By Greg Taylor
Contributing Writer

On an unseasonably cold night in Farmville, Powhatan jumped out to a big 42-0 halftime lead before cruising to a comfortable 57-7 win over the Prince Edward Eagles.  The Indians were strong in all phases of the game but defensively and on special teams was where they really did excel.

Statistically speaking, this was not your usual Powhatan game except for the score.  Prince Edward held Powhatan to its lowest total rushing this season (236 yards) even though the Eagles defense is not solid against the run.  However, it is hard to rack up the yards when Powhatan’s average start to their drives is the Eagles’ 41 yard line.

Another impressive stat on the night belonged to Landen Bradley went over the 1,000 yard mark on the game’s first play from scrimmage with a 21 yard run.  Bradley finished with seven carries for 109 yards bringing his season total to 1,091 yards.  He also had the game’s first touchdown on a 1 yard run in the first quarter.
Following Bradley’s touchdown, the defense began to flex its muscle.  The Eagles’ Terez Morton was stripped while trying for some extra yardage and the fumble was recovered by Christian Higuchi giving the ball back to Powhatan at the Eagles 33 yard line.  On the first play, Bradley ran to the two inch line setting up Shawn Minor (3 carries for -11 yards) who scored on the next play.

Though Minor did not have a good night rushing the ball, his arm had the golden touch.  He completed 75% of his passes going 3-4 for 122 yards and two touchdowns.  The first came at the end of the first quarter when he threw a quick pass to Josh Ingram out in the right flat.  Ingram made one move losing his defender and he was gone for a 53 yard touchdown putting the Indians up 21-0.

Now the offense was rolling, scoring at ease.  But in the second quarter, they only had one offensive play even though Powhatan scored 21 points in the quarter. All three phases of the football team starting with the defense when Dustin Kingery hit Eagles running back Alonzo Hurt so hard the ball popped loose allowing Kurt Taylor to recover it and return it for a 26 yard touchdown giving Powhatan a 28-0 lead.

Later in the same quarter, Minor hit Ellis Moore in stride for a 39 yard touchdown strike.  Minor then added an electrifying 51 yard punt return for a touchdown to make it a 42-0 lead heading into halftime. 
The second half saw the second and third teams get into the game and they continued with the same intensity as the starters. Jason Dickerson sacked QB Jeremy Walker in the end zone for a safety. While Kurt Taylor and Alex Higuchi both had rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter, the latter being set up by Ray Brown recovering a bobbled kickoff at the Eagles 10 yard line.

Overall, the defense had a solid night holding the Eagles to 158 total yards of offense, recording five sacks, three fumble recoveries and a safety but not an interception which ends the season long streak of recording an interception in each game.  Josh Morris led all tacklers with seven while Christian Higuchi had six.

With the win, Powhatan (9-0, 6-0) is guaranteed to win the Southside District even with a loss to Park View for the seventh straight season.

This Friday, Powhatan makes another road trip to Mecklenburg County to take on those Dragons from Park View.  Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. in South Hill.