Warrior mistakes costly against Tigers

Published 12:12 am Saturday, September 5, 2015

Nansemond River High School senior defensive end Demetrius Stitmon prepares to wrap up junior quarterback Shon Mitchell of host Oscar Smith High School on Friday evening. The Tigers won 42-0.

Nansemond River High School senior defensive end Demetrius Stitmon prepares to wrap up junior quarterback Shon Mitchell of host Oscar Smith High School on Friday evening. The Tigers won 42-0.

The Nansemond River High School football team accomplished some good things Friday night against host Oscar Smith High School, but they were largely undone by errors.

Consequently, the Warriors, winners by 46 last week, found themselves on the other side of a lopsided score this week as the Tigers got their season started with a 42-0 victory.

“I thought we played hard,” Nansemond River coach David Coccoli said. “You just can’t make mistakes against a good team and stay in the game.”

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The game was a frustrating one for the Warriors because of how quickly the bad followed any good they accomplished.

“Every time we had a good play, we had a penalty,” Coccoli said, noting sometimes it was on the same play, reversing the gain, and sometimes it was the next play. “I think the kids got frustrated with the officiating, and we have to learn not to do that.”

At halftime, the Warriors had nine penalties accounting for more than 120 yards lost, while Oscar Smith had only one penalty. The Tigers held a 21-0 lead at the break, aided by multiple NR turnovers.

Nansemond River’s defense bottled up the Tigers’ offense at times during the game, but on more than one occasion, they managed to score touchdowns on fourth down.

If his team had eliminated the penalties and turnovers, Coccoli saw the makings for a successful showing against perennial state title contender Oscar Smith.

The Warriors had about 200 yards of offense on Friday. Senior running back Terrence Lambert carried the ball 13 times for 91 yards, senior quarterback Kiere Landry had six carries for 40 yards and sophomore running back JeVon Waller had five carries for 30 yards.

Nansemond River (1-1) has a bye next Friday. The Warriors will host Deep Creek High School on Sept. 18, their home opener.