Warriors earn shutout in finale
Published 12:26 am Saturday, November 3, 2018
- Nansemond River High School shut out Grassfield High School on the road 42-0 to finish the regular season 7-3. (Sarah Murphy Photo)
For their seventh win of the season, the Warriors shut out Grassfield High School on the road.
Coach Justin Conyers officially finished his first regular season coaching Nansemond River High School with a winning record. With the shutout win over Grassfield, the Warriors finished the regular season 7-3.
“Those guys responded well on a short week,” Conyers said. “We played hard against a well-coached team in Grassfield. It’s big for us to finish strong in my first season as head coach, but we have to keep going. I don’t want to have one good year. We want to keep improving the program here.”
The first score of the game came with 9:27 left to play in the first quarter on a Quijoun Gordon rushing touchdown. A stout defense kept Grassfield from countering. The Warriors kept pouring scores on throughout the first half, with Kevin Johnson and JaQuelle Harrell getting on the board. Nansemond River went into halftime with a 21-0 lead.
The Warriors didn’t take their foot off the gas in the second half. In the third quarter, Nansemond River’s offense continued to roll. Rashaad Williams added a rushing touchdown, while Kori Riddick followed that up with a pass to Jaden Perkins to push the lead up to 35 points.
George Wise scored the last touchdown of the game to give the Warriors a 42-0 win. They finished the season with a four-game win streak and solidified their playoff positioning in the Class 5 Region A playoffs. The Warriors are all but certain to have a home playoff game in at least the first round of the playoffs next week.
It was a big night for Keonte Cobb, who broke the single-season sack record at Nansemond River. He currently has 23 sacks on the season. In two seasons, he has broken two sack records at two different schools. Conyers said Cobb deserved the record because of how hard he has worked. The coaching staff feels like the sky is the limit for him and that he’s capable of even more.
“I am truly blessed,” Cobb said. “I feel so accomplished, but I know this is just the beginning. I’m just so happy.”
With a four-game win streak, Nansemond River will finish with the longest win streak of the Suffolk teams at the end of the season. It is the fourth straight season the Warriors have finished with a winning record.