There is an array of weapons lining up on the boundary for Blue Ridge football and it doesn’t just look that way from an outsider’s perspective.
“It’s really nice because all over the board, you can go Iceysis (Lewis), Maliq (Brown), Lance (Gaskins), Keegan (Kozack),” said Blue Ridge quarterback Kenyon Carter. “You know you can count on them.”
Carter connected with that group for four touchdowns Saturday in a sweltering clash with fellow unbeaten Christchurch and the Barons rolled 42-0 past the Seahorses, moving to 4-0 on the year while setting up a de facto VIC championship game with North Cross next week.
With all those weapons cooking on offense, it made a suffocating defensive performance hold up. The Barons attacked from all over the front seven to hold Christchurch to just 41 total yards of offense, with eight total tackles for losses including four by Andy Nwaoko as part of an 11-tackle night. Cameron Kewley and Tanner Rocha each forced fumbles with Kewley also making nine total stops. Tramell Thompson chipped in four tackles as part of the lockdown defensive effort.
“Christchurch is a good football team, we’ve got a lot of respect for those guys,” said Blue Ridge coach Jimmy Wills. “The challenge this week was for us to take care of our own business and clean up our mistakes. Our boys were really focused and ready to play..”
Carter threw two touchdowns to Maliq Brown, one to Lance Gaskins and another to Iceysis Lewis. Carter also picked up a rushing touchdown to cap the scoring in the third quarter. He’s settled in nicely as the Barons’ signal caller, going 8-for-20 for 164 yards and the three scoring tosses.
“The coaching staff, they tell me everything I need to know and they give me the tools to be able to do my job,” Carter said.
Gaskins caught a 65-yard pass for a touchdown. He finished with 73 yards receiving on the day while Brown had 68 and Lewis had 50.
Lewis had an impact all over the field as usual, including a second half punt return where he started cramping up seemingly immediately after receiving the punt. He still managed to rumble deep into Christchurch territory before sprawling out of bounds.
“I think those are the worst cramps I’ve seen in my life,” Lewis said.
Blue Ridge scored shortly thereafter on Carter’s rushing touchdown. Lewis has proven an apt setup man in addition to making big plays of his own, and along with Keegan Kozack, he’s helping the Barons fill a lot of key roles.
“(Lewis) and Keegan, we call them our Swiss Army knives, both guys can do just about anything,” Wills said. “They’re senior leaders and a big part of what we do. We’ve got a lot of interchangeable parts whis is good.”
With a lot of key returners back, this is perhaps the fastest that the Barons have melded and come together as a team in a while even with their short preseason. That’s been an intentional process, one born of a mix of pretty unselfish players.
“We’re always together, we’re just making a family,” Lewis said. “We’re creating that bond and that’s what is causing the great chemistry in the game. We’re not worried about favoritism, we’re not worried about who’s getting the ball. We’re just worried about scoring and putting the points on the board and making a statement.”
Keenan Brock had a rushing touchdown from 14 yards out in the first quarter and had 51 yards on just 10 touches in the rout.
The Barons will look to stay unbeaten when they play North Cross Friday at 4 p.m.
