Chargers run over North Duplin

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on October 26, 2008 2:00 AM

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CALYPSO -- Field position and time of possession.

North Duplin head coach Hugh Martin knew before his team hit the gridiron on Friday night against Ayden-Grifton that those two statistics would tell the story of the game.

And the Chargers did.

Ayden-Grifton kept sole possession of the Class 1-A Carolina Conference football lead with a 47-0 victory over North Duplin at H.E. Grubbs Field.

"Over the years I have seen a lot of games won and lost in those categories," said Martin. "They did a good job of sustaining drives in the first half and that's a credit to their team."

After North Duplin's initial drive stalled, the Chargers began their game of keep-away. Their T-formation attack erased 7 minutes, 32 seconds off the clock before Frank Best plunged 2 yards into the end zone for the game's first touchdown.

After a second failed drive by the Rebels, the Chargers took an additional eight minutes off the clock. Ayden-Grifton, again, reached paydirt for a 13-0 advantage.

"I thought we played pretty well on defense in the first half," said Martin. "We got them into some third and fourth downs, but they just kept converting."

Ayden-Grifton (6-3, 3-0 Carolina) held a nine-minute edge in time of possession and 128-41 advantage in total offensive yards.

In the third quarter, the Chargers' momentum snowballed. Tailback Justin Whitaker scored three touchdowns in the period and iced the victory for the visitors.

"We had a punt blocked, lost a fumble, it got away from us in a hurry," said Martin. "We just didn't get anything going offensively."

Jemarlon Walker delivered an exclamation point for the Chargers on the opening play of the fourth quarter with a 50-yard punt return for the game's final score.

Quentin Graham led the Rebels with 37 yards rushing. Akeem Cox added 25 yards on 15 carries. North Duplin did not complete a pass.

"We would like to throw the ball a little more consistently," said Martin. "But with the rain it forced us to stay on the ground."

North Duplin (3-6) dropped to 1-2 in conference play. With two weeks left in the regular season, Martin is aware his team must refocus in hopes of reaching the postseason.

"We have gone back to fundamentals since our off week," said Martin. "We know that there is an opportunity for us to put ourselves in a good position, but at the same time we know the teams left on our schedule also want to make the playoffs."