The Randolph-Henry High School varsity football team took an early lead against host Colonial Beach High School on Friday but was not able to keep up with the Drifters in the second half. The Statesmen lost 37-19.

“It was a good game,” Randolph-Henry Head Coach Mark McPherson said. “We kind of fought back a couple times but just made too many mistakes and errors to win the football game.”

The Statesmen went up 6-0 when senior quarterback Spencer Parrish connected with sophomore tight end Veiw Moore for a 3-yard touchdown pass.

The Drifters tied the contest and later went up 13-6. Randolph-Henry kept pace, tying the game at 13 when junior running back Tremaine Pugh took Parrish pass 85 yards for a score and senior John Walker hit the extra point.

But then a key momentum shift occurred.

“They scored on the last play of the half and went up 2(1)-13,” McPherson said.

Colonial Beach extended this lead to 29-13 in the third quarter. Statesmen senior Chris Powell scored on a 2-yard run to make it 29-19, but that was as close as Randolph-Henry would get.

In the fourth quarter, Drifters senior running back Lamar Lucas scored on a 46-yard run and his team got the 2-point conversion to go up 37-19.

For the game, Powell had 23 carries for 127 yards and a touchdown, Pugh had four catches for 152 yards and a score and junior Trequan Agnew had two catches for 17 yards.

Powell and Pugh were also standouts on defense, with Powell recording seven solo tackles and four assists and Pugh generating four solo tackles and three assists. Junior Cedric Patrick ended up with five solo tackles and two assists.

The contest with the Drifters was the very definition of an away game, as the journey from Randolph-Henry to Colonial Beach High School takes, at minimum, more than two-and-a-half hours.

“It was a long trip,” McPherson said. Considering the trip’s possible impact on his team’s play, he added, “Maybe that had a little something to do with it, but no excuses. We’re just not good enough right now, and they outplayed us.”

The Statesmen (0-2) travel to face their rivals in Lunenburg County, Central High School (1-1), this Friday at 7 p.m.

“We’re looking forward to our game … with Central, and I hope we can get back on track,” McPherson said.