CENTRAL GARAGE - King William faced a challenge last night when it faced Tidewater District rival Colonial Beach, but the Cavaliers thought they could rise to the occasion.

Aiming to unseat an undefeated, sixth-ranked team (in the AP state poll) is a tall order, but the Cavaliers after a shaky start held their own. In the end, however, turnovers and other mistakes caught up with them and they fell to the Drifters 26-22.

"We had our chances. We made mistakes at the wrong times," King William coach Zach Just said. "We had the ball inside the 10, I think it was three times, and didn't come away with any points.

"We fully believed we could beat that team. I think we showed we're every bit as good as them, we just made mistakes at bad times."

Their first big mistake led to the Drifters' first score. On a third-and-9 from their 20, quarterback Lewis Redman fired a solid pass to receiver Jamar Carter. The ball bounced out of Carter's hands into the hands of Colonial Beach's Timmy Jackson. Three plays later, the Drifters scored on a 2-yard run by Will Trivett. The point-after attempt failed, and Colonial Beach had a 6-0 lead.

On the Cavaliers' second drive, two of Redman's passes were dropped by King William receivers. Colonial Beach (1-0 Tidewater, 6-0) responded with a six-play, 52-yard drive capped by Travis Cundiff's 1-yard run. Yet another Drifter conversion attempt failed, but the Drifters ended the first quarter with a 12-0 lead.

The Cavaliers (0-1, 2-3) drove to the Drifters 8-yard line on their first drive of the second quarter, but on third and one, a bad snap set them back to the 15. They turned the ball over on downs.

An aggressive King William pass rush stalled Colonial Beach's offensive momentum, and the defense picked up a fumble, giving the Cavaliers the ball on the Drifters 45. On second down, Redman hit Jamar Carter for a 32-yard gain. Devonte Temple found a hole on the right side of the Drifters line and sprinted to a 13-yard touchdown run. Josh Belfield's kick made it 12-7.

King William went ahead early in the third quarter when Allen Johnson picked up a Colonial Beach fumble and charged 39 yards for a touchdown. Belfield converted again, giving the Cavaliers a 14-12 lead.

Colonial Beach responded with a touchdown of their own, driving 75 yards in nine plays and scoring on Chad Inscoe's 1-yard run, but they failed to convert one more time.

The Cavaliers were determined to regain the lead. In the ensuing drive, they drove to the Drifters 4-yard line, but the drive ended in disappointment when Redman threw a jump ball that ended in the hands of Dylan Farinet.

At this point, the Cavaliers defense rose to the occasion, stopping Colonial Beach at their 4-yard line, but on the first play from scrimmage, Redman's pass was tipped up and landed in the hands of Inscoe.

The Cavaliers defense seemed poised to stop the Drifters again at their 6-yard line, but just when Farinet seemed sacked on fourth down, he escaped the grasp of a King William lineman and found Aaron Dickerson in the end zone. This time, the Drifters also converted on a pass from Farinet to Russell Fields to take a 26-14 lead.

"They came off a big win, and they wanted this team and it was their homecoming. We knew how much it meant," Just said. "So obviously they're a bit down, but I think the kids are resilient and they'll bounce back."

Colonial Beach	12	0	6	8	-	26
King William	0	7	7	8	-	22

C - Trivett 2 run (kick failed)

C - Cundiff 1 run (pass failed)

K - Temple 13 run (Belfield kick)

K - Johnson 44 fumble return (Belfield kick)

C - Inscoe 1 run (pass failed)

C - Dickerson 6 pass from Farinet (Fields pass from Farinet)

K - Safety (Dickerson tackled in end zone)

K - Carter 4 run (no kick)

RUSHING

Colonial Beach: Cundiff 21 carries 158 yards, Farinet 16-37, Trivett 5-12, Peterson 3-(minus 1), Inscoe 5-16, Dickerson 4-0 King William: Carter 8-29, Temple 7-32, Redman 5-(minus 25), White 1-(minus 1), Johnson 1-(minus 1)
PASSING

Colonial Beach: Farinet 7 completions 13 attempts 67 yards 0 interceptions, Cundiff 1-1-26-0 King William: Redman 11-26-181-4
RECEIVING

Colonial Beach: Carey 4 receptions 67 yards, Fields 3-28, Dickerson 1-6 King William: Thornton 5-52, Carter 1-32, Powell 4-90, Akers 1-7