Josh Roy ‘carries’ Caravel to victory in season opener

(Bear, DE)    Junior running back Josh Roy rushed for over 300 yards and scored 3 touchdowns to help Caravel win its season opening football game Thursday night. After the game Roy was asked about his performance but instead, he talked about his teammates. “The first half was bad, but my o-line, and teammates picked me up and stuck with me.” “All the credit goes to them. I wouldn’t be in this position without them. I really appreciate those guys.” In the opening half Roy fumbled three times, but also gained 178 yards and scored the game’s only touchdown.

The Buccaneers took a 7-0 lead into the locker room thanks to a “stifling” effort by the defense that stopped Hodgson inside the 10 yard line on downs. One of Roy’s fumbles gave the Silver Eagles the ball deep in Caravel territory, leading directly to the “goal-to-go” possession. Hodgson managed just 70 total yards in the first half against a “stout” Buccaneer front line that pressured quarterback Xavier Brown continuously. 

The Silver Eagles scored their only points of the night on a “scoop-and-score” by senior Gary Blalock. That pulled Hodgson within a point at 7-6, but an unsportsmanlike penalty forced the point-after attempt out to the 18 yard line and the attempt failed. Blalock played an exceptional game on both sides of the ball with three carries for 50 yards in the opening half.  

The ensuing kickoff was pushed back to the silver eagles 12-yard line as the sideline was issued two major penalties. Caravel scored on its next possession on a Nick Massey 32-yard field goal to go up 10-6, Then followed that with three unanswered touchdowns for a final score of 31-6.

Caravel was led by Roy with “unofficially” 313 yards and three touchdowns. Senior fullback Brock Rhoades scored the other touchdown on a 2-yard run up the middle. Nick Massey was a perfect 4-for-4 on extra point attempts plus the field goal giving him 7 points on the night. 

The win was the 100th for head coach John Reed and his team extended their winning streak to 14 games. Caravel will face Howard next week at Abessinio Stadium in Wilmington.