Prep football wrap-up
By Staff Reports
Published in Sports on August 22, 2009 11:41 PM
NEWTON GROVE -- Charles B. Aycock transfer David Gurganus threw for 271 yards and a touchdown and Princeton held on for a 19-12 win at Hobbton on Friday night.
After a scoreless first quarter Gurganus found Javontae Davis for a 70-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter. Amber Brush's extra point gave the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead.
Chris Hill scooped a Wildcats fumble and raced 26-yards to the end zone less than three minutes into the third quarter.
"That fumble return gave us a lot of energy," said Princeton head coach Russell Williamson.
Gurganus' 1-yard touchdown run pushed the Bulldogs' lead to 19-0 early in the fourth quarter.
"We got kind of settled into the game after the first quarter," Williamson said. "To me (Gurganus) was a quiet 11-for-17. I didn't know we had thrown for 271 yards. He was solid and didn't turn the ball over. We can't ask for much more than that."
Hobbton climbed back into the ballgame with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns. Ira Moore's 8-yard run and a failed two-point conversion pulled the Wildcats to within 19-6 with less than nine minutes to play.
Hobbton recovered a Princeton fumble and Henry Barnes' 3-yard touchdown run with less than three minutes to play trimmed the lead to 19-12.
"We got a little tired I thought but we held on," Williams said.
North Duplin 28
Southside 12
CHOCOWINITY -- North Duplin built a 21-0 halftime lead en route to a season-opening 28-12 win at Southside on Friday night.
Alan Schilling's 59-yard pass to Devin Oliver set up Tadrick Gadberry's 4-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter.
Oliver had touchdown runs of 44 and 11 yards in the second quarter. The sophomore rushed for 223 yards on 25 carries.
"Devin had a great game," Rebels head coach Hugh Martin said. "Offensively he caught the ball well and he ran the ball very well. We need to do a better job creating some holes for him. He had a super game offensively for us."
Southside got on the board on Terrill Moore's 2-yard score late in the third quarter. Schilling's 8-yard touchdown run late in the fourth stretched North Duplin's lead to 28-6.
Anthony Goff's 94-yard kick off return capped the scoring.
North Duplin plays host to Lakewood next Friday.
Rosewood 13
Wake Christian 12
RALEIGH -- Rosewood survived a heart-stopping final play and upended Wake Christian 13-12 on Friday night in the season opener for both teams.
With just six seconds left in the game the Bulldogs broke the huddle and caught Rosewood in some defensive confusion. The Wake Christian tailback took the direct snap and raced to the endzone to pull his team within one point.
The Bulldogs, who had an extra point botched earlier in the contest, elected to try to win the game with a two point conversion but a last second attempt fell harmlessley incomplete and sent the Eagles' sidleine into a frenzy.
"It feels really good to get the first win of the season," said Rosewood head coach Robert Britt. "Our guys gave us a very good defensive effort and I am really proud of that."
Rosewood took an early lead on a four-yard pass from Taylor McGill to Will Beasley. After Wake Christian cut the lead to 7-6 late in the third quarter the Eagles responded with a scoring drive that was capped by Kevin Lewis' three-yard touchdown dash.
"I felt like our offense did what we needed to do," said Britt. "We didn't throw the ball a whole lot but when we did we had some success and our ground game was solid."
The Eagles (1-0 overall) will look to build on their opening week success as they prepare for county rival Charles B. Aycock next Friday.
South Lenoir 44
Spring Creek 19
DEEP RUN -- Spring Creek came roaring out of the gate only to come up short in a 44-19 loss to South Lenoir in the season opener for both teams on Friday night.
The Gators opened the game by marching 95 yards on eight plays to take a 7-0 lead. Ryan Jones scampered into the end zone for the Gators first touchdown.
South Lenoir promptly fumbled the ball away on its next possession and set Spring Creek up with good field position. Quarterback Nick Hatem punched in the Gators second score of the night from one yard out.
Ahead 13-0, everything seemed to be going to the Gators way.
"Our crowd was into it, everyone on the sidleine was up, it was a great feeling," said second-year head coach Aaron Sanders. "It's been a while since Spring Creek came out and jumped on somebody 13-0 in the first few minutes."
Unfortunately for the Gator faithful the momentum did not last.
Blue Devil tailback Josh Hatch took over in the second quarter as South Lenoir realed off 30 points in the period. Hatch scored from 22-yards out to get the Blue Devils on the board and finished with four scores on the night.
Jones tallied the Gators final touchdown of the contest on a 70-yard scoring run late in the second quarter. The senior finished with 162 yard on 17 carries for the game.
