Camden Simmons threw a touchdown pass and returned a kickoff for a score, and the Riverbend High School football team handed Stafford its first loss of the season in a 35-14 upset Friday night.
Simmons returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a TD to give the host Bears a quick 7-0 lead. He connected with Mekhi Davis for a 42-yard scoring pass later in the first quarter, extending Riverbend’s advantage to 14-0.
JoJo Thomas scored two of his three rushing TDs in the second period to push the Bears’ lead to 28-0.
Thomas finished with a game-high 160 yards on 21 carries.
Zion Gray and Michael Creamer each ran for a score for the Indians, who turned the ball over three times.
Friday’s result forced a three-way tie for first place in the Commonwealth District standings. Riverbend (5-3, 3-1), Stafford (7-1, 3-1) and North Stafford (6-2, 3-1) are deadlocked at the top of the standings with just two weeks left in the regular season.
The Bears will visit Brooke Point next Friday, while Stafford travels to Massaponax.
Colonial Forge 21, Brooke Point 12
Jaylen Carter’s 99-yard fumble return for a TD with less than 20 seconds left to play preserved the Eagles’ Commonwealth District win over the visiting Black-Hawks.
Forge quarterback Brock Brimhall went 10-of-21 passing for 188 yards with a pair of scores and an interception. TaySean Jones was on the receiving end of both of Brimhall’s TD passes, finishing the contest with five receptions for 118 yards.
The Eagles (7-2, 3-2) are on a bye next Friday before closing the regular season at North Stafford on Nov. 8. Brooke Point (4-5, 1-4) will host Riverbend next Friday.
Colonial Heights 22, Caroline 21
The Cavaliers rallied from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit but had a 19-yard field goal blocked as time expired in a 22-21 non-district home loss to Colonial Heights Friday night.
Caroline (5-3) drove to the Colonials’ 2-yard line behind the running and passing of backup QB Malik Johnson and two Colonial Heights penalties.
The snap and hold looked good on Cody Swanton’s potential game-winning kick, but the Colonials (3-5) broke through the right side of the line of scrimmage and batted down the attempt.
The Cavaliers fell behind 22-7 on Za’Marion Mason’s 1-yard TD run with 6:59 to go in the third period. Caroline had dabbled with the dual-threat Johnson at QB in place of Peyton Fletcher, but went with him full-time down the stretch, and it nearly paid off.
Johnson amassed 103 rushing yards and passed for 51 yards, including a 16-yard scoring pass to Javoun Morris to make the score 22-19 with 5:07 remaining. He added the 2-point conversion run to provide the final margin.
The Cavaliers forced a turnover on downs with 2:06 to go, setting the stage for a 63-yard drive that ended with the blocked kick.
Defensively, Caroline held Colonial Heights to less than 200 yards of total offense and freshman defensive back Blair Morris recorded an INT.
At halftime, the Cavaliers held a ceremony to name their stadium in honor of late coach, athletic director and school board member George Spaulding, who died last year.
Caroline returns to Battlefield District action next Friday at Courtland.
Courtland 40, Chancellor 6
Ahmari Boxley accounted for three total TDs in the visiting Cougars’ Battlefield District victory over the Chargers.
Boxley caught scoring passes of 20 and 39 yards, respectively, and returned an interception 85 yards for a TD.
Quarterback Chieftain Watson also had a big night for Courtland (6-2, 4-1), completing 7 of 9 passes for 197 yards and three scores. Boxley hauled in four of those passes for a game-high 104 yards, and Kilan Perry was on the receiving end of a 72-yard TD pass from Watson.
Marcus LaRue added 95 yards and a score on the ground for the Cougars.
Chancellor (2-6, 2-3) found the end zone on an 8-yard TD strike from Leo Ferguson to Logan Hunter in the fourth quarter. Ferguson paced the Chargers with 60 yards passing but also threw a pair of INTs.
Courtland will host Caroline next Friday, and Chancellor will hit the road to play at Eastern View.
North Stafford 28, Massaponax 14
Chase Sullivan threw two TD passes as the host Wolverines picked up a Commonwealth District win over the Panthers.
Sullivan’s 77-yard connection with Kenaz Sullivan opened the scoring in the first quarter. Later, he found Ricky Adkins for a 69-yard third-period TD.
Sullivan went 7-of-14 for 227 yards in the contest. Kenaz Sullivan tallied two receptions for 116 yards.
Adkins also had a 10-yard TD run in the second quarter, buoying North (6-2, 3-1) to a 21-0 halftime lead.
Gabe Newby-Morris threw an 85-yard scoring strike to Noah Fox for Massaponax (1-7, 0-4). He also caught a 30-yard TD pass from Ian Shook.
The Wolverines will travel to Mountain View next Friday, while Massaponax welcomes Stafford.
Patriot 42, Mountain View 7
Jackson McCarter ran for three TDs as the visiting Pioneers rolled over the Wildcats in non-district action.
Mountain View QB Bryce Lambert got his squad on the board in the fourth quarter with a 2-yard scoring run.
The Wildcats (4-4) return to Commonwealth District play with a home game against North Stafford next Friday.
Thursday’s game
SPOTSYLVANIA 27, JAMES MONROE 14
