High school football is officially back. However its not officially Friday Night Lights yet so Thursday Night Lights will have to do for now.
A light schedule of games kicked off the 2023 season Thursday night highlighted by a Beach District showdown between Kempsville hosting Green Run, the defending region champs.
In the first quarter, Kempsville's Sawyer Whitmore pass to Ryley McIntosh gave them an early 7-0 lead. But soon after a connection between the Stallions K'Saan Farrar and Quali Price was the equalizer for a 7-7 score. At halftime the Stallions led 27-7 and early in the fourth Virginia Tech commit Keylen Adams extended their lead 34-14.
It quickly turned into a scary scene when gunshots were heard nearby but not on campus. The game was stopped with 5:57 left and the final score remained with the Stallions taking it 34-14. It was Green Run's 28th straight Beach District victory.
With all the talk of Green Run being a favorite in the district, don't forget about the Salem Sundevils. They're coming off an 8-4 season having made the playoffs for the 13th straight year and hosted Bayside on opening night.
They dialed up some offense in the second quarter. Salem trailed 14-7 when Jason "Scooter" Williams connected with wide out Justin Hastings which set up a major play. With time running out in the half, Williams then heaves up a pass and Fabian Wells finds it to tie it up 14-14.
In the second half, Bayside jumped in front in the third for good and wound up holding off the Sundevils 27-21.
Another pair of Beach District schools who fought hard all night were First Colonial who hosted Kellam.
Coach Lemort Smith won in his debut as the Patriots survived when Kellam’s last-second field-goal attempt missed from 42 yards out.
First Colonial snapped an 11-game losing streak against Kellam that dated back to 2012. The Patriots’ last win in the series was 23-10 in 2011.
There were also a pair of first year coaches going head to head Thursday night, Phillip Sims of Princess Anne taking on Tyler Noe and his alma mater, the Cox Falcons.
The Falcons had no issues to start. Josh Walton would be responsible for the first touchdown of the game to give Cox a 7-0 lead. He'd tack on another in the second quarter helping the Falcons roll to their first win of the season by a final of 41-14.
Additionally, Ocean Lakes Football battled to an overtime triumph against Landstown 13-12.
In a Peninsula vs Southeastern District matchup Western Branch got off to a strong start against Menchville and never relented. Ky’Nique Baines made an immediate impact on the game, traveling 44 yards for a touchdown on his first carry to put the Bruins on the board. He'd later add a 92 yard carry to push the Bruins lead to 21-0 in the second quarter.
The Monarchs would find some rhythm later in the second with quarterback Amir Harrison's three yard tumble up the middle to get them on the board 21-6 Bruins. The Monarchs would later get the ball back and try for more before the half was up but Western Branch's Adin Watters picks it off sending the Bruins into the locker room with a 21-6 advantage and they’d go on to win it 21-12.
Lafayette also beat Spotsylvania tonight 43-6.