Published: November 10, 2009
By Jim Ridolphi .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Lee-Davis quarterback Phillip Gardner threw for six touchdowns and almost 300 yards as the Confederates flexed their offensive muscles with a 56-29 home victory over James River on Friday night.
The Confederates (5-4) wasted no time taking a 7-0 lead on their first snap when Emmit Atkins took a short pass from Gardner and bulled his way to the end zone 48 yards later.
“The guys held their blocks and that allowed me to get the extra yards tonight,” said Atkins who had two touchdowns for the evening. “The guys stayed with me down the field and made their initial hits and kept blocking for me.”
On their next possession, the Confederates struck pay-dirt again when Gardner hit Justin Becker for 34 yards and a second score.
Later Gardner found Clarence Stone on a six-yard pass to give the home standing C-Feds a 21-0 lead, still in the first period.
“I thought we played a great first and second quarter,” said Lee-Davis head coach Jason Meade. “We got off to a quick start and came out firing on all cylinders and I thought we did some good things on offense and defense.”
The C-Feds continued their offensive assault in the second quarter after Rapids quarterback Josh Wells scored from four yards out to trim the margin to 21-7.
Becker collected his second touchdown catch on a 44-yard strike from Gardner and the Confederates’ signature muddle huddle produced a successful two-point conversion.
Shortly before the half, Atkins got his second score on a two-yard run and the C-Feds took a comfortable 36-7 lead to the locker room.
However, as happy as he was with the first half onslaught, Meade was not as pleased with his team’s performance following the intermission.
James River took the second half kickoff, marched down the field and scored on an 18-yard scamper from running back Calvin Jefferson.
To add to Meade’s frustration, the Confederates’ first possession of the second half netted no yards and forced them to punt from their own end zone on fourth down.
After a blocked punt, the Rapids took over and Wells scored on a two-yard keeper to pull James River even closer, 36-21.
But Lee-Davis answered when Brandon Angus gathered in Gardner’s fifth touchdown pass from 22 yards out and reestablished their offensive momentum for the fourth quarter.
Gardner tossed another TD to Becker and Caleb Wyatt capped off the scoring with a 55-yard run.
Wells added another Rapids touchdown to make the final, 56-29.
“I thought answering those drives was important for us,” Meade said. “We’ve faced adversity before and we weren’t sure how to react, so I think tonight we did a better job of settling down and focusing.”
Though out of the playoff picture, Meade said his team set a mini-goal to win the final three games of the season. “We’re 2-0 with one left,” he said following the win. The second year coach knows it will take a good week of practice and some improved execution to match wits with next week’s foe, cross county rival Atlee.
“We’ve had some trouble in the red zone and they’re very good down there so we’ll work on that in practice and be able to fit and align and do the base things,” Meade said.
Meade also pointed out that the slow second half start is a problem that’s not unfamiliar to his team. “Once again, the beginning of the third quarter came up and bit us,” he said. “We’ve got to come out of the locker room and be ready to put the throttle down and finish a game.”
Meade knows it won’t be easy against a Raider team that is still in the playoff hunt, and needs the win to stay alive.
“We’ll try to bottle up all the enthusiasm and have a good week of practice,” Meade said. “Our goal is to finish the season 6-4 and we have to keep that goal in mind this week and not get too excited before Friday.”
James River————- 0 7 14 8 – 29
Lee-Davis—————21 15 7 13—56
LD—Atkins 48 pass from Gardner (Castelvecchi kick)
LD—Becker 34 pass from Gardner (pass failed)
LD—Stone 7 pass from Gardner (Angus run)
JR—Wells 4 run (kick good)
LD—Becker 44 pass from Gardner (Reynolds pass from Angus)
LD—Atkins 2 run (Castelvecchi kick)
JR—Jefferson 18 run (kick good)
JR—Wells 2 run (kick good)
LD—Angus 22 pass from Gardner (Castelvecchi kick)
LD—Becker 26 pass from Gardner (kick failed)
JR—Wells 2 run (Jefferson pass from Wells)
LD—Wyatt 53 run (Castelvecchi kick)
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