Bulldogs blank Rangers on Homecoming Night
Published 11:42 am Friday, October 20, 2023
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Macy Henry, escorted by Gage Barnett, reacts with a huge smile as she is announced as Hampton’s 2023 Homecoming Queen at the half of their Thursday night game with the Rangers of you Unaka.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Macy Henry, escorted by Gage Barnett, is all smiles as she is crowned Hampton’s 2023 Homecoming Queen at the half of their Thursday night game with the Unaka Rangers.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Hampton’s Dylan Trivett (18) wraps up the Rangers Isaiah White (4), on a quick out, and drops him for no gain early in the first quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders A bad snap from center forced Unaka’s punter to scramble, then deliver a low, wobbly kick that the Bulldogs Geno Carico (5) plucked out of the air and returned 17 yards to set up Hampton deep in Ranger territory.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders The Bulldogs Dom Burleson (12) steps through the arm tackle of Connor McKinney (7) on his way to Hampton’s first score of the night at the 10:30 mark of the first quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders The Bulldogs Noah Nichols (47) drills the first of four first half extra points to give Hampton an early 7-0 lead. Nichols went 4-5 on PATs in the half.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Unaka’s Connor McKinney (7) takes the kick-off and returns it 17 yards, brought down by the Bulldogs JJ McElyea (3), to set up in good field position for the Rangers second drive of the first quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders The Rangers AJ Greenless (6) takes a handoff from Connor McKinney (7) and gets about five yards up the middle midway through the first quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Hampton’s Dom Burleson (12) gets through the line and trips up Ranger quarterback Connor McKinney (7) for a sack midway through the first quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Bulldog quarterback Dylan Trivett (18) fires a quick jump pass for a first down late in the first quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Unaka’s Connor McKinney (7) gets just enough of the Bulldogs Dylan Trivett’s (18) ankle to trip him up after an 11-yard scramble late in the first quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Hampton quarterback Dylan Trivett (18) looks for an opening in the front line on his way to Bulldogs second touchdown of the first quarter from three yards out.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Hampton’s Elijah McKinney (16) has his interception plucked away by the Rangers Micah Gray (15) on a halfback option play that goes for 30 yards and a Unaka first down early in the second quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders The Bulldogs JJ McElyea (3) steps through the arm tackle by Unaka’s Micah Gray (15) and gains a few more yards on a pass along the sidelines from Dylan Trivett early in the second quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Unaka’s Connor McKinney (7) creates just enough of a distraction to break up a sure touchdown pass for the Bulldogs Geno Carico (5) midway through the second quarter.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders The Bulldogs Dylan Trivett (18) takes off on a called quarterback keeper, heads for the sideline, then cuts back all the way across the field for his third touchdown of the first half.
Star Photo/Larry N. Souders Shortly before the end of the first half, Rangers Connor McKinney (7) was injured on a play. He was taken off the field by a gurney, lifted into an ambulance and taken to the hospital to be checked out. Connor was once a Bulldog and his brother Elijah still plays for Hampton. At the start of the half, Elijah’s teammates surrounded him and prayed for Connor and for Elijah. There were no updates on his injury at the time this image was posted.
|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
STAR CORRESPONDENT
Hampton enjoyed Homecoming Night on Thursday at JC Campbell Stadium with a 55-0 drubbing of Unaka. Junior RB Dominique Burleson and senior QB Dylan Trivett each scored three rushing touchdowns and the Bulldogs rushed for 284 yards as a team.
First Quarter Hampton draws first blood
Senior Geno Carrico ended the Rangers first drive with an interception of Connor McKinney and Burleson cashed in the turnover with a 13-yard touchdown run. Noah Nichols added the point after and had seven point after kicks on the night.
“This was a very big win for us on Homecoming,” Nichols said. “We had a big crowd and it is a brother versus brother rivalry and it feels great to get the win.”
Trivett capped off a seven play, 63-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown plunge to stake Hampton (7-2 overall) to a 14-0 lead.
Second Quarter Bulldogs secure the win
Hampton left no doubt on who was going to prevail in this contest by scoring 27 second quarter points to take a 41-0 halftime advantage. Trivett scored on runs of 16 and 56 yards and Burleson scored on a 19-yard scamper and Carrico added a 40-yard interception return.
The ‘Dogs enjoyed a 392-98 yardage advantage in this one.
“We had a lot of plays that didn’t work tonight,” Rangers head coach O’Brien Bennett said. “When you play a team the caliber of Hampton, you have to play a perfect game. To their credit, my guys showed their heart tonight, they didn’t quit.”
Rangers QB McKinney was knocked from the game and taken to the hospital with a potential concussion on a razzle dazzle play that unfortunately didn’t work. McKinney took the shotgun snap and pitched to Isaiah White, who handed off to Repass, who tried a Philly Express pass to McKinney who was drilled on the visiting sideline and the pass fell incomplete.
Second half running clock didn’t slow the Bulldogs express
Hampton had touchdown runs of 17 and 20 yards from Carrico and Burleson, respectively to close out the scoring. Hampton closes out the regular season next Friday night with a conference clash with South Greene.
“I’m happy to get through this healthy,” Bulldogs head coach Michael Lunsford said. “We got a lot of kids involved tonight. I was glad to get Bryson Markland in the mix, he has been injured and it’s good to get him back.”
Hampton 55-0
Unaka 0 0 0 0 – 0
Hampton 14 27 14 0 – 55
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
H – Burleson 13 run (Nichols kick) 10:30
H – Trivett 2 run (Nichols kick) 3:10
Second Quarter
H – Trivett 16 run (kick failed) :712
H – Trivett 56 run (Nichols kick) 4:01
H – Burleson 19 run (Nichols kick) 1:53
H – Carrico 40 interception return (Nichols kick) 1:29
Third Quarter
H – Carrico 17 run (Nichols kick) 8:17
H – Burleson 20 run (Nichols kick) 0:00
Individual Statistics
RUSHING
U – Repass 4-28, Greenless 6-41, McKinney 3-(-12), White 2-0, Barton 3-0. H – Burleson 7-80, Trivett 7-108, Carrico 1-17, Townsend 7-67, Buckles 5-26, McKinney 1-4.
PASSING
U – McKinney 2-12, 16 yds, 0 TD, 2 int. Repass 3-15, 52 yds 0 TD, 1 ints. H – Trivett 7-9, 108 yds 0 TD, 0 int.
RECEIVING
U – White 2-29, Gray 1-31, Repass 1-3, Freeman 1-5. H – McElyea 3-49, Markland 2-41, Burleson 1-11, McKinney 1-7.
