Caroline rallies late in wild win over Culpeper
Right place. Right time.
That's where Caroline senior tight end Ty'Eir Williams was late in the fourth quarter on Friday night as the Cavaliers traveled to play Culpeper in Battlefield District action.
Caroline running back Vlad Joacin Jr., who had scored two touchdowns earlier on, looked like he was about to get his third of the night to put his team ahead, but suddenly, the ball was poked out.
Luckily, just as both teams were searching for the ball, it popped right to Williams, who caught and recovered it in the end zone for a game-winning touchdown in an eventual 26-21 Cavaliers win.
"I just tried my best to calm them down and keep them focused," Caroline head coach Terry Alexander Jr. said. "We had a few key players go down due to cramps, so we had to find a way and that's what they did."
It capped off a wild night of football in less-than-stellar field conditions, one that saw seven total fumbles, plenty of slipping and sliding, but in the end, an exciting bunch from Caroline (4-1, 2-1 Battlefield).
Despite a sloppy field, the Cavaliers dominated the ground game, running for more than 200 yards and three touchdowns.
Joacin Jr. led the pack with nearly 160 yards on the ground, averaging more than six yards per carry in the win.
"We got our stuff together in practice this week," Joacin Jr. said. "We just decided that we have to stick together as a team. We're trying to build a bond together. ... We were banged up all week. We iced up and came back hard."
That Caroline breakthrough came with less than 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter, but leading up to that point, the story of the night was Culpeper's defense, forcing numerous turnovers on downs in the second half.
Despite getting deep into Blue Devils (2-3, 0-3 Battlefield) territory, the Cavaliers just couldn't get it done until the end. At the same time, however, Culpeper, who took a 21-13 lead into halftime, didn't score a point in the second half.
"I think we got tired," Culpeper head coach Eric Sherry said. "You can't keep shooting yourself in the foot. We need to work harder at finishing things, execution on offense. ... Couldn't be prouder of the effort on defense. Those kids battled like crazy in some crazy positions tonight, but we came up a little bit short tonight."
It looked like Culpeper was going to finally get that elusive first win of the season under their belts, but going into next week, the Blue Devils remain winless in district play.
On the opposite side of the field, Caroline was able to avenge its first loss of the season and first district loss against Eastern View last week, moving back over the .500 mark in district play.
A bounce-back win is exactly what the Cavaliers drew up as they look to make some serious headlines in what's been a competitive Battlefield District this season.
"We feel great as a team," Joacin Jr. said. "We feel great as a program. We're trying to change history this year for Caroline and that's what we're going to do."
Caroline6767—26
Culpeper71400—21First quarter
Cu — Jeremiah Johnson 2 run (Saul Acevedo kick)
Ca — Vlad Joacin Jr. 13 run (kick failed)
Second quarter
Cu — Caleb Green 36 run (Acevedo kick)
Cu — Gavin Alvarado 27 interception return (Acevedo kick)
Ca — Tre Coles 7 run (two-point failed)
Third quarter
Ca — Joacin Jr. 3 run (Cody Swanton kick)
Ca — Ty'Eir Williams fumble recovery in end zone (Swanton kick)
TEAM STATISTICS
Ca Cu
First downs 17 14
Rushes-yards 40-212 32-138
Passing yards 34 70
Comp-Att-Int 3-10-2 8-17-2
Punts-Avg. 1-29.0 3-24.0
Fumbles-lost 2-1 5-1
Penalties-yards 7-40 6-35
Rushing: Caroline—Vlad Joacin Jr. 25-158, 2 TDs; Tre Coles 7-38, 1 TD; Malik Johnson 5-16; Peyton Fletcher 2-(-2); Trason Fletcher 1-2. Colonial Forge —Je'Quarius Williams 8-30; Jeremiah Johnson 7-(-6), 1 TD; Garrett Damewood 6-25; Riley Vinyard 5-23; Caleb Green 4-46, 1 TD; Caleb Jenkins 2-20.
Passing: Caroline—Peyton Fletcher 3-10-2, 34 yards. Colonial Forge—Jeremiah Johnson 8-16-2, 70 yards; Dalton Butler 0-1-1, 0 yards.
Receiving: Caroline—Vlad Joacin Jr. 2-38; Javoun Morris 1-(-4). Culpeper—Caleb Green 5-10; Gavin Alvarado 1-14; Dalton Butler 1-4; Colton Green 1-2.
Alex Murphy:
Sports reporter
