Rebels put scare into Farmville Central

Published in Sports on October 24, 2004 9:42 AM

• Print
• Email

CALYPSO -- Hopes ran high on both sidelines of H.E. Grubbs Field, where visitors Farmville Central teased North Duplin all night with a chance for a victory at home.

In the end, Farmville Central came out with a 20-19 win after an eight-point, 68-yard drive and five minutes of chainsaw defense that cut down North Duplin's comeback drive.

"The game was a game of momentum changes," said Farmville Central coach Dixon Sauls.

Farmville Central (4-5, 3-1 Class 1-A Carolina Conference) seemed to have the game in hand at 12-0 when a North Duplin injury stopped play early in the second quarter. Then the Jaguars momentum stopped, too.

"We turned the ball over twice, and we let them back in the game," Sauls said.

North Duplin (2-6, 1-3 Carolina) scored its first points in the second quarter with a five-yard run by quarterback Brad Lloyd. They took the lead 19-12 early in the fourth quarter with back-to-back touchdown drives. Lloyd's connection to Charlton Armwood for a 21-yard touchdown pass was immediately followed by an onside kick, recovered by the Rebels' Luis Villalon. The recovery set North Duplin up for a 60-yard drive that finished with Bucky McCarty's two-yard dash into the end zone.

They held the 19-12 lead for nearly three minutes, which sent hopes soaring for the home crowd.

"I thought we had some mental lapses with penalties. Defensively we didn't execute well at times, and we're just very fortunate to win against a very, very game North Duplin team," Sauls said.

North Duplin coach John Bert Avent hopes the Rebels get some breaks soon.

"We played tough," he said. "It was a good game. Needless to say, both teams played hard. We had our chances, and they had theirs. It came down to the wire."

Even without the win, Avent said his players did the things they needed to do.

"We gave ourselves a chance to win, and that's what you've got to do," he said.

Next week the Rebels travel to rival Rosewood, while the Jaguars play Princeton at home.

North Duplin 0 6 13 0 -- 19

Farmville Central 12 0 0 8 -- 20

First quarter

FC -- Williams 47 run (kick failed) 9:33

FC -- Smith 3 run (2 pt failed) 1:17

Second quarter

ND -- Lloyd 5 run (2 pt failed) :28.6

Fourth quarter

ND -- Lloyd 21 pass to Armwood (Vaca kick) 11:05

ND -- McCarty 2 run (2 pt failed) 7:53

FC -- Cotton 4 run (Austin run) 1:17

ND FC

First downs 16 13

Rushes-yds. 167 174

Passing yds. 76 118

Total yards 243 292

Comp.-att.-int. 5-16-0 5-12-1

Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-2

Penalities-yds 6-46 7-49

Punts 3-33.6 1-36

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- North Duplin -- Brad Lloyd 19-49, TD; Doug Lloyd 1-2; Montreal Garner 15-109; Bucky McCarty 3-6, TD; Daniel Howell 1-1. Farmville Central -- Richard Williams 5-54, TD; Quintrell Cotton 11-63, TD; Terrell Smith 10-39, TD; Brandon Austin 3-18.

PASSING -- North Duplin -- Brad Lloyd 5-16-0 76, TD. Farmville Central -- Brandon Austin 5-12-1 118.

RECEIVING -- North Duplin -- Doug Lloyd 2-7; Charlton Armwood 2-36, TD; Matt Braswell 1-35; Roy Villalon 1-(-2). Farmville Central -- Jessie Mercer 1-33; Justin Foskey 1-6; Kajon Farrow 1-29; Quintrell Cotton 1-9; No. 40 1-41.