During the week, Western Branch’s defense received plenty of attention following a third straight shutout.
But King’s Fork’s defense seized the spotlight with a 17-3 win over the No. 12 Bruins (4-1) on Friday at Western Branch. The No. 7 Bulldogs (3-0) held the Bruins to just 91 total yards.
“Everybody was against us,” senior defensive end Kyree Moyston said. “Everybody’s always against the Suffolk teams but, you know, we came out here and tried to ball and do our best.”
Moyston, a Virginia Tech commit, teamed with fellow edge rusher Tavias Higgs to constantly harass the Bruins’ backfield with 12 negative-yardage plays and many more hurries as quarterback Taquan Trotman completed only 7 of 25 passes for 58 yards.
“We get to it every day at practice,” Moyston said. “I’ve been working with Higgs since my freshman year and it’s love for him. It’s love for everybody on the D-line.”
The defensive aggression proved overwhelming, so much so that the Bulldogs actually ended with more penalty yards (130) than the Bruins had offensively.
“Our defense, they’re a close-knit group,” King’s Fork coach Anthony Joffrion said, having encouraged the Bulldogs to “just keep playing fast, keep playing aggressive. I can’t really yell at kids for getting personal fouls because at the end of the day, that’s gonna make the kids play slow.”
Speed was apparent on both sides of the ball as freshman running back JaVon Ford finished with 93 yards on 17 carries against the vaunted Western Branch defense.
“I’m gonna be honest: JaVon Ford is gonna be one of the best running backs to come through here,” Joffrion said. “He’s on pace to run for 1,000 yards. He’s special, man. More importantly he’s a great kid. To be a ninth grader, he’s very mature and he answers the call when we challenge him.”
Ford paved the way for the Bulldogs’ first scoring drive that QB Cameron Butler capped with a 3-yard run in the second quarter.
Jason Cole added a 1-yard score in the third quarter to make it 14-0 before the teams exchanged field goals.
Through three games, Joffrion is most proud of the camaraderie he’s witnessed among the team. It’s been the key to staying unbeaten.
“Last week we were up 42-0 at Great Bridge, and with 30 seconds left in the game, our backup center snapped the ball over the quarterback’s head (for a safety),” Joffrion said. “None of the kids blamed the kid for snapping the ball over his head. Nobody did. That’s when I knew we had a really good team because we’re not gonna point the finger. We’re gonna stay together no matter what.”
Ray Nimmo, 757-446-2364, ray.nimmo@pilotonline.com
