Hunt blanks SW

By David Miller
Published in Sports on October 30, 2005 2:13 AM

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DUDLEY -- With Wilson Hunt's 23-0 win at Southern Wayne on Friday night, it will all come down to one game this week for first-place honors in the Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference.

The Warriors (9-1, 4-0 ECC) will travel to take on crosstown rival Wilson Beddingfield (10-0, 4-0) this Friday.

Southern Wayne (6-4, 2-2 ECC), suffering through its second shutout of the season, will close out the regular season and determine its conference playoff ranking when the Saints travel to Pikeville on Friday to meet Charles B. Aycock (6-4, 2-2 ECC).

Hunt coach Randy Raper's vaunted defense played as billed. Anthony Council, the area's leading rusher, was more than 100 yards under his average of 169 yards per game. The sophomore -- who entered the game with 1,521 yards and 22 touchdowns -- was held to just 65 yards on 17 carries.

"Hunt has a tremendous defense," Southern Wayne coach Bob Warren said. "We had a great deal of difficulty moving the football all night long, and never could get anything established."

The Saints could manage only 47 plays to their guest's 60. They were held to only 1 yard passing and barely 100 yards total offense.

"Our defense played well in spots," Warren said. "We just needed a little more offense to keep them off the field so much."

With the exception of quarterback Rick Spell, Southern Wayne was able to keep the Hunt offense on a tight leash. The senior scored two touchdowns and passed for one. He was 8-for-12 passing for 118 yards through the air.

Linebacker Joseph Davis stopped the Warriors' opening drive. He ran Spell out of bounds on a left sweep, forcing the first of only two punts on the night.

After Spell scored first on a 19 yard keeper, another linebacker, David Combs, stopped Hunt's next drive at the Southern Wayne 27.

Mental lapses and poor field position haunted the Saints all night. They never started a series beyond their own 30. They fumbled four times, losing two, were assessed six penalties and were forced to punt six times.

"We've been taking things one game at a time," Warren said. "Right now, we just need to continue to focus on what we need to do to get better. Plus, get ready for Aycock and hopefully play some better football."