Defending their turf

By Shane Mettlen

Published: October 2, 2008

The Eastern View defense has been dominant the past two weeks, but if the Cyclones are going to keep that trend up tonight they are going to have to do it against a prolific Caroline team.

Culpeper native and Caroline head coach Bobby Jenkins has guided the Cavaliers to a 3-1 start, thanks in large part to an offense that is averaging 27.5 points per game.

“Caroline is so explosive and the quarterback is so good,” EVHS coach Greg Hatfield said. “They are athletic everywhere and we have to make Caroline earn their scores and not give up cheap points.”

That quarterback is Jamar Samuel, a dual-threat that has burned teams this year with both his arm and his legs. Samuel has thrown for at least 125 yards in each game this season and has cracked the 85-yard mark on the ground twice, including a 10-carry, 100-yard performance against King William in which he rushed for two touchdowns.

But Samuel isn’t doing it alone. Running back Gerome Azemar is also off to a fantastic start, averaging 115.2 yards on the ground and already scoring seven rushing touchdowns.

Eastern View has given up just one touchdown in each of its past two games, but to keep that up Hatfield said the Cyclones will have to continue to get big production out of young players.

The Cyclones have relied heavily on a group of sophomores on the defensive line in Lewis Wilkins, Tyler Dean, Alquon Newman and Belial Williams. Another sophomore, Lee Rossi, has been one of EVHS’s top defenders at linebacker. Those players will be called upon to help contain Samuel and limit the Caroline running game.

“I think we have a lot of guys that are coachable and continue to get better,” Hatfield said. “Obviously when we are playing young kids like that they are going to make young kid mistakes, but they learn from them. They are starting to take pride in playing great defense because when you play like that it’s a lot of fun.”

After taking on winless Kettle Run last week the Cyclones are ready to go against another tough opponent and prove they can compete with anyone.

“We defensive ends have to have containment at all times because their quarterback is real fast,” Wilkins said. “But it’s nothing we can’t beat as a team. We’ve been playing as a team and coming out intense and we need to keep it up.”

Shane Mettlen can be reached at 825-0771, ext. 127 or

TONIGHT’S GAME
Caroline (3-1)
at Eastern View (3-1)
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.