Friday football: Lake Taylor 28, Churchland 13

NORFOLK

Lake Taylor coach Hank Sawyer looked relieved as he made his way through the post-game handshake line.

He even let some of the Churchland coaches know his feelings as he told them, “You got the old man sweating.’”

Churchland did make it a game but in the end, the ninth-ranked Truckers came up short on Friday night at No. 3 Lake Taylor. The Titans won 28-13, their 22nd consecutive Eastern District victory.

“We knew it was going to be a big game,” Sawyer said. “They had just come off big wins against Booker T. and Granby. And they wanted to come in and knock us off.”

The Titans (5-1, 3-0) did it with a stifling defense that included nine sacks, six hurries and two interceptions. They also held Churchland to just 127 total yards.

“We’re pretty fast on defense and defense has been my trademark since I’ve been here,” said Sawyer, who has won or shared six of the past nine district titles. “Our whole job was to keep pressure on the quarterbacks. We don’t know if you’re going to run it or throw it but we’re going to make you do it in a hurry, that’s our philosophy.”

Lake Taylor defensive back Mario Rowson got things rolling when he intercepted Churchland quarterback Craig Brooks on the first play from scrimmage.

The Titans moved the ball 60 yards on 11 plays, capped by running back Derrion Walton’s 1-yard touchdown to help give Lake Taylor the 7-0 lead.

Walton, the second-leading rusher in South Hampton Roads this season, added another touchdown in the second quarter when he scored from 8 yards out with 3:23 left.

Churchland (3-3, 2-1) got it going offensively when the Truckers other quarterback, Wilonte Roscoe, threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Marvell Edmondson to cut the deficit to 14-6 with 2:32 remaining.

The Truckers added one more score just before the half when Brooks avoided a sack and threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Cedric Cradle with 46 seconds left to make it 14-13 at the half.

The momentum was definitely swinging the Truckers way and they knew it.

“They did some things that I hadn’t seen before and we had to get the kids settled down,” Sawyer said. “Once we got settled down and made adjustments at halftime, we were OK.”

Lake Taylor’s defense answered the call as the Titans held Churchland to negative 10 yards of offense in the second half.

Offensively, Walton added a 2-yard touchdown run and quarterback Kevin Swofford scored on a 23-yard touchdown run to seal the victory.

“It’s a big victory because it’s a district win,” said Walton, who rushed for 112 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries. “We’re just trying to handle our business.”

Key stats: C—Robins 5-11; Cradle 4-45, TD receiving; LT—Swofford 6-76, TD rushing.

Larry Rubama, 757-446-2273, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com