Dawgs defeat Gators in the swamp

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on October 12, 2008 1:26 PM

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SEVEN SPRINGS -- Avoid turnovers.

Win the field position battle.

Be the aggressor.

Spring Creek head football coach Aaron Sanders encouraged his injury-riddled team to carry out that plan Friday evening against Princeton. But two fumbles and a passive start eventually led to a 41-0, Class 1-A Carolina Conference loss in "The Swamp."

But the Gators (0-7 overall) fumbled on their first possession and the Dawgs needed just one play to take the lead. Aaron Simpkins' 6-yard scamper and James Drew's PAT gave Princeton an advantage that consistently ballooned as the game progressed.

Benton Myers rushed for three touchdowns and JV call-up Javonte Davis added a 66-yard, fourth-quarter scoring gallop as Princeton won three games in season for the first time since 1999. The Dawgs (3-4) snapped an 11-game road losing streak against conference opposition and beat the Gators for the second consecutive year.

"I thought we played well," said Princeton coach Russell Williamson. "We needed to go and get off to a good start in the conference season, and that's what we did. (The fumble) gave us a little boost early in the game and got us going a little bit.

"Things went well from that point on for us."

Princeton piled up a season-high 327 yards rushing on 38 attempts. Davis emerged the ground leader with 78 yards on four totes, followed by Kwame Corprew (69) and Benton Myers (61). Myers' scoring jaunts covered 5, 3 and 21 yards.

Quarterback Dylan Myers was accurate on 6 of 10 throws for 81 yards, including a 22-yard scoring strike to Phillip Mitchell.

Sanders lamented his team's inability to produce big plays on key downs in the second quarter. Princeton punched in two touchdowns on fourth-down situations.

"That's a big momentum swing there," said Sanders.

And the Gators could find no momentum on offense. The Dawgs yielded minus-2 yards rushing in the opening half and surrendered just 16 yards on the ground in the 48-minute contest.

Spring Creek quarterback Nick Hatem completed six passes for 44 yards, including five to Ricky Brayboy. A sophomore, Brayboy accounted for 46 of the Gators' 60 yards of total offense.

"Offensively, we stayed grounded all night," said Sanders. "Until we can prove we can pass the ball, they're going to bring eight people at us all the time. I think Princeton had a really great defensive game plan. They locked down on us and it was tough."

Princeton defenders recorded 14 tackles for loss. Ben Mitchell, Chris Hill and Tyler Baker each collected a quarterback sack.

"We've played pretty well on defense most of the year," said Williamson. "We've had some breakdowns, but overall we've been solid. We're a little quicker this year and that's helped us out some."