Pamlico drops Kenan from playoffs

By Gabe Whisnant
Published in Sports on November 21, 2004 2:01 AM

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WARSAW -- Despite a disappointing 17-6 loss to Pamlico in the second round of the Class 1-AA (large school) N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs on Friday, twenty James Kenan seniors walked off Bill Taylor field having helped accomplish what many thought was impossible.

In two years, those seniors under the leadership of second-year coach Kevin Motsinger turned a 1-10 team into one of the best squads in the rugged, Super Six Conference and brought respect back to the Tiger program.

Following the game, Motsinger took a step back as his eyes filled with tears when talking about his upper-classmen's contributions.

"They've worked so hard and done everything I asked them too," he said. "They are special. I'm honored I had a privilege to work with them every single day. Two years ago, 20 of these guys were 1-10, and they tell you, 'you can't even turn a program around in four years.'

"I'm proud as I can be for every single one of them. Tonight just wasn't our night."

Friday, the Hurricanes' rushing combination of Jermaine Sawyer and Deondre Green helped their team control the time of possession from the second quarter until the final horn. Sawyer finished with 93 yards on 15 carries with a touchdown, while Green added 76 yards on 17 carries.

Pamlico quarterback Patrick Williams' one-yard sneak capped a 10-play, five-minute drive to tie the game at 6-6 midway through the fourth quarter. Place-kicker Kristian Bouw's extra-point gave his team a 7-6 lead it would never relinquish.

Just before intermission, Sawyer scored on an eight-yard rumble around the left side to make it an eight-point lead. The touchdown was set up by a Kenan personal foul that moved the ball inside the 10.

"We just didn't execute and we made dumb penalties," Motsinger said. "We've worked on it and worked on it, but obviously we didn't work on it enough."

Even on non-scoring drives, Pamlico's ability up front to control the line of scrimmage led to two lengthy possessions in the second half that proved detrimental to a Kenan comeback attempt. Bouw added a booming, 41-yard field goal late in the third quarter to push the score to the final margin of 17-6.

The Hurricane defense proved equally as tough in the trenches.

After yielding a first-quarter touchdown, Pamlico forced three punts and only allowed the Tigers to cross midfield twice in the final three quarters. James Kenan had just one rushing gain of over 10 yards on the night -- a 23-yard scamper by Ronnie Williams in the first quarter.

After punting on its first drive and fumbling deep in Pamlico territory on its second, Kenan put together a five-play scoring drive. Matt Bass capped the drive -- set up by a 15-yard Pamlico penalty and Williams' 23-yard run -- with a diving catch in the back of the end zone on a pass from Kevin Miller. The touchdown pass was Miller's 11th of the season. Bass finished with seven scoring grabs. Both are part of Kenan's senior class that played their final game in black and gold.

Trailing 17-6, Kenan had a golden opportunity to draw closer early in the fourth quarter, but a wide-open downfield receiver dropped a pass from Miller. Eventually, the Tigers turned it over on downs as Pamlico took over with seven minutes left and milked most of the final-quarter clock.

Pamlico 0 14 3 0 -- 17

James Kenan 6 0 0 0 -- 6

First quarter

JK -- Bass 13 pass from Miller (pass failed), 2:50

Second quarter

PHS -- Williams 1 run (Bouw kick), 5:11

PHS -- Sawyer 8 run (Bouw kick), :52.4

Third quarter

PHS -- Bouw 41 FG, :39.1

PHS JK

First downs 11 9

Rushes-yds. 48-210 35-113

Passing yds. 0 46

Total yds. 210 159

Att.-Comp.-Int. 4-0-0 13-7-1

Fumbles-lost 1-1 3-1

Penalties-yds. 6-55 6-48

Punts-avg. 3-44.3 3-34.5

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Pamlico -- Jermaine Sawyer 15-93, TD; Patrick Williams 4-0, TD; Willie Fisher 9-30; Deondre' Green 17-76; Jordan Woodard 1-2; O'dell Anthony 1-(-2); Deshawn Davis 1-11. James Kenan -- Kevin Miller 12-21; Brandon Satchell 6-28; Brian Merriman 4-25; Alex Flores 5-19; Ronnie Williams 6-18; Eric Benson 0-0; Leeron Boykin 1-2.

PASSING -- Pamlico -- Patrick Williams 0-4-0 0. James Kenan -- Kevin Miller 7-13-1 46, TD.

RECEIVING -- James Kenan -- Matt Bass 3-32, TD; Michael Jarman 1-(-2); D.J. Moore 1-(-6); Ronnie Williams 1-6; Jason Kennion 1-16.