Hatem finished 3-of-7 passing for 27 yards and a touchdown.
Spring Creek (0-1 overall) entertains Hobbton on Friday.
James Kenan 35
Clinton 16
CLINTON -- James Kenan survived an early test from Clinton on friday night en route to a 35-16 non-conference football victory.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Tigers tallied the games first touchdown on a 34-yard pass from Dasmine Smith to Robbie Carlton.
The Darkhorses answered less than two minutes later with a 47-yard scoring strike but Smith put the visitors ahead for good with a 95-yard return on the ensuing kickoff.
"We knew it was going to be a good game and we knew we were going to make some mistakes," said Tigers head coach Ken Avent Jr. "Clinton has a pretty good defense, especially against the run, so we knew we were in for a battle."
James Kenan iced the game in the third quarter and again it was Smith with the heroics.
The senior signal caller broke away for a 50-yard touchdown run and followed it with an 85-yard interception return for touchdown on the ensuing Clinton possession.
"Dasmine played about as good of an individual game as I have ever been a part of," Avent Jr. said. "He scored on offense, defense, special teams. He did a little bit of everything."
Smith finished with 104 yards rushing and 43 yards through the air. Halfback Victor Parker added 83 yards on the ground.
James Kenan (1-0 overall) will play host to Jones Senior on Friday.
South Central 10
Greene Central 6
SNOW HILL -- Greene Central rushed for 221 yards but managed to find the end zone only once in a 10-6 loss to visiting South Central on Friday night.
Kenzie Phillips paced the Rams with 122 yards on 12 carries. Mike Baker added 92 yards including a 70-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
"We did some good things but we didn't quite finish some drives," Greene Central head Ken Grantham said. "Ithink it was a combination of things. We were in some situations where you have to make big plays at big times. Third and fourth downs were problems for us. We had a dropped ball here or a missed blitz pick up there or a missed coverage there. Finishing off drives was crucial.
The Falcons returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown midway through the first quarter and tacked on a field goal late in the first half.
Aaron Harper recorded 12 tackles and two sacks for the Rams defensively.
Greene Central (0-1 overall) travels to Ayden-Grifton next Friday.
West Craven 32
Southern Wayne 15
DUDLEY -- Southern Wayne got off to a fast start but could not keep up the pace in a 32-15 loss to West Craven on Friday night at the Doyle Whitfield Athletic Complex.
The Eagles got on the scoreboard first when Justin Hardy found Ryan Murphy in the back of the end zone. Southern Wayne battled back and grabbed a 7-6 lead at the end of the first quarter on JaQuan Cobb's seven-yard scoring scamper.
"We made some plays early and for a team this young I was pretty pleased with the effort," said Saints head coach Bob Warren. "We did a lot of possitive things and saw some things we can work on."
West Craven would not be denied during a second quarter offensive outburst. Hardy found Chris Person for a 38-yard scoring pass and the duo followed their effort with a 25-yard strike on the team's next possession.
The Eagles put the game away in the third quarter when Hardy kept the ball and dove into the end zone.
Keenan Wynn capped the scoring for Southern Wayne with a two-yard run early in the fourth quarter.
On the night, Wynn led the Saints rushing game with 36 yards. Cobb added 31 yards on 10 totes. Quintin Smith recorded a solid performance in his first game as a varsity quarterback with five completions for 80 yards.
"We are going to evaluate the film and see where we can get better," said Warren. "We have some growing to do on the offensive line and we have some kinks to work out in other places."
Southern Wayne (0-1 overall) will travel to Wilson Beddingfield on Friday night.
East Duplin 70
North Lenoir 13
BEAULAVILLE -- Opening night was not what first-year head coach Calvin Sutton had envisioned.
East Duplin racked-up 37 points in the first quarter and went on to route Sutton's North Lenoir squad 70-13 on Friday night.
East Duplin piled on the yardage throughout the game and finished with 452 yards of total offense while North Lenoir mustered just 29 total yards.
Trailing 70-0 in the fourth quarter, North Lenoir was able to find the end zone when Maurice Morgan returned a kickoff 80 yards for the Hawks' first score. Morgan broke an 85-yard scoring run on the Hawks' next possession to cap the scoring.
On the night, Morgan was the Hawks' statistical standout with three rushes for 85 yards. Mike Sutton added 15 yards on nine carries.
North Lenoir quarterback Romero Arnold completed just one of seven passes for seven yards.
North Lenoir (0-1 overall) will host North Johnston on Friday.