Southern Wayne 29, Beddingfield 26

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 11, 2007 11:22 AM

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DUDLEY -- Jordan Williams wanted redemption.

After throwing a fourth-quarter interception, the Southern Wayne quarterback kept his poise and went with the Flow.

Using 5-foot-10, 256-pound bruising fullback Kelvin Flow as the workhorse, Williams engineered a game-winning, four-minute drive. He capped the possession with a 1-yard plunge, which gave the Saints a 29-26 advantage over Wilson Beddingfield.

The Bruins took the ensuing kickoff and advanced to near midfield. But their rally ended when Kendrick Thompson picked off a halfback option pass near the Saints' sideline.

Seventh-seeded Southern Wayne (8-4 overall) ran out the clock and earned just its second playoff victory in school history. The Saints will entertain 15th-seeded Southern Lee in a second-round, N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 3-A (small school) playoff game Friday.

Beddingfield concluded the year 4-8.

Williams' interception, his second of the night, halted a possession in the Bruins' red zone. Backed up at their own 2-yard line, the Bruins eventually punted but caught a break.

The Saints committed their fifth turnover, a fumble, three plays later. Montieth Lucas cashed in from 13 yards out to put Beddingfield back in front 26-22 after the two-point conversion failed.

"I messed up the drive before and wanted to make up for it," said Williams. "We just had to get on the field and do what we needed to do (to win). Kelvin is a big guy and it's hard to tackle him.

"He was getting five, six yards a carry and that helps us a lot."

Flow, who grinded out 149 yards on 31 carries, ripped off two first-down runs to put the Saints in the Bruins' red zone. On third-and-5 from the 11, Williams rolled out with the intention of throwing into the end zone. He took what the Bruin defense gave him and got stopped just inches of the goal line.

"I had the option to pass or run, and the field was wide open," said Williams.

The Bruins lined up without a noseguard on the next play and Williams bulled his way into the end zone. He added the PAT for the eventual three-point victory.

"That was a great drive ... a tribute to what our offensive line has been able to do this year," said Saints head coach Bob Warren. "It's fitting that's how we came back and won it. And it's fitting that we made a big play on defense to secure the win.

"It was still anybody's game with the way Beddingfield is able to strike quickly."

Beddingfield sputtered on its first three possessions, but profited from two first-quarter turnovers.

Dahnique Eddie, who replaced starting quarterback Lance Price, threw a 12-yard scoring strike to Jumal Artis. The Saints fumbled the kickoff and Eddie hit Dashawn Batts with a 29-yard touchdown on third down.

"We believe we've got pretty good coverage, but Beddingfield has a lot of athletes," said Warren. "They took advantage of their height."

Williams' 46-yard touchdown pass to James Jones and Flow's 11-yard scoring rumble gave the Saints a 22-14 cushion at halftime. The Bruins pulled within 22-20 on Eddie's 29-yard touchdown pass to Artis late in the third quarter.

Beddingfield 14 0 6 6 -- 26

Southern Wayne 8 14 0 7 -- 29

First quarter

SW -- Flow 8 run (Flow run), 5:32

B -- Artis 12 pass from Eddie (pass failed), 1:11

B -- Batts 29 pass from Eddie (Vick pass from Eddie), 0:18

Second quarter

SW -- Jones 46 pass from Williams (Williams kick), 11:04

SW -- Flow 11 run (Williams kick), 4:19

Third quarter

B -- Artis 29 pass from Eddie (pass failed), 4:12

Fourth quarter

B -- Lucas 13 run (pass failed), 7:45

SW -- Williams 1 run (Williams kick), 3:37

B SW

First downs 16 14

Rushes-yds 27-125 53-242

Passing yds 227 66

Total yards 352 308

C-A-I 13-25-1 2-4-2

Fumbles-lost 3-2 3-3

Penalties-yds 10-72 3-16

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Beddingfield -- Marcus Ruffin 4-1; Lance Price 1-(-6); Dahnique Eddie 9-68; Dashawn Batts 3-8; Montieth Lucas 10-54, TD. Southern Wayne -- Kelvin Flow 31-149, 2 TD; Tristan Bass 11-58; James Jones 6-27; Silonte Thompson 1-0; Jordan Williams 4-8, TD.

PASSING -- Beddingfield -- Lance Price 1-5-0 1; Dahnique Eddie 12-20-1 226, 3 TDs. Southern Wayne -- Jordan Williams 2-4-2 66, TD.

RECEIVING -- Beddingfield -- Tyrese Vick 3-33; Jumal Artis 4-55, 2 TD; Dashawn Batts 1-29; Jumalle Rolle 5-110. Southern Wayne -- Jones 1-46, TD; Holloman 1-20.