Caravel football Isaac Chukwurah sacks Laurel quarterback Koby Shockley. Photo by Ben Fulton
The Caravel Buccaneers’ defense “stuffed” the Laurel triple-option run game by limiting the Bulldogs to 26 yards and a total of just 51 yards of offense in a 26-0 win Friday night. In three games this season, Caravel has out scored the opposition 91-6 and strengthened its unanimous hold as the top team in class 2A.
Sophomore quarterback was named our “player-of-the-game” passing for 163 yards and 3 touchdowns to three different receivers. In the post-game interview Rice said his team will always be a run-first offense. “Our game plan was to run the ball, but if they stopped us, we had to air it out. They manned-up so I trusted my guys to take advantage.”
Caravel football quarterback Matt Rice had three touchdown passes in their win over Laurel. Photo by Ben Fulton
The Bucs still gained 231 rushing yards on 37 carries led by Josh Roy. He totaled 168 yards on 22 attempts and scored once. Roy is averaging over 250 yards per game as his team improved to 3-0. On the other side of the ball, the defensive line and linebackers dominated the line of scrimmage, forcing Laurel to pass more than normal. Bulldog quarterback Koby Shockley completed five of his 10 pass attempts for 25 yards. He was constantly pressured and was sacked four times on the night.
The Laurel defense played well early, getting stops on the first two Caravel possessions. The Bucs put points on the board on their third drive as Rice used “play-action” to connect with Tison Witcher for 30 yards and a 6 point lead. The next Buccaneer possession resulted in a 12-yard TD run by Roy just five seconds into the second quarter. Both extra point attempts were blocked and there was no further scoring in the half.
Caravel added two third quarter touchdowns as Rice again went to play-action, finding tight ends I-J Yates and James Steel for scores. Yates had five receptions for 114 yards, including his 45-yard touchdown.
The Buccaneers next game is Saturday the 28th at Archmere. The Bucs and Auks played in last year’s championship game. Laurel is off until a meeting with Woodbridge on October 10. Ironically, the Blue Raiders are the last team to shut out Laurel back in 2021.
