Spring Creek endures shutout loss at South Lenoir

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on August 19, 2007 2:05 AM

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From staff reports

DEEP RUN -- South Lenoir tallied 22 points within a three-minute, second-quarter stretch and romped past Spring Creek 45-0 on Friday evening.

The Blue Devils remained unbeaten in two meetings against the Gators.

"It's good to be able to line up and prepare for the regular season," Blue Devils coach Casey Corey said. "You always want to start the season on a good note. We made some mental mistakes, but they're things that we can work on in practice."

South Lenoir opened the game with a 58-yard, eight-play drive where Dorsey Leach scampered in the end zone from four yards out.

The Gators buckled down on defense and kept South Lenoir at bay until 3:35 to play until halftime. Leach rumbled in from 1 yard out and Cody Johnson returned a Spring Creek fumble 32 yards for a touchdown.

Ricky Haskett capped the 22-point outburst with a 40-yard field goal.

South Lenoir capitalized on two third-quarter turnovers to further silence the Gators, who are 1-6 all-time in season-opening games.

"We just didn't have it tonight," said Spring Creek coach Roy Whitfield. "Worst-case scenario, the score should have been 21-0. We just gave it away too much."

The Gators were dominated by an older, more experienced group.

"We had so many young boys playing for the first time," said Whitfield. "Basically our whole offensive backfield was boys that had never played in a varsity game."

Despite the negatives, Whitfield did see some bright spots.

"Adam Hinson played exceptionally well on both sides of the ball," said Whitfield. "Tommy Dean played very well at CB."

Sophomore quarterback Nick Hatem also did well despite facing a constant aggressive rush from the South Lenoir defense. The first-year starter completed 5 of 9 passes for 23 yards.

"They pretty well knew our limitations and sent the house," said Whitfield. "They had a pretty good team. It was definitely an experience."

Spring Creek (0-1 overall) returns home Friday for a contest against perennial Class 1-A Super Six power Hobbton. Game time is 7:30 at "The Swamp."

Editor's note: The Kinston Free Press contributed to this story.

Spring Creek 0 0 0 0 -- 0

South Lenoir 7 15 16 7 -- 45

First quarter

SL -- Dorsey Leach 4 run (Ricky Haskett kick), 8:52

Second quarter

SL -- Leach 1 run (kick failed), 3:35

SL -- Cody Johnson 32 fumble recovery (kick failed), 2:06

SL -- Haskett 40 FG, 0:00

Third quarter

SL -- Devin Grady 2 run (kick failed), 11:45

SL -- Quan Outlaw 2 run (Haskett kick), 10:09

SL -- Haskett 30 field goal, 4:23

Fourth quarter

SL -- Josh Hatch 14 run (Haskett kick), 9:13

SC SL

First downs 5 15

Rushes-yards 20-(-5) 44-360

Passing yards 23 0

Total yards 18 360

A-C-I 9-5-1 4-0-0

Penalties 7-31 5-40

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Spring Creek -- Jaelyn Lee 3-9; Adam Hinson 1-3; Nick Hatem 1-1; Trey Thorton 6-(-2); Chris Ponce 1-(-6); Adam Daniels 8-(-14). South Lenoir -- Josh Hatch 5-103; Jesse Verduzco 8-80; Dorsey Leach 11-77; Thomas Dove 6-70; Quan Outlaw 7-27; Tyler Grady 2-13; Devin Grady 4-(-5); Dalton Murphy 1-(-5).

PASSING -- Spring Creek -- Nick Hatem 5-9-1 23. South Lenoir -- Thomas Dove 0-2-0 0; Dalton Murphy 0-2-0 0.

RECEIVING -- Spring Creek -- Derek Strickland 2-12, Trey Thorton 1-7, Adam Hinson 2-4.