Nansemond River High School took the Suffolk city title back from the Bulldogs for the 2018 season.

The Warriors went on the road and handed King’s Fork High School its first loss of the season by a score of 22-7. It was a total team effort by the Warriors as they moved to 3-2 on the season.

“We executed the game plan, and guys played well,” Coach Justin Conyers said. “They have a good team. We were able to spread the ball and execute.”

Nansemond River got on the board first with an eight-yard run by JaQuelle Harrell. A two-point conversion gave the Warriors an 8-0 lead in the first. As the action moved to the second quarter, Harrell got his second touchdown of the night with a six-yard run. With another two-point conversion, the Bulldogs were down 16-0 at home heading into the half.

One of the critical goals for the Warriors was to limit Leo Wethington as much as they could. They did that in the first half, holding him to only 30 yards on the ground. However, for Nansemond River, Kevin Johnson and Harrell were leading the team with 49 and 31 rushing yards, respectively.

In the third quarter, King’s Fork was able to break through and get on the board with a Wethington touchdown run. That run cut the Warriors’ lead down to 16-7. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, that was the only time they saw the end zone.

In the fourth, the Warriors put the icing on the cake with a 30-yard touchdown run by Rashaad Williams. That gave Nansemond River a 22-7 lead with seven minutes left in the fourth, and that finished out the game.

Before the game, Conyers said he and his team felt confident in the game plan they had. Penalties got in the way of some good things the Bulldogs were doing. They had chances to come back, but a penalty stalled a couple of good drives.

“Our defense played well,” Conyers said. “Our goal was to win the city, which we did, and I’m proud of the guys and what they were able to do.”

“At the end of the day, we beat ourselves,” Coach Scottie Littles said. “Give them credit, they capitalized on some things and didn’t commit that many penalties. This one hurts because it’s a rival, but our guys never stopped fighting.”

Nansemond River will get ready to face a tough Oscar Smith High School team next week. King’s Fork prepares for Great Bridge High School.