Saints dismantle defending champs
Published 11:27 pm Friday, September 11, 2015
It seems quite likely that the Fredericksburg Christian School football team will not be defending its VISAA Division III state championship if it has to go through Nansemond-Suffolk Academy.
Nansemond-Suffolk Academy senior Noah Serianni catches the ball en route to one of the Saints’ nine touchdowns on Friday night. They made their presence known in Division III of the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association by trouncing its defending state champion Fredericksburg Christian School 84-12. (Janine DeMello photo)
The visiting Eagles were not even close to a match with the Saints on Friday night.
“I’m not sure I’ve been involved in anything like that to have 70 points at halftime,” said NSA’s Lew Johnston, in his 41st season as a football coach. “It was bad. I mean, they were defenseless.”
Nansemond-Suffolk held a 48-0 lead after the first quarter and a 70-0 lead at halftime. With mostly backups and inexperienced players on the field by the end, the Saints won 84-12.
“We went out and did what we had to do, but that wasn’t a very good football team we played tonight,” Johnston said.
Though Fredericksburg Christian employs a Wing-T offense like NSA, he noted the Eagles possessed no ability to stop it.
The Saints finished with 465 yards of total offense, 426 coming via their rushing attack.
Senior running back Noah Giles did a lot with only six carries, gaining 188 yards and scoring four touchdowns and two 2-point conversions.
Senior running back/wide receiver Noah Serianni had three carries for 77 yards and a touchdown, two receptions for 23 yards and a touchdown, and four punt returns for 137 yards and a touchdown.
Freshman fullback Ben Koppelman scored on a 42-yard run, and senior running back Reed Browne had two carries for 24 yards and a score.
Senior tight end Eric Teumer had a 16-yard touchdown catch, and senior Dominic Claxton had a 57-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Sophomore quarterback Robby Tew went 3-for-3 passing for 39 yards and two scores.
NSA’s defense held the Eagles to only 121 yards of total offense and four first downs.
Senior defensive back Graham Moore, sophomore defensive back Erek Smith and Reed Browne grabbed one interception apiece, and senior linebacker Cole Christiansen led the Saints with six tackles to go with one sack.
Nansemond-Suffolk (2-1) hosts Virginia Episcopal School next Friday night.
