Hampton shuts down Rebels in a rout to seize control of Region 1 Class 2-A
Published 11:34 pm Friday, September 30, 2022
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Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Johnathan Greenwell breaks around the end for a big gain against the South Greene defense Friday night.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Hampton's Levi Lunsford was a one-man wrecking crew on Friday at South Greene as he rushed for four touchdowns and 158 yards on the ground.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Not only did the Hampton defense pitch a shutout against the South Greene Rebels but they held the Rebels to negative eight yards of offense for the game. Geno Carrico (5) and Domnique Burleson (12) team up to stop a Rebel runner.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
'Dogs quarterback Dylan Trivett zings a pass down field as rain fell Friday night.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Hampton's Johnathan Greenwell runs over top of a South Greene defender for a first down in steady rain.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Bulldog defensive back Brody Hicks puts a shoulder into the breadbasket of a South Greene defender to break up a pass.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Bulldog quarterback Domnique Burleson breaks free on a run that came up just short of another score for Hampton.
STAR CORRESPONDENT
GREENEVILLE – While Hampton head coach Michael Lunsford was doing a little two-stepping to Cotton-eyed Joe on the sidelines, his Hampton Bulldogs were doing a little stomping on the field.
With the Hampton defense holding the South Greene offense to negative eight yards for the entire contest, the Bulldog offense was taking care of business as well leading to a 37-0 shellacking of the Rebels as the state’s Class 2-A #1 ranked Bulldogs were clicking on all cylinders under rainy skies.
Hampton received the football first and marched down the field to take the initial lead of the game as senior bulldozing running back Levi Lunsford took the ball in from the one-yard line and then converted the two-point conversion for an 8-0 Hampton lead with 7:54 showing on the first quarter clock.
After holding the Rebels to zilch on the ensuing drive, it would be Lunsford once again toting the pigskin over from two yards out just 30 seconds into the second quarter. Quarterback Dylan Trivett connected with Geno Carrico on the two-point conversion and the ‘Dogs were up 16-0.
Lunsford tacked on his third score of the first half just 34 seconds from the half when he bulled in from the one-yard line. The conversion failed and the Bulldogs took a 22-0 lead to the locker room.
Hampton received the second half kickoff and once again were efficient offensively as Trivett connected with Chance Point on an 11-yard scoring toss to make it 30-0 when Trivett connected on the two-point conversion to Brody Hicks.
With a running clock, the ‘Dogs managed to add one more score to their side of the scoreboard as Lunsford scored his fourth touchdown of the contest with 4:04 remaining in the contest. Johnathan Greenwell converted the point-after attempt to give the game its final outcome.
To go along with the stellar performance by the defense, Lunsford had 158 yards rushing to go along with the four scores.
“I was super proud of the guys the way they responded after the bye week because you never know what to expect after a bye week if they are going to take a step back or improve,” said Coach Lunsford after the contest. “I felt like we found ways to improve on the bye week.
“Coach (Jake) Jenkins does a great job with the defense and you never know what he is going to do. He always has things covered. We had a lot of guys play well.”
Lunsford noted the effort by the defensive unit.
“I don’t know if we have held a team to negative yards so it is a huge accomplishment,” Coach Lunsford said. “I don’t care who you are playing.”
Hampton (6-0, 2-0) will be at Gatlinburg-Pittman next Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
