CAHS beats Private Schools

ST. THOMAS - Kyle Edwards rushed for more than 100 yards and scored 20 of Charlotte Amalie High School's 22 points on Saturday evening as CAHS routed the St. Thomas-St. John Private Schools Arawak Warriors, 22-8, at Lionel Roberts Stadium.

The scoring began early for the Chickenhawks, who after starting their drive in Arawaks territory, scored their first touchdown in the first quarter off an Edwards 35-yard touchdown run. With the missed two-point conversion, CAHS held a 6-0 lead heading into the second quarter.

The ensuing drive provided early adversity for the Arawaks as they went three and out and had a punt blocked and recovered by CAHS at the Arawaks' 10-yard line for first and goal. But the Arawaks defense showed some of the mettle that helped them become one of the top teams in the territory as they stopped CAHS in four plays.

Later in the second quarter, after intercepting Arawaks quarterback Nathan Brathwaite in CAHS territory, the Chickenhawks reached paydirt again, finishing off a seven-play, 79-yard drive with a 1-yard Edwards touchdown run. With the score, CAHS took a 12-0 lead into halftime.

"We're a running team; we have the size to ground and pound the ball. And from early on we told the team we were going to run the ball," said CAHS head coach Francisco Jarvis. "Whether it was six in the box or eight in the box, we were adamant about running the ball."

The Arawaks began the second half with a 15-play, 87-yard drive, but then came the game's turning point. The Arawaks' drive ended with a 4th and goal at the CAHS 4-yard line, and the Chickenhawks took over but were pushed back into the shadow of their own goal line. Then, on third and 11 from his own 1-yard line, Avery Joseph did his best Tim Tebow impression as he took the long snap from the Pistol formation, moved a few steps to the line of scrimmage and completed a jump pass to Dyami Isles, who ran untouched down the sideline for 97 yards. Isles would have scored, but he celebrated prematurely and was stopped just short of the goal line. Edwards, however, again came to the team's rescue, scoring his third touchdown of the game on a 2-yard run and adding the two-point conversion to cap the drive.

CAHS head coach Francisco Jarvis reveled in the win.

"This was a highly anticipated game, and we prepared for it like no other," said Jarvis. "We wanted to show the community that despite the Arawaks putting up all those points against Kean, it wasn't going to happen to us. This just give us a chance to have a good head start for the rest of the season."

The Chickenhawks took a 22-0 lead in the second half after forcing a safety, but in the final minute of the fourth quarter the Arawaks' Patrick Leonard intercepted a Joseph pass near midfield and returned it to the CAHS 28-yard line. Four plays later on fourth and 12, Brathwaite completed a short pass to running back Chris Cilliers, who broke several tackles on his way to a 25-yard touchdown with 11 seconds left in the game. Devin McDonald added a two-point conversion.

Arawaks head coach Luke Neely bemoaned his team's inability to score.

"We came out aggressive; we're a very aggressive team. But a turnover in the end zone killed our momentum," said Arawaks head coach Luke Neely. "We were moving the ball and gashing them all game, but we just weren't able to get the ball into the end zone."

CAHS (2-0) travels to St. Croix on Saturday to face the defending island champion Educational Complex Barracudas, and on Friday night, the Arawaks (1-1) will face the Central High Caribs at the Educational Complex field on St. Croix.

Sign up for Text Alerts

Sign up for e-mail newsletters