Essex’s Zay Bundy (1) and Jodece Cox combine to bring down Northumberland’s Cincere Gibson in the Indians’ backfield following a pass reception.
Essex rode a relentless rushing attack and a stout first half defensive performance to a 40-14 Region 1A football semifinal victory over Northumberland Friday night in Tappahannock.
The result propels the unbeaten Trojans (12-0) to the Region 1A final where they will host Rappahannock Saturday afternoon. Rappahannock defeated Northampton 55-18 in the other semifinal.
In posting their 21st consecutive victory, the Trojans dominated time of possession getting off 57 offensive snaps that drained 34:43 off the clock.
Essex set the tone for the evening on their first possession. The 13-play, 63-yard scoring drive ate 8:04 off the clock and was culminated by Zay Bundy’s 12-yard TD run. Essex converted two third downs and one fourth down during the series with Jaden Holmes tacking on the 2-pointer for an 8-0 lead for the Trojans.
“Our kids did a good job of being patient and pounding the rock,” Essex coach Todd Jones remarked afterward. “Our kids stuck with it and man that was a good drive.
The Trojans’ Demetrius “Toot” Stewart locates an opening in the Northumberland defense. Stewart rushed for 87 yards, a touchdowns and four two-point-conversions in Essex’s 40-14 playoff win.
The Trojans scored on their next two possessions while constructing a 24-0 lead at intermission.
Meanwhile, the Essex defense bottled up Northumberland’s offense during the first 24 minutes, limiting the Indians to a single first down and 28 yards total offense.
“It all starts with practice,” said Bundy about the Trojans’ defensive effort in the opening half. “We just put trust in coach to put us in position to make plays and we delivered.”
The home team’s second scoring series was a 7-play, 41-yard drive after Northumberland failed on a fourth down during its initial possession.
Demetrius “Toot” Stewart capped the drive with a 4-yard scoring run. He added the 2-point-conversion to make it a 16-0 game with 9:25 to go before halftime.
After forcing another Northumberland turnover on downs, the Trojans covered 42 yards on 9 plays with Bundy doing the scoring honors from 8 yards out. Stewart’s subsequent 2-pointer gave the Trojans a 3-touchdown (24-0) cushion at the break.
After receiving the second half kickoff, Northumberland put together its most promising drive to that point but the series ended on a Tyreek Lundy fumble at the Essex 18.
The Trojans responded with a 12-play, 82-yard scoring march with Bundy accounting for 49 yards.
On 3rd-and-7 at the NHS 14, Holmes made a diving end zone catch of an under thrown toss by Bundy. Stewart’s third 2-pointer of the night essentially sealed the win for the Trojans at 32-0.
Northumberland (8-4) got on the scoreboard when Lundy connected with Lyndon Williams on a 62-yard pass play on the final play of the third quarter.
Following an Essex punt, the Indians used big plays in their passing game to cover 90 yards for their second score which occurred on a 3-yard Lundy toss to Jemaris Barber to cut the difference to 32-14.
Essex countered with a 7-play, 50-yard scoring march after recovering an onside kick. Holmes scored on a 34-yard run with Stewart’s 2-pointer accounting for the final score.
The Trojans finished with 292 yards rushing. Bundy led the ground assault with 125 yards on 18 carries. Holmes posted 91 yards on 16 rushes, while Stewart gained 87 yards on 19 attempts.
“We prepared for this all week in practice,” two-way lineman Taivian Holmes said. “They came down here a few weeks ago and put 42 (points) up on us and tonight we came into the game with a different mind-set. We were determined to dominate up front and let our backs do what they needed to do to succeed.”
Lundy finished 13-of-17 for 179 yards via the airwaves. He rushed for 72 yards, including 42 on the game’s final play against Essex reserves.
Lundy concluded his four-year career with 6,248 yards passing and 78 touchdowns as well as 2,563 yards rushing and 37 touchdowns.
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