The Caravel Buccaneers had lost 5 straight games to Woodbridge, dating back to 2012. Coach John Reed’s team scored 14 first quarter points on the way to a 28-16 victory thus snapping that losing skid and improving to 6-0 in the process.
The Bucs drove downfield on their opening possession as Craig Miller punched it in from five yards out and Logan Keld nailed the point-after for a quick 7-0 lead. Caravel then forced a punt on the ensuing Blue Raider drive. Ji-Kare Banks’ kick was picked up on the run by Trey Hamlin who took it 70 yards “to-the-house” for a 14-0 advantage. The two defenses tightened up in a scoreless 2nd quarter as Caravel took the two-score lead into the “half”.
Woodbridge came out “fired up” to start the second half. The Blue Raider defense stopped the Bucs on their 1st possession – forcing a punt. The Blue Raider offense used their version of the Smyrna “earthquake” formation and drove downfield deep into Caravel territory with the power run game. Traci Johnson faked a run and found Banks for an 11 yard touchdown. Johnson then ran in the conversion to close the gap to 14-8. That score would hold up until the final quarter.
The Buccaneers got the offense going again early in the 4th, as Miller carried the ball from a yard out, increasing the Bucs lead to 21-8 with 10:00 to go. It was plenty of time for Woodbridge as they moved the ball into Caravel territory on a 14 yard run by Johnson and a nice 17 yard pass from Zach Plummer to Jeremiah Bruce. It was then that the Bucs defense would change the momentum. Johnson carried the ball on 4th down from the Bucs 34. He broke several tackles (as he did all game), had the 1st down yardage at the 26 but was hit & stripped of the ball by Chris DeRegis. Several players from both teams had a chance to recover the fumble until Trey Hamlin fell on the ball at the four. Then it was “Miller Time” as the Caravel halfback carried twice out to the 29 and broke loose down the sideline for a 71-yard TD to put the game on ice.
The Blue Raiders added a late score as Plummer passed 20 yards to Ci-Atrick Stones to make the final score 28-16.
Miller was named the Delaware Live “player-of-the-game” with 224 yards rushing on 27 carries and 3 touchdowns. Johnson paced Woodbridge with 181 yards on 28 attempts. He ran for both two-point conversions and passed to Banks for a score. Caravel outgained the Blue Raiders 306-272.
The Bucs improved to 6-0 (3-0 in 2A-district 3) and will host Lake Forest for homecoming on the 21st. Woodbridge falls to 1-2 in district play (1-5 overall) and will also have homecoming the 21st hosting Milford.
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