by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond
slewis@sbgnet.com
(804) 240-2191
Malcolm Bell was having a forgettable outing.
John Marshall’s quarterback was 2 for 9 with four yards passing going into his team’s final drive.
The sophomore gathered himself and went 7 for 8 for 88 yards on the possession, throwing the game-tying TD to Akeem Brown from 12 yards out, as the Justices shocked Armstrong 27-26 Saturday afternoon.
“We knew we had to execute going into the last drive,” Bell said. “I just had to take my time, find the open receiver and get it to him. Hopefully we’d move down the field and that’s what we did.”
Jayem left 40 seconds on the clock and Armstrong used it as Xavia Gary hit Tyee Williams (157 yards of offense) for 33 yards to get Armstrong to the 12-yard line with five seconds left.
But Gary’s pass to Dewayne Burnett was stopped by safety Leshaune Vaughan to give the Justices their first victory of the season, thanks to Bell, his receivers and two other phases of the team.
The first, the defense. The unit scored two TDs, the first an 84-yard interception return from Tyrell Smith that gave JM a 6-0 lead.
On Armstrong’s very next possession, Maurice Conyers stripped the elusive Gary on a tackle and Vaughan scooped it and bolted 27 yards as JM took a 12-0 lead.
Then the next part kicked in, Chris Morrow, a kicker. He booted the extra point to make it 13-0 as JM coach Marvin Bridges now has two legit kickers after going six seasons without one.
Gary (149 yards passing, 57 rushing) responded with a 7-yard TD run and then hit Burnette for a 2-yard score as the Wildcats trailed by one going into the half.
Frank Bullock (70 rushing yards) gave JM a 19-12 lead on an 8-yard plunge, but that’s when things fell apart for a John Marshall offense without Josiah and C.J. Shelton, who are both injured.
Two fumbles on consecutive plays, one returned for an Armstrong TD, were ******.
Gary eluded the defense to deposit his team’s fourth TD and put John Marshall and Bell’s back to the wall.
But the sophomore and his mates responded, enough to bring tears to the eyes of Bridges.
“It’s just so hard without Josiah and C.J.,” Bridges said. “Without them being in the game we had to rely on other guys to get it done for us.”
Armstrong 0 12 0 14 – 26
J. Marshall 6 7 7 7 – 27
JM – T. Smith 84 interception return (kick failed)
JM – Vaughan 27 fumble return (Morrow kick)
A – Gary 7 run (pass failed)
A – Burnette 2 pass from Gary (kick failed)
JM – Bullock 8 run (Morrow kick)
A – 30 fumble return (Williams from Gary)
A – Gary 15 run (kick failed)
JM – Brown 12 pass from Bell (Morrow kick)
RUSHING
Armstrong – Tyee Williams 7 carries, 58 yards; Xavia Gary 16-57; Tyler McCoy 3-6; Trevin Carter 1-(-2).John Marshall – Frank Bullock 13-70; Joshua Wallace 1-0; Malcolm Bell 4-(-6).
PASSING
Armstrong – Gary 14 completions, 27 attempts, 149 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs; John Marshall – Bell 9-17-92-1-0.
RECEIVING
Armstrong – Williams 7 receptions, 99 yards; Dewayne Barnette 5-48; McCoy 1-5; Carter 1-(-7); John Marshall – Akeem Brown 4-46; Tunstall 2-24; Vaughan 1-14, T. Smith 1-8; Bullock 1-0.
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