these parts. Duke even nabbed Dean’s teammate Jamal Wallace last season. But Dean has Virginia on his mind.
Dean is the first DE that Virginia has offered for the 2011 class. It doesn’t hurt that Head Coach Mike London is new to the job at UVA and he’s fired up about recruiting The 757. That’s music to David Dean’s ears. The 2010 class for UVA was soft on linemen, so the Cavaliers will need help there in 2011. Morgan Moses was the only blue chip lineman in the 2010 class for Virginia, and he’s an O-Lineman that prepped a year at Fork Union.
Dean has four offers, but more may be on the way. Virginia Tech and North Carolina are also showing interest in Dean, so don’t count them out. It’s early, but it looks like David Dean will have plenty of choices for playing college ball.