The Prince Edward County High School football team may be turning the corner, but it's a right big corner as evidenced in the Eagles' 25-7 setback to Nottoway on homecoming night at PECHS last Friday.

The Eagles were stymied by a much larger Nottoway line on offense, but after a couple of early Nottoway scores, adjusted on defense to keep Nottoway close enough to remain within striking distance for most of the second half.

“We couldn't get on track offensively, and gave up a couple of touchdowns early, with one coming on a punt return,” said PECHS head coach Terrence Edmonds. “Our defense buckled down and played well in the second half, but we still couldn't get anything going on offense.

“They had a big size advantage on the front line and came right at us with nothing special, just size and power, so I guess you can say they won in the weight room and carried it over onto the field.”

Nottoway held a 19-0 lead at the half. Prince Edward's only score came midway through the third quarter when Raheem Smith stripped the ball away from a Nottoway player around midfield and returned it for a touchdown to cut the Cougars' lead to 19-7, but the Eagles could get no closer, and gave up a late touchdown in the final two minutes of the game.

“We got better play from our linebackers in the second half,” said Edmonds. “At first, they were starting a little too close to the line, but when we stepped them back a little, it gave them a little more time to see the Nottoway's counters and dives.”

Prince Edward was able to gain only 113 yards in total offense. The Eagles were led on the ground by Ralick Lockett, who gained 33 yards on ten carries. Quarterback Jeremy Walker was 4-13 passing. His biggest play came to Smith, who had one catch for 29 yards.

The big rushing package that worked well for PE two weeks ago at Bluestone wasn't as effective against Nottoway.

“They're bigger, and we've got to continue to work with them. One thing they have to continue to remember is that their job is to block when they're not running the ball. That's a must, and someone who blocks when he's not handling the ball, will get rewarded with more touches.”

Defensively, PE was led by Noah Bowman who had seven tackles and six assists to go with a sack, while Spencer Bartee and Walter Christmas had seven and six solo tackles respectively. Ralick Lockett and James Jones also had six tackles apiece.

Prince Edward will travel to Brunswick this Friday for a 7:30 p.m. contest.