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[Jeff Cunningham]

Commodores crush Presidents

By JEFF CUNNINGHAM | jcunningham@hrvarsity.com

NORFOLK -- On paper, Friday night's matchup of defending Eastern District champion Maury and winless Wilson was a romp.

The same was true on the turf at Powhatan Field, as the Commodores cruised to a 39-6 win over the visiting Presidents.

Maury (2-2, 1-0 district) used a run-heavy attack on Wilson, running 35 times for 205 yards.

Commodores quarterback Lorenzo Branche threw just eight times, completing three passes for 47 yards.

"We scouted (Wilson) and saw what we could do offensively from there," Maury coach Dealton Cotton said. "We always try to look for what the defense will allow us to do, and then we exploit that to the best of our ability.

"We should be able to run whatever play we want."

Maury exploited it best in the first quarter, thanks to three drives ending in touchdowns. Charles Humphrey started with a 14-yard run at the 9:46 mark, Carnell Cooke added a 1-yard dive and Branche took in a 4-yard keeper.

Maury also scored when Wilson (0-4, 0-1) lost a snap out of the end zone on a punt.

"Our guys just had to realize the caliber of team they were playing tonight," said Wilson coach Carlton Thomas, who's still looking for his first win at the school in his second year. "Maury just came right at us, played smash-mouth football -- they didn't come out in no spread sets, no five-receiver sets ... just lined it up and took it at us."

Though Maury started all but two of its offensive drives in Presidents territory, there was a span in the second and third quarters where the Commodores couldn't find the end zone. The offense went in looking for six, but only managed to come out with three -- a trio of Tony Tcheati field goals from 29, 23 and 32 yards.

Humphrey added a 19-yard score at the end of the third quarter for his second score of the night. The Maury running back finished with 105 yards on 16 carries.

"The good thing is we came away with three (points) three times, which shows we have someone who can kick the ball," Cotton said. "I use that as a positive. Of course, we never try to come away with three ... you want to come away with six whenever you can."

What worried Cotton more were the 16 penalties for 140 yards. Several long runs were called back by holding calls, and more than once the Commodores defense encroached on Wilson's offense.

"If you want to be a playoff-caliber team," Cotton said, "you have to eliminate the penalties."

Most of the fourth quarter ran on a running clock, but Wilson scored when Armonte Hart -- who opened the game with eight straight incompletions -- found Jonathan Lewis for a 45-yard strike with 3:09 remaining.

The score gives Wilson 33 points for the season. The Presidents scored 23 in all of 2006.

"When you're losing like we are, you try to hold on to whatever you've got left," Thomas said. "I try to use that fact to keep the boys confident, but nothing beats that first win."


MAURY 39, WILSON 6 at Powhatan Field
Wilson 23 3 13 0 – 39
Maury 0 0 0 6 – 6
Mau -- Humphrey 14 run (Tcheati kick)
Mau -- safety (Wilson lost snap out of end zone)
Mau -- Cooke 1 run (Tcheati kick)
Mau -- L. Branche 4 run (Tcheati kick)
Mau -- FG Tcheati 29
Mau -- FG Tcheati 23
Mau -- FG Tcheati 32
Mau -- Humphrey 19 run (Tcheati kick)
Wil -- Lewis 45 pass from Hart (run failed)

Wil Mau
First downs 7 13
Rushes-yards 20-33 36-205
Passing yards 112 47
Comp-Att-Int 6-22-0 3-8-0
Penalties-yards 11-67 16-140
Fumbles-lost 6-1 0-0
Punts-avg. 3-14.3 2-17