Hunt responds after having third-quarter punt blocked

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on October 14, 2007 2:16 AM

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Eastern Wayne's emotional high of a third-quarter blocked punt and subsequent touchdown quickly diminished within two minutes Friday evening.

That's how long Wilson Hunt needed to thwart an ambush at Little Big Horn. Jasmin Taybron and Calvin Barnes each collected a third-quarter touchdown as the visiting Warriors prevailed 21-7 on the Class 3-A Eastern Carolina Conference football scene.

Hunt remained unbeaten in eight contests, including a 2-0 ledger against ECC opposition. Eastern Wayne, which started the season 3-0, suffered its fourth defeat in its last five outings and remained winless in two conference games.

Trailing 7-0, the host Warriors forced Hunt to punt on its opening drive of the third quarter. Linebacker Nolan Lancaster knifed his way through and blocked David Hesmer's punt.

Sophomore lineman Chris Hines smothered the ball at the Hunt 16.

"That was a great play," said EW head coach Jeff Price.

Two plays later, Hassan Best accounted for Eastern Wayne's lone touchdown -- a 1-yard plunge at the 9:59 mark. Chris Hughes' PAT created a 7-7 deadlock.

Hunt, the reigning ECC co-champion, answered.

Hesmer orchestrated a seven-play, 72-yard scoring drive. Torez Jones' 36-yard burst through the middle and down the left sideline put the ball on the host Warriors' 28-yard line. Four plays later, Taybron bulled his way over from the 1 into the end zone.

"I think that was the turning point of the game," said Hunt coach Randy Raper. "We were caught struggling there for a while. By us being able to do that, it made a big difference for us."

Eastern Wayne fumbled on its next offensive play.

Five plays later, Barnes cashed in from the 8-yard line for a two-touchdown advantage. A 5-foot-10, 190-pound senior, Barnes grinded out 85 yards on 19 carries for the game.

"They got the breaks and we didn't," said Price. "You make a mistake and that allows them to jump on top of you with a quick score. But I'm so proud of our effort ... knowing that we could play with them to the end."

The host Warriors accumulated just 110 yards of total offense on 30 rushes and didn't complete a pass in four attempts. Eastern Wayne recorded two third-down conversions on its opening drive, which ended with a punt.

Hunt's defense didn't yield a third-down conversion the remainder of the night. Eastern Wayne logged a 2-for-9 effort on third downs and kept Eric Brofft busy. The senior averaged nearly 34 yards on six punts.

"Our defense played extremely well," said Raper. "Eastern Wayne had a good game plan overloading on one side, running sweep and hitting us with a little trap on the backside.

"We'd bend a little bit, but wouldn't break except for that one time. Our defense has been steady all year."

Hunt improved to 7-0 against Wayne County opposition since joining the league in 2005.

Wilson Hunt 7 0 14 0 -- 21

Eastern Wayne 0 0 7 0 -- 7

First quarter

H -- Jones 26 pass from Hesmer (Schick kick), 1:12

Third quarter

EW -- Best 1 run (Hughes kick), 9:59

H -- Taybron 1 run (Schick kick), 6:34

H -- Barnes 8 run (Schick kick), 4:31

Hunt EW

First downs 15 5

Rushes-yds 44-200 30-110

Passing yds 81 0

Total yards 281 110

C-A-I 6-15-0 0-4-0

Fumbles-lost 2-1 3-2

Punts-avg. 3-41.6 6-33.7

Penalties-yds 5-31 4-51

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Wilson Hunt -- Donterrius Rodgers 1-9; Ricky Archie 5-10; Calvin Barnes 19-85, TD; Demetrice Dew 4-13; David Hesmer 5-15; Antonio Lucas 2-10; Dante Bullock 1-8; Torez Jones 3-41; Jasmin Taybron 2-6; Jordan White 1-(-1); Ben Ellis 1-4. Eastern Wayne -- Hassan Best 15-100, TD; Dan White 4-(-35); Demetrius Morgan 1-4; Dwight Ulmer 6-45; Orlando Midgette 1-(-4); Eric Brofft 2-3; Team 1-(-3).

PASSING -- Wilson Hunt -- David Hesmer 6-15-0 81, TD. Eastern Wayne -- Dan White 0-2-0; Hassan Best 0-2-0.

RECEIVING -- Wilson Hunt -- Willie Harrison 1-18; Antonio Lucas 1-4; Jordan White 1-9; Torez Jones 3-50.