Championship Notebook: Rams’ running game effective in win
Rebecca J. Ducker/Morning News
Carvers Bay’s Clayton Geathers (26) head to the ground after getting hit by two Chesterfield defenders as Carvers Bay faced Chesterfield in the Division 1 Class A State Championship football game at Oliver C. Dawson Bulldog Stadium in Orangeburg, on Friday.
ORANGEBURG — Contrary to what was expected, the Chesterfield Rams did most of their damage against Carvers Bay via the running game.
The team known for its spread offense, rare in Class A, ran for 196 yards — 34 more than it threw for en route to its second consecutive Division I state title.
“The offensive line did a great job of opening up the holes,” Rams running back Derrick McQueen said. “We’re kind of small in size, so a lot of the bigger teams don’t think we can run against them.
“But we have a lot of speed, and we’re used to running against teams like that.”
The Rams have seven running plays of 10 yards or more, including a 50-yard run by McQueen.
“They came out and hit a few holes and made plays,” Carvers Bay defensive lineman Kwame Geathers said. “They were the better team today.”
After a couple of big running plays in the first half, the Bears defense did shore up in the second half, holding the Rams to 66 rushing yards.
“The big thing was we wanted to eliminate some of their big plays,” Carvers Bay coach Nate Thompson said. “I think we did that in the second half.
“A lot of people thought the passing game was going to kill us, but I thought we hung in there pretty well against it.”
That’s one way
The Bears didn’t have too much success slowing down the Chesterfield offense, but they did manage to find one unique way.
Carvers Bay’s Johnny Washington sacked Rams quarterback Akeem Johnson during a drive midway through the second quarter. Washington did so by grabbing onto his jersey around the back of the neck and pulling him down.
The result of the play was more than just a sack. Johnson ripped his jersey and had to come over on the sideline and change uniforms.
Sophomore Seth Truesdale took over for three plays, and the Rams had to punt.
One is the loneliest number
The Carvers Bay offense was stifled for the entire first half.
The Bears gained just 46 yards and had one first down, courtesy of quarterback Carlton Linnen’s 4-yard sneak as time was winding down in the first quarter.
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