Arendell Parrott uses big run to defeat Southampton Academy

COURTLAND, Va. | It took a while for Arendell Parrott to get going, but when the Patriots did, they made a statement against the top team in NCISAA play.

APA defeated Southampton Academy on the road 42-22 in its first game since Hurricane Florence. The Patriots (3-1) fell behind by 14 early, but recovered quickly to pick up their sixth victory in the past seven games over the Raiders (2-2), a team ranked as No. 1 in the NCISAA according to Maxpreps with APA coming in at No. 3.

“We just had to get back to playing Arendell Parrott football,” Patriots head coach Matt Beaman said. “We started off slow and part of it was due to the layoff. We didn’t have the energy on the field or the sideline, so I told (defensive coordinator) Dory Hines to have the defense turn it up to generate momentum. Once they got going, our offense starting rolling and we were able to build momentum.”

Southampton Academy went on a 10-play, 81-yard drive to start the game, finishing with an 8-yard touchdown run from Montae Barrett. Parrott started the game with a pair of three-and-outs and after the second, Ricky Evans scored on a 46-yard run to give the Raiders a 14-0 advantage late in the first.

Shy Thompson’s 46-yard run on the ensuing drive would put the ball on the Southampton 5, leading to Trey McLawhorn’s touchdown on the next play to help APA get within eight. The Patriots would force a turnover on downs, but on their next possession suffered the same fate after moving the ball to the red zone. Two plays later, Gabe Braswell would make a spectacular interception to get the ball back to Parrott, and the team would take advantage with an 11-play, 49-yard drive, capped off by Zach Vendemia’s 5-yard run to tie the game midway through the second quarter.

The turning point would come in the waning moments of the first half when a 27-yard run from McLawhorn would set up a 43-yard connection from Vendemia to Huntley to put APA ahead 22-14 heading into the break. The duo wasted little time scoring again as Vendemia found Huntley on a screen pass on the third play from scrimmage in the third quarter for a 46-yard touchdown and a 28-14 lead.

After the teams traded possessions, Huntley would intercept a pass deep in the Patriots’ end zone and return it to the Raiders’ 32. One play later, Vendemia would find him again for a 32-yard touchdown and a 34-14 APA advantage.

Huntley would catch six passes for 142 yards and three touchdowns, more than making up for a slow start from the Patriots.

“Credit (goes) to my quarterback, Zach Vendemia, and my offensive line, to allow me to get into position to make great plays,” Huntley said.

Defensively, the Patriots cleaned up after the first quarter. The Raiders ran for 337 yards in the game, but 163 came in the opening 12 minutes. From there, APA made plays, particularly Marquise Loftin-Myers who racked up 18 tackles.

“We had a good scout team in practice and we got a couple key factors back (like) Trey (McLawhorn),”  Loftin-Myers said. “Our secondary showed good coverages and my line (contained) and opened it up for me and Gabe Braswell to get the tackles.”

Arendell Parrott will travel to Raleigh to face St. David’s on Sept. 28.

ARENDELL PARROTT 42, SOUTHAMPTON ACADEMY 22

APA       6              16           12           8 — 42

SA           14           0              0              8 — 22

First Quarter

SA — Montae Barrett 8 run (Ricky Evans run), 7:18

SA — Evans 46 run (run failed), 2:13

APA — Trey McLawhorn (run failed), 1:26   

Second Quarter

APA — Zach Vendemia 5 run (Matthew Huntley from Vendemia), 7:10

APA — Huntley 43 pass from Vendemia (McLawhorn run), :33

Third Quarter

APA — Huntley 46 pass from Vendemia (pass failed), 10:37

APA —  Huntley 32 pass from Vendemia (run failed), 4:13

Fourth Quarter  

SA — Winston Browne 13 run (Barrett run), 9:17

APA — William Hill 9 pass from Vendemia (Blake Smith run), 1:37

APA                       RMA

First Downs                                        15                           15

Rushes                                                 33-194                   46-337

Passing                                                 11-18-0                 2-15-2

Passing Yards                                     201                         20

Total yards                                          395                         377

Punts                                                    3-30.0                    2-17.5

Fumbles                                               1-0                          0-0

Penalties                                             2-43                       3-12

Individual statistics

RUSHING — Arendell Parrott: Trey McLawhorn 13-98, Shy Thompson 6-56, Zach Vendemia 9-25, Blake Smith 3-15, Matthew Huntley 1-1, Reynolds Barringer 1-minus 1. Southampton Academy: Ricky Evans 10-111, Montae Barrett 16-107, Winston Browne 4-51, Wyatt Jernigan 8-35, Jack Whitley 3-21, Will Belmonte 4-8, Dave Nguyen 1-4.

PASSING—Arendell Parrott: Vendemia 11-18-0, 201. Southampton Academy: Jernigan 2-14-2, 20; Evans 0-1-0, 0.

RECEIVING—Arendell Parrott: Huntley 6-142, McLawhorn 2-24, William Hill 2-19, Thompson 1-16 Southampton Academy: Belmonte 2-20.