Matoaca is too much for Massaponax

For a while Friday night, it appeared visiting Matoaca might not need an offensive touchdown to beat Massaponax. Then the Warriors got their attack on track and removed all doubt.

Thanks to returns of a fumble, interception and kickoff, Matoaca had a 21-13 lead before recording its first first down of the night. They Warriors finally got an offensive touchdown before halftime, then smoothed out their issues and rolled to a 47-19 non-district victory.

"Our guys made some key plays defensively in the first half to keep us in the game," Matoaca coach Fred Stoots said, "and in the second half, we made some adjustments and did a much better job."

The Panthers (1-3) managed to keep things close in the first two quarters by dominating the offensive numbers. They outgained the Warriors (3-0) 232 yards to 111 and stayed close thanks to a scoring run and pass from quarterback Ian Shook, plus Josiah Perry's 78-yard touchdown dash, all in the second quarter.

Shook capped a 15-play drive with a 3-yard keeper and connected with Malik Turner-Gutierrez on a 52-yard pass against a defense stacked to stop the run.

But Perry missed most of the second half with an injury, and Matoaca's star power finally emerged.

Bryce Yates, who has committed to play receiver at Pittsburgh but is starting at quarterback for the Warriors, dashed 46 yards for a third-quarter score in between connecting with Virginia-bound Dillon Newton-Short for two touchdown passes.

Matoaca also got big games from South Carolina-bound lineman Caleb Williams and Montino Williams, another Virginia commitment who returned an interception for a TD.

"I don't know if (Yates) is happy about playing quarterback," Stoots said, "but he wants to win."

All that was too much for Massaponax, which hosts Spotsylvania in its non-district finale next Friday. First-year head coach Shane Ludden took the blame for his team's first-half giveaways.

"It was just a culmination of small mistakes — penalties, turnovers," he said. "They're a talented team, and if we're not perfect, it can get away from you quick."

Matoaca 7 20 13 7 —47 Massaponax 019 0 0 —19

First quarter

Mat—Caljuan Tucker 10 fumble return (Dalton Adams kick).

Second quarter

Mass—Ian Shook 3 run (Preston Hall kick).

Mat—Montino Williams 25 interception return (Adams kick).

Mass—Josiah Perry 78 run (kick failed).

Mat—Colin Ranson 95 kickoff return (Adams kick).

Mass—Malik Turner-Gutierrez 52 pass from Shook (run failed.

Mat—Dillon Newton Short 9 pass from Bryce Yates (kick blocked).

Third quarter

Mat—Yates 46 run (kick blocked).

Mat—Trevion Mills 9 run (Adams kick).

Fourth quarter

Mat—Short 4 pass from Yates (Adams kick).

MatMasFirst downs15 12 Rushes-yards 26-99 50-218 Passing yards160 79Comp-Att-Int14-21-0 5-15-1 Punts-avg5-42 2-38.5 Fumbles-lost 1/03/3 Penalties-yards16-110 9-75

Rushing: Matoaca—Bryce Yates 3-65, 1 TD; Trevion Mills 11-22, 1 TD; Montino Willians 2-9; Jaelen Penson 3-8; Team 7-(-5). Massaponax—Josiah Perry 11-112, 1 TD; Ian Shook 12-39, 1 TD; Gabe Newby-Morris 5-33; Joe Sanders 15-32; Brian Henderson 3-1; Malik Turner-Gutierrez 4-1.

Passing: Matoaca—Yates 14-21-0, 160 yards, 2 TDs. Massaponax—Shook 5-15-1, 79 yards, 1 TD.

Receiving: Matoaca—Dillon Newton Short 9-106, 2 TDs; Colin Ranson 2-26; Williams 2-21; Seth Harrison 1-7. Massaponax—Turner-Gutierrez 2-66, 1 TD; Connor Sheets 1-7; Perry 1-3; Nasir Burke 1-3.

Steve DeShazo: 540/374-5443