Game Notes | Interview with Vince Brown
NEWPORT NEWS - The Apprentice School football team will open the 2023 season against Averett on September 2 at home in front of Builder Nation.
Tickets are on sale now at GoBuilders.com/ticketing. Fans can also secure their tickets through their Apprentice Athletic Club membership, starting for as little as $35. Membership purchasing can be done in the AAC tailgate area Saturday or at the link HERE.
NOTING WEEK 1
• The Builders have won five straight season openers, dating back to the 2017 season. Apprentice defeated Greensboro in 2017, 2018 and 2019 before wins over Brevard in 2021 and Averett last year. There was no 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Apprentice has won three straight home openers as well.
• Averett has dropped three straight season openers, including last year's meeting in Danville, 27-14. The last season opening win for the Cougars came in 2019 against Hampden-Sydney.
• Quarterback Mason Tatum was named the Apprentice School Athlete of the Year by the Peninsula Sports Club this summer. Tatum set numerous records in the 2022 season, including becoming the first Builder to surpass 2,000 passing yards in a season in program history.
• Head coach Vince Brown was named the Small College Sports Report Football Coach of the Year after leading the Builders to a .900 winning percentage for the first time in program history in 2022.
LAST TIME OUT: APPRENTICE
• The Builders finished the 2022 season with a program best 9-1 record, setting a new mark for best winning percentage in program history.
• In the final game of the season, the Builders took down Bridgewater in the Neptune Bowl by a 38-28 final score.
• The Builder offense exploded for 521 yards of offense, including rushing for 312. Mason Tatum surpassed 2,000 passing yards on the year after finishing the game 16-for-29 for 209 and a touchdown. He also rushed for 96 yards and two scores.
• After a scoreless first quarter where defense ruled the show, Curtis Green cracked the scoreboard witha 54-yard scamper to take the early lead. After the Eagles scored with under two minutes left in the first half, Tatum led Apprentice down the field, scoring with five seconds left on a pass to Ta'Kevion Petty.
• The second half was all Builders as Jasiah Beacham intercepted a Bridgewater pass to set up Tatum to cash in on a 25-yard rush to take a 21-7 lead. After a Jeremiah Morgan field goal to start the fourth, Lawrence Reed rumbled in from five yards out and Tatum took a 32-yard rush to the house to seal the win.
LAST TIME OUT: AVERETT
• Averett went 3-7 in 2022 with a 1-6 record in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play.
• The Cougars were picked to finish sixth in the ODAC in the league's preseason poll.
• After the opening loss to Apprentice to kick off the season, the Cougars defeated Christopher Newport and Brevard in non-conference play before dropping six straight to start conference action.
• Two of the three games Averett won last year were on the road.
• Averett had five players named to the All-ODAC Team a year ago with senior Johnathan Terrell named to the first team. Junior offensive lineman Matthew Isom, redshirt sophomore linebacker Lamar Horner and junior punter Mason Smith were voted as second teamers, while senior defensive back Isaiah Sharper was chosen for the third team.
SERIES NOTEBOOK: AVERETT
• This will be the fourth meeting between the Builders and Cougars. Apprentice has won all three previous matchups, dating back to the series opener in 2000.
• All three previous games have been played at Averett.
• In 2000, the Builders won 20-0 before a 20-14 win for Apprentice two years later.
• After a two-decade hiatus, the two teams matched up last year, where the Builders came from behind to defeat the Cougars, 27-14.
• The two teams were scheduled to play each other in 2001 and 2003, but both were canceled. The 2001 meeting was nixed as it was the weekend after the 9/11 attacks, while the 2003 meeting was lost due to Hurricane Isabel.