Rebels slip past Rosewood

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

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CALYPSO -- North Duplin senior running back Montreal Garner made the most of Senior Night, rushing for 216 yards as the Rebels rallied to defeat the Rosewood 22-20 on Friday night at Grubbs Athletic Field.

Led by Garner and the passing of quarterback Doug Lloyd, the Rebels piled up 453 yards of total offense. Garner averaged almost 10 yards a carry and ran for the winning touchdown and two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter. Lloyd, the area's leading passer, completed 10-of-18 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns.

"Both teams played hard and both teams had a chance," North Duplin coach John Avent said.

Each team moved the ball well in the first quarter, but could not cross the goal line. North Duplin gave the ball up on downs twice in the first half. Rosewood used an 11-play drive in the first quarter to move the ball to midfield, but the Rebels held and forced a punt.

The Rebels scored the game's first touchdown when Lloyd passed 67 yards to Demetrius Vann with just over six minutes left in the second quarter. The first half ended with North Duplin leading 6-0.

The second half fireworks started on Rosewood's first drive. The Eagles drove 64 yards in 10 plays to pull even with seven minutes left in the third quarter. Cameron Lowe kicked the extra point to give Rosewood a 7-6 advantage. The Eagles scored again five minutes later when Devon Bennett broke free up the middle on a 56-yard touchdown run.

"We got a great rivalry-- both teams have been in the Carolina 1-A Conference since it existed, regardless of where the teams are in the standings it's usually a great game," Rosewood coach Daniel Barrow said.

The two third quarter touchdowns gave the Eagles a 14-6 lead as the final period began.

Lloyd, however, moved the Rebels down the field and connected with Brandon Smith on a 31-yard touchdown pass to pull his team within 2 points. The sophomore quarterback hit receiver Sherman Hyatt in the right corner of the end zone for the conversion and the score was tied 14-14 with just under 10 minutes left in the game.

Rosewood went back ahead 20-14 on a short touchdown run by quarterback Josh Myers with just 3:45 left to play.

But less than two minutes later, the lead changed hands again as North Duplin's Montreal Garner scored on an 11-yard touchdown run and ran the two point conversion with just 1:55 left to play in the game.

After the kickoff, Rosewood moved down the field to the North Duplin 21. But that's all the closer the Eagle got as Rebels safety Michael Schilling intercepted his second pass of the game to seal the win for North Duplin.

Rosewood, which started only one senior on offense, was led in rushing by Devon Bennett with 124 yards on 14 carries. Josh Myers added 69 yards on the ground for the Eagles.

The Rebels were led in receiving by Demetrius Vann with four catches for 114 yards. Garner also caught four passes for 26 yards.

With the win North Duplin improved to 2-2 in the Carolina 1-A conference and 3-6 overall. Rosewood fell to 0-4 and 1-8.

Rosewood hosts the Princeton Bulldogs next week and North Duplin travels to Spring Creek to close out the regular season for each team.