Top-seeded James Kenan routs Louisburg in 1-AA playoffs

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on November 19, 2006 2:02 AM

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WARSAW -- James Kenan slightly altered its defensive scheme in preparation for Louisburg's high-powered offense, and the visitors failed to collect a touchdown until the final quarter Friday evening.

Stedman Mathis and Alex Monk, meanwhile, each rushed for more than 100 yards as the state-ranked and unbeaten Tigers claimed a 35-6 victory at Bill Taylor Field. James Kenan (13-0) plays host to Pender County in a third-round, N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 1-AA (large-school) playoff contest next Friday.

Louisburg averaged more than 40 points an outing this season and dominated opponents with its running game. Halfbacks Jekiva Gupton and Hakeem Strickland accounted for most of the Warriors' 277 rushing yards against the Tigers, but the Warriors couldn't generate any offense inside the 20-yard line.

Only Strickland found the end zone.

"They play a 3-3 defense with only three down linemen," said Louisburg head coach James Collier. "We broke the first level, but could not get past the second. James Kenan has a really good football team with big, strong and athletic players.

"Their size took a toll on us as the game went on."

Louisburg, the No. 8 seed, played strong defensively and nearly kept James Kenan off the board. Facing a 3rd-and-9 play, Tiger quarterback Sean Jones hooked up with Jamian Smith on a pass over the middle.

Smith caught the ball in traffic at the Louisburg 40 and the senior wideout headed toward to the right sideline -- and the end zone. It was Smith's third scoring reception of the season.

The Warriors controlled the ball and clock for a majority of the second quarter. Louisburg picked up three first downs, but turned the ball over downs inside the Tigers' red zone.

James Kenan manufactured a 90-yard scoring drive that included a 20-yard pass completion from Jones to Alex Monk. Mathis capped the time-consuming possession with an 11-yard touchdown run.

"They did a good job keeping the ball away from us," said Tigers head coach Ken Avent Jr. "That touchdown we scored just before half was big for us."

The Tigers received the second-half kickoff and put another touchdown on the board. Jones polished off an 11-play drive with a 1-yard plunge. Jorge Vasquez successfully converted the PAT to give James Kenan a 21-0 advantage.

Louisburg stalled near midfield on its next possession. The Tigers took over, Mathis side-stepped several tacklers on the first play from scrimmage and galloped 58 yards to the end zone.

Monk concluded the scoring with a 47-yard run in the final quarter.

Notes: James Kenan defense -- Alex Flores with seven tackles, 10 assists; Josh Hicks with seven tackles, eight assists; Akeem Faison with five tackles, eight assists; Tony Jones with six tackles, five assists; and Kordarious Brown with six tackles, one assist.

Louisburg 0 0 0 0 -- 6

James Kenan 6 8 14 7 -- 35

First quarter

JK -- Smith 75 pass from S. Jones (kick failed), 5:15

Second quarter

JK -- Mathis 11 run (Glaspie run), 0:34

Third quarter

JK -- Jones 1 run (Vasquez kick), 6:52

JK -- Mathis 58 run (Vasquez kick), 2:14

Fourth quarter

JK -- Monk 48 run (Delcid kick), 7:13

LB -- Strickland 6 run (run failed), 2:11

Louisburg JK

First downs 16 26

Rushes-yds 72-277 32-290

Passing yds 0 130

Total yards 277 420

C-A-I 0-2-0 3-5-0

Fumbles-lost 3-0 2-1

Punts-avg. 1-29.0 1-38.0

Penalties-yds 5-40 8-70

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Louisburg -- Hakeem Strickland 34-143, TD; Gerald Bullock 3-1; Jekiva Gupton 23-113; Randy Lassiter 5-(-3); Ramon Sutton 2-11; Dominique Perry 3-15; Daryl Ware 1-0; Marquis Foster 1-3. James Kenan -- Stedman Mathis 10-150, 2 TDs; Alex Monk 11-117, TD; Jimmy Glaspie 6-21; Sean Jones 3-(-3), TD; Sylvester Miller 1-6; Tyrell Pemberton 1-(-1).

PASSING -- Louisburg -- Randy Lassiter 0-1-0 0; Daryl Ware 0-1-0 0. James Kenan -- Sean Jones 3-5-0 130, TD.

RECEIVING -- James Kenan -- Jamian Smith 1-75, TD; Sean Wilson 1-25; Alex Monk 1-20.