No longer a suprise story, Meadowbrook dominates in opener

The resurgence of 2025 was great. 

It wasn’t enough, though.

Sure, the Meadowbrook Monarchs are immensely proud of their 6-4 finish last fall and first winning season since 2013.

Sure, they’re proud that their achievements brought luster to the school’s athletic program and truly energized their Eastern Chesterfield County community.

That was then, though. This is now, and Coach Quinn Tobias’s guys want more.

Their recent success has raised the competitive bar, you see, and they’re bound and determined to clear it.

Friday night, they took an initial step in a positive direction with a 49-9 victory over Clover Hill on the Cavaliers’ home turf.

After the Monarchs (1-0) converted three early turnovers into short-field touchdowns, the outcome was a fait accompli.

“Last year, we took a lot of people by surprise,” said Tobias, for the past two seasons the defensive coordinator on the staff of Billy Rudd, who during the offseason assumed the coaching reins at Matoaca. “We have to focus on finishing this year. We faltered down the line (going 2-4 after a 4-0 start).

“We made some mistakes, and some of those mistakes presented themselves today with some penalties and hiccups. We want to learn from then, so when we’re in a position late in the season to make plays and advance, we’ll be better prepared.”

Trenton Bagby’s first-quarter interception set up the Monarchs’ first score, a 46-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Davin McDaniel to Josiah Brassfield. Jeison Rodriguez’s point-after put MBK up 7-0 at 7:18.

The Monarchs’ swarming defense (a 3-4 basic set) forced a fumble (recovered by Michael Wesley) to end the Cavaliers’ next drive. Two plays later, Ricari Enoch-Bailey crashed in from two yards out, Rodriguez added his second of three PATs, and at 3:10 of the first the visitors led 14-0.

Meadowbrook linebacker Adrian Cheatham recovered a fumble to end the next Clover Hill drive, and in short order Jayvion Oliver scored on a 16-yard run to put the Monarchs up 20-0 at 8:07 of the second quarter.

“When they turned the ball over, we had to score,” McDaniel said. “That might not happen again, so we had to take advantage of it.”

The Monarchs were nowhere near finished, of course.

After their defense stopped Clover Hill (0-1) three-and-out, their offense began a five-play, 41-yard drive that culminated with Enoch-Bailey’s 1-yard TD run and Rodriguez’s point-after 2:27 before halftime.

“They weren’t adjusting to any motion, so we continued to (use) motion and adjust to how they were (aligned) and kept hitting holes,” said McDaniel, who completed 4-of-11 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns in his first varsity start. “That got the job done.

“We came out with a chip on our shoulder.  We were excited (before the game), and that carried onto the field.”

A subsequent defensive stop gave the Monarchs a first down on their 35 following Davis Nghiem’s 37-yard punt.  

On their first play from scrimmage, Oliver broke free up the home sideline for a 65-yard TD, which enabled MBK to take a 33-0 lead into halftime.

Oliver scored again at 3:28 of the third quarter on a 3-yard blast up the middle. Enoch-Bailey’s points-after run increased Meadowbrook's lead to 41-0.

Clover Hill answered quickly when Jalen Cowan sprinted 87 yards from scrimmage for a TD at 0:54 of the third and added three more points when Nghiem drilled a with-room-to-spare 42-yard field goal.

An 18-yard McDaniel-to-Zion Thomas TD pass followed by Enoch-Bailey’s PAT 5:15 from the end concluded the scoring.

“Our kids came out and executed,” Tobias said. “We’re very talented. We have confidence in our players. We stake our claim on stopping the run, we forced the ball in the air, and we forced turnovers.”

The Monarchs registered 352 yards (194 rushing, 158 passing) of offense on 28 plays and limited Clover Hill to 162 (98 rushing, 64 passing) on 50 plays.

“We’re a very aggressive team,” said Enoch-Bailey, a senior middle linebacker. “We blitz almost every play. The goal is to get to the ball. All the hard hits got us hyped up on the sideline. We were keeping each other in the game.”

For 48 minutes, the Monarchs played with energy in abundance.

As if on a mission, they competed with fire, intensity, unabashed exuberance, and joy.

“Last year, we didn’t make the playoffs,” said Wesley, a junior linebacker. “This first game was a statement game because we plan to get to the playoffs.”