OP spoils Culpeper homecoming

By Ron Counts STAFF WRITER
Published: October 10, 2008

Even in defeat, Culpeper coach Greg Martz was able to muster some humor after Osbourn Park’s 55-14 dismantling of the Blue Devils.

“If we could find a way to not play the second quarter at all we’d be okay,” he said. “If we had three quarters and then maybe a fifth instead, we might come out on top sometimes.”

Second-quarter letdowns have been one of Culpeper’s Achilles heels all season, and Friday night was no different.

After only scoring seven points in the opening quarter, the Yellow Jackets found the endzone four times during the second quarter thanks in large part to the play of quarterback Dominique Terrell.

“We have such a dangerous offense because everybody wants the ball,” Terrell said. “The hardest thing is distributing it to everyone.”

Terrell didn’t have much trouble distributing the ball during the second quarter, finding the endzone once on the ground and then again through the air.

The 5-foot-10-inch sophomore scored his second touchdown of the quarter by simply following his blockers around the left side and jogging untouched into the endzone to give the Yellow Jackets a 28-0 lead.

Terrell finished the game completing 5 of 14 passes for 122 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 98 yards and a touchdown on seven carries and a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

“Compared to what we’ve seen him do on film, we actually did a pretty good job of containing his running ability,” Martz said of Terrell. “I was thrilled with that, but I wasn’t as thrilled with how he threw the ball on us.”

Terrell’s first score of the quarter came via a rocket pass to junior receiver Pat Derenda for a 3-yard touchdown strike.

Osbourn Park’s Sean Khanamuenwai powered his way into the endzone during the second quarter as well. With 6:00 left in the half, he racked up 60 yards on five consecutive carries before capping the drive with a two-yard dive across the goal line.

The Yellow Jackets (4-2) rushed for 240 yards during the contest.

“The more we run, it will open up our offense and make us even more of a threat,” said running back Chris Mason, who finished the game with 70 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries. “The line came through and blocked well. If that keeps happening it’s going to be hard to stop us.”

Osbourn Park’s defense scored the final touchdown of the first half. Senior Zach Bargeron intercepted a pass at Culpeper’s 25-yard line and weaved his way around a couple tacklers before diving into the endzone to give the Yellow Jackets a 34-0 lead at intermission.

“This team is going to fight,” Martz said. “We make great adjustments and there are signs of life, we just have to work on getting past those 12 minutes where everything just falls apart.”

Despite the huge deficit, the Blue Devils (0-5) found some rhythm during the second half. Culpeper quarterback Steven Dodson finished the half 12-14 for 132 yards and two touchdowns.

He lofted a pass over several defenders to find senior Charles Nicholson in the back of the endzone early in the fourth quarter, before throwing an 11-yard scoring strike to John Lezcano with 1:39 left in the game.

“We had some spots where I thought we played well,” Martz said. “Overall there were a lot of things I feel positive about, but we’ve still got to work on running the ball, tackling and getting some penetration on defense.”

Ron Counts can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 166 or