Turner's interception return secures Poquoson's 40-28 victory over Bruton

POQUOSON -- With less than two minutes remaining, Bruton High stood just 26 yards away from erasing an early 21-point deficit Friday night.

But Poquoson High's Austin Turner dashed the Panthers' comeback hopes, capping off an incredible performance by picking off quarterback Bilal Wallace and going 74 yards the other way for a touchdown to secure the Islanders' 40-28 win at Poquoson Middle School.


Turner did it all for the Islanders, scoring on a 35-yard run in the second quarter, stripping the ball from a Bruton runner and taking it back for a 43-yard touchdown later in that quarter, and  then ending his night with the game-sealing interception. He even punted five times for an average of 33.4 yards.

Poquoson struck first when quarterback Trey Hicks found Ty Crouse for a 21-yard touchdown throw, but Bruton responded quickly, going on a five-play, 62-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Isiah Williams to tie the score at 7.


After Poquoson's Nathan Ward punched in a touchdown from 5 yards out to make it 14-7, the Turner show began. With 11:44 left in the second quarter, he broke off a 35-yard run to put the Islanders up 21-7. And just seven plays later, he stripped Williams at Bruton's 43-yard line and dashed the other way to give Poquoson a commanding 28-7 lead.

But the Panthers answered with a long drive, capped by a 14-yard toss from Wallace to Kapri Doucet before going to the half trailing 28-14. Out of the locker room, the two connected again for a 48-yard touchdown pass to make it a one-touchdown game in the third quarter.

Poquoson then seemingly regained control with a 24-yard run by Johnny Pryce. The ensuing PAT attempt was no good, but the Islanders were in control, up 34-21 with 10:33 left in the game.

After two punts, Turner pinned the Panthers on the 8 with a punt as the clock came under seven minutes.

But Bruton's offense got going, though, and Wallace scored from 1 yard out after a 53-yard catch-and-run by Doucet, who announced earlier Friday that he would accept a college scholarship offer from James Madison.

A Poquoson three-and-out and a 21-yard punt set Bruton up in striking distance, down just six with 2:45 to play, but Turner once again turned the Panthers over and ran into the end zone.

Bruton 7,7,7,7 — 28
Poquoson 14,14,0,12 — 40

P: Crouse 21 pass from Hicks (Coccimiglio kick), 9:15.
B: Williams 1 run (McReynolds kick), 6:25.
P: Ward 5 run (Coccimiglio kick), 2:12.
P: Turner 35 run (Coccimilgio kick), 11:44.
P: Turner 43 fumble recovery (Coccimiglio kick), 8:48.
B: Doucet 14 pass from Wallace (McReynolds kick), 4:30.
D: Doucet 48 pass from Wallace (McReynolds kick), 8:38.
P: Pryce 24 run (kick failed), 10:35.
B: Wallace 1 run (McReynolds kick), 5:28.
P: Turner 74 interception return (pass failed), 1:33.

TEAM STATS    Bru    Poq
First downs    15    10
Rushes-yards    28-155    35-152
Passing yards    291    43
Comp-Att-Int    20-33-1    3-7-1
Punts-avg.    4-32.3    5-33.4
Penalties-yards    13-138    7-60
Fumbles-lost    4-2    1-0

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