Sussex Central football team running on tot he field. Photo by Ben Fulton
Georgetown – Sussex Central went to their “old fashion” Wing-T offense Friday night according to head coach John Wells grinding out 241 rushing yards as the Golden Knights ran the ball 45 times out 51 total plays in the game.
“Our offense played well tonight, we were able to run the ball and keep Dover’s offense off the field. That was important because they have some really good athletes that can hit you with big plays at any time,” Wells said.
P.J. Henry scored twice for Sussex Central on runs of 1 yard and 2 yards respectively and rushed for 83 yards on 15 carries as the #4 ranked Golden Knights upset #3 ranked Dover 21-0. It was the second shutout of the season for Sussex Central.
Wells’ strategy of keeping the ball out of the hands of the Dover offense was implemented on the opening drive of the game when they reached the Senators 18 yard line. Ibrahim Leyva-Fojaca’s field goal attempt was wide left, but the Golden Knights used up 7:30 of clock on the drive.
On Dover’s third play of the game William Harmon intercepted Nahseem Cosme’s pass at the Dover 33 yard line and returned it to the 17 yard line. Four plays later Henry scored on a one yard touchdown run. Fojaco’s kick was good and Sussex Central led 7-0 and possessed the ball for nine minutes of the first quarter.
After forcing Dover to punt Sussex Central was threatening again driving to the Senators 24 yard line, but the drive ended when Tyron Abrams intercepted T.J. Morris’ past at the three yard line.
Dover moved the ball out to the Sussex Central 37 yard line and faced a third and seven, but Sussex Central ended the drive when Andrew Long sacked Cosme for a 22 yard loss as time was running out in the first half.
“Our staff prepared some great schemes tonight and our defense executed them,” Wells said.
Sussex Central took a 7-0 lead into halftime and held Dover’s explosive offense to just 51 total yards in the first half.
Sussex Central started the second half with more solid defense forcing Dover to punt after a three and out to start the third quarter, but the Senators got the ball right back when Morris fumbled the snap and Jordan Ghyll recovered the ball at the Sussex Central 39 yard line.
The Senators went three and out again on their next series. Henry then capped off a 8 play 67 yard drive with a one yard touchdown run giving the Golden Knights a 14-0 lead with 3:12 left to play in the game.
Kris Shields added a fourth quarter touchdown on a one yard run to give Sussex Central a 21-0 lead.
Wells said he was happy with the win, but his team has a lot to improve on down the stretch of the season.
“Look I’m happy it was a good win, but we have to be somewhat humble here. We extended a drive on a penalty where we eventually scored and then they had some pre-snap penalties to stop a drive of their own in a one score game,” Wells said.
Dover’s Jakwon Kilby rushed 98 yards on 16 carries, Kilby was averaging over 100 yards per game.
“They have some great backs and Kilby is one of them, we did a good job of keeping them from ripping off big gains,” Wells said.
Dover ends a five game win streak and falls to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in Class AAA District 2. Dover will host #2 ranked Smyrna next Saturday with a noon kickoff.
Sussex Central improves to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in District 2. The Golden Knights will travel east next Friday night to take on 5-2 Cape Henlopen with kickoff at 7:00. That game can be seen on Delaware Live Sports livestream.
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