CHESAPEAKE — Trailing by 14 points at halftime, Indian River running back Ravon Moore refused to believe his high school career was going to end Friday night.
“When we went into that locker room, I knew I didn’t want to go home,” he said. “I knew what I had to do and what it would take.”
Moore put the Braves on his back as he rushed for a career-high 319 yards and three touchdowns to lead Indian River to a 42-24 Class 5 Region A first-round victory over upset-minded Kempsville. The Braves did it by outscoring the Chiefs 34-3 in the third quarter.
“We came into the locker room at halftime and we just knew we needed to come out with energy,” he said, “and that’s what we did.”
The Braves will go to No. 1 seed Green Run, which beat Ocean Lakes, in a rematch of last season’s thriller when Indian River upset the Stallions to win the region championship and advance to the state semifinals.
It was Kempsville that controlled the game early.
The Chiefs took an early 7-0 lead when Lahai Massaquoi intercepted Indian River quarterback Kam Kirby and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown.