By Dave Ryan

STEVENSVILLE — The Cambridge-South Dorchester High School Vikings (1A) traveled to Kent Island on March 19, falling to the Buccaneers (2A/3A) by a score of 31-21. C-SD, led by Head Coach Gaven Parker, came into the game atop the Bayside Conference’s 1A standings, with a 2-0 record. Kent Island had played only once, on March 12, losing to North Caroline 26-20.

On the game’s opening drive, the Bucs drove 63 yards in six and a half minutes for a score, when quarterback Kinte McGowan took it into the end zone on first and 5. A good kick in the evening’s cold and windy conditions made it 7-0 in favor of the home team, with 4:29 left in the first quarter.
During that drive, the Buccaneers challenged the Vikes’ defensive backs, who had played well in their previous two games. Defensive Coordinator Eric Otey, who spent years at D-back coach, had led his men to four picks in the those contests, with two being returned for scores.

The Vikings responded with a nice drive of their own, including some crisp running plays that seemed to show the offense’s players are growing comfortable with one another. In the opening seconds of the second quarter, Fullback Donald Banks put his head down and charged into the end zone on third and goal from the 2.
The extra point from kicker James Frazier tied the contest at 7-7.
The next points came at the end of the half, also from a kicker, when the Buccaneers’ Gardner capped off a drive with a 35-yard field goal to make it 10-7. The drive featured a bit of trickery, when Kent Island running back KJ Johnson took a pitch from backup QB Cayden Curry and threw to starting quarterback McGowan, who hauled it in at the C-SD 18.

In the third quarter, the Buccaneers took charge, going up by two more touchdowns, both from McGowan. As the quarter drew to a close with the score at 24-7, C-SD had gained some yardage on the ground, with nice running by Tayon Fletcher, but had to start throwing more in an attempt to move the ball faster. But Kent Island’s men were aware of the situation too, and brought more pressure on quarterback John Henry.
Fletcher kept running, hard enough to earn a TD of his own at the 10:09 mark of the fourth quarter. After the extra point, it was 24-14 and the Vikings had hope of a comeback.

They had even more a couple of minutes later, when Nisim Hawkins snagged an interception for the Vikes, their fifth of the season. C-SD took over at their own 25, but were unable to move the ball and had to punt.
It didn’t take long after that for Kent Island to seal the deal on a win, with a 23-yard scoring run from Ke’Juan Johnson to bring the score to 31-14 with a little more than four minutes remaining.
The game ended with a 31-yard touchdown strike from Viking QB John Henry to Hawkins. Frazier’s extra point provided the final score of 31-21, and a bit of excitement in the waning seconds with a successful onside kick.

C-SD Schedule
Friday, March 5 - Home vs. WiHi, W27-6
Friday, March 12 - Away @ Colonel Richardson, W36-6
Friday, March 19 - Away @ Kent Island L21-31
Friday, March 26 - Home vs. Colonel Richardson
Thursday, April 1 - Away @ Snow Hill
Friday, April 9 - Away @ Kent County
Friday, April 16 - Home vs. Easton