No. 1 Meadowbrook mashes No. 4 Dinwiddie

Meadowbrook High quarterback Andre Coble gave the Monarchs' football team an A-minus last night.

The minus, Coble said, was because the Monarchs "can always get better."

Tough grader, that Mr. Coble.

Top-ranked Meadowbrook did nothing to dispel its standing as the area's head-of-the-class team, hammering fourth-ranked Dinwiddie 56-17 in a Central District game at Meadowbrook.

The Monarchs (2-0, 5-0) turned a 14-10 game in the second quarter into a rout by scoring 36 unanswered points. Meadowbrook erupted for 22 points in the third quarter.

"A lot of people doubted us," said Monarchs running back Domico Phillips, who ran for 103 yards and scored five touchdowns. "We had to show people who we are."

Dinwiddie (1-1, 3-2) did a nice job containing the elusive Coble on the ground. He finished with 65 yards on 21 carries but still managed to score three touchdowns.

The fixation on Coble, though, opened up things in the Monarchs' spread offense for Phillips and the short passing game. Coble was 11 for 18 for 200 yards and a touchdown. Included in that were several nice grabs by receivers Devon Lloyd and KeVon Wright.

"They're the best team we've played," Dinwiddie coach Billy Mills said. "They've got a nice 1-2 punch. You can't lock down on any one guy against them, or they'll get you with something else."

Coble, a 5-11, 170-pound senior, is able to turn nothing into something on just about any play. On one play, he stepped out of two tackles at the line of scrimmage, then faked out another defender before running out of bounds for a three-yard gain.

Under pressure trying to pass on another, he found a safety valve in Phillips, who turned it into a 64-yard TD.

"It helps when you have someone as good as (Coble)," Meadowbrook coach Troy Taylor said.

Dinwiddie came in averaging 38.5 points. But the Monarchs' defense, behind active linebackers Tevin Hanley and Armin Harris, shut down the Generals' running game (39 yards) and pressured quarterback Chris Hall all night.

Hall was 13 for 30 for 155 yards. He had one pass picked off by defensive lineman DeQuan Chatmon, setting up one Meadowbrook touchdown. He was called for intentional grounding in the end zone -- a safety -- while being tackled by Hanley. And he couldn't handle a low shotgun snap, which Hanley scooped up and returned to the Dinwiddie 14.

"I have a lot of respect for Billy Mills and the Dinwiddie program," Taylor said. "We knew we'd have to bring our 'A' game to hang in there against these guys."

As playoff implications go, Dinwiddie was in a better position to withstand a loss than Meadowbrook.

Dinwiddie is a member of Division 5, where usually three -- and sometimes all four -- playoff teams in the Central Region get in as at-large entries. The Generals probably can lose at least one more game and still get into the playoffs.

Meadowbrook is a member of Division 6, where it is almost imperative that you win a district title and earn the automatic playoff berth. In some years, all four spots in D-6 are filled by district winners.

"Our motto is, 'Every Friday night is our state championship,'" Coble said. "In Division 6, you can't drop a game at all."

Dinwiddie ------------------------- 3 7 0 7 -- 17
Meadowbrook ------------------------- 14 6 22 14 -- 56

Din FG 34 Lopez

Mbk Phillips 37 run (Jones kick)

Mbk Phillips 35 run (Jones kick)

Din Johnson 9 run (Lopez kick)

Mbk Phillips 5 run (kick failed)

Mbk Coble 1 run (Jones kick)

Mbk safety, grounding in end zone

Mbk Phillips 64 pass from Coble (Jones kick)

Mbk Coble 14 run (kick failed)

Mbk Phillips 3 run (Coble run)

Din Allen 5 run (Lopez kick)

Mbk Coble 15 run (kick failed)
RUSHING

Dinwiddie -- Johnson 6 carries, 36 yards, Jackson 5-19, Allen 1-5, McDaniel 1-1, Harvell 1minus-1, Hall 9minus-21; Meadowbrook -- Phillips 16-103, Coble 21-65, Dorsey 4-18, Rhoades 2-4.
PASSING

Dinwiddie -- Hall 13 completions, 30 attempts, 155 yards, 0 TDs, 1 interception; Mead owbrook -- Coble 11-18-200-1-0.
RECEIVING

Dinwiddie -- Jackson 7 catches, 93 yards, Gardner 3-43, Harvell 2-10, Johnson 1-9; Mead owbrook -- Phillips 1-64, Dorsey 3-51, Wright 2-48, Lloyd 4-32, Richardson 1-5.