Prep football roundup
By From staff reports
Published in Sports on September 20, 2009 2:00 AM
LaGRANGE -- Aaron Harper rushed for four touchdowns as Greene Central hammered border rival North Lenoir 42-16 at Bullock Field on Friday evening.
The Rams amassed 407 yards in their triple-option attack and attempted just two passes, both incompletions, in the non-conference affair.
"Our guys really ran the ball well tonight," said Greene Central head coach Ken Grantham said. "We were able to execute our offense and make some plays when we needed them."
Harper capped the Rams' first two possessions with touchdown runs of 34 and 10 yards. Maurice Morgan pulled the Hawks (1-4 overall) within a TD on his 21-yard scoring run.
Greene Central quarterback Brandon Suit finished off the Rams' next possession with a 22-yard touchdown run.
"I think getting our first win last week made a world of difference for this team," said Grantham. "Our guys came out tonight and stayed focused and really played well."
Mike Baker led the Rams (2-3) with 96 yards on 10 carries. Harper accounted for 92 yards on the ground, and Suit tallied 79 yards.
Morgan finished with a game-high 124 yards rushing on 24 totes. Jacquan Williams completed two passes for 22 yards.
Greene Central opens its Eastern Plains 2-A Conference schedule Friday at Wilson Beddingfield.
North Duplin 13
Dixon 16
HOLLY RIDGE -- Dixon weathered a furious, fourth-quarter comeback and edged North Duplin 16-13 on Friday evening.
The Rebels (1-4 overall) scored twice in the final 10 minutes of the game.
Julio Mora's 2-yard plunge and Devin Oliver's 13-yard touchdown put North Duplin on the board. The Dogs stuffed a two-point conversion to help preserve the home win.
Dixon kicker Chris Carter opened the scoring with a 24-yard, first-quarter field goal. Teammates Elijah Jenkins recovered a fumble in the end zone and Rodman Young returned a fumble 96 yards for a touchdown.
North Duplin (1-4 overall) entertains Lejeune on Friday. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. at H.E. Grubbs Field.
Swansboro 34
Spring Creek 0
SWANSBORO -- Swansboro scored three third-quarter touchdowns and cruised past Spring Creek 34-0 in the first-ever meeting between the two schools Friday evening.
Ronny Berryman returned a punt 52 yards for a touchdown to start the third-quarter surge. Jesse Fowler added a 4-yard scoring dive and Berryman provided a 9-yard run.
The Gators compiled just 84 yards of total offense on 49 plays.
Spring Creek (0-5 overall) plays host to Dixon on Friday.
East Duplin 39
James Kenan 15
BEULAVILLE -- East Duplin notched back-to-back touchdowns before halftime and rolled past James Kenan 39-15 on Friday evening.
The Panthers added 12 third-quarter points.
"I felt like if we could have gotten into halftime tied we could have made it more interesting," said James Kenan head coach Ken Avent Jr.
The Tigers (2-2 overall) managed just 174 yards of total offense.
"Turnovers are just killing us," said Avent Jr. "That's something that we have to fix. I feel like if we can fix that we can be pretty good. We're still inexeperienced on both sides and that shows when you play two teams of the caliber we've played. It's good because we're finding out now where we need to improve, we've just got to get it fixed."
James Kenan entertains Union in the Tri-County 1-A Conference opener for both teams Friday. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. at Bill Taylor Field.
Louisburg 14
Southern Wayne 0
LOUISBURG -- Southern Wayne couldn't find the offense it needed in a 14-0 loss at Louisburg on Friday night.
Quarterback Quintae Bradshaw paced the Saints' offense with 90 yards on the ground. Southern Wayne mustered just 167 yards of offense and struggled to finish off drives.
Despite the loss Saints head coach Bob Warren was pleased with the effort he received from his defense.
"Our defense played outstanding," said Warren. "Offensively we moved the ball on several drives really well, and got down inside the 10 and didn't get it across the goal line. We made a lot of improvement and we're continuing to get better. The wins are going to happen.
"We've got to keep hanging in there and getting better. We took another step forward (Friday) night and the kids are working hard and competing really well."
Southern Wayne (0-5 overall) visits Goldsboro next Friday.
North Johnston 35
Rosewood 14
Rosewood gave up 21 points on three plays and failed to score three different times inside the 5-yard line in a 35-14, non-conference loss to North Johnston on Friday night.
The Panthers led 7-0 after the first quarter and scored 21 points on three plays in the second quarter. The Eagles marched inside North Johnston's 5-yard line before halftime, but couldn't score.
Kevin Lewis' 50-yard touchdown run got Rosewood on the board in the second quarter. After the Panthers tacked on two more touchdowns, Eagles quarterback Taylor McGill set up the Eagles' next score with a 36-yard pass to Ahkeem Simms. McGill's 1-yard run on the next play capped the drive.
Lewis paced the Rosewood offense with 94 yards on 22 carries.
The Eagles drove to the North Johnston 1-yard line twice in the second half, but couldn't get the ball in the end zone. Rosewood ran 36 offensive plays in the second half to just 16 for the Panthers.
"The way we played in the first half our guys knew at halftime if we could eliminate the big plays we could control the clock some," said Eagles head coach Robert Britt. "We had a real good defensive effort in the second half. We had our best offensive performance of the year."
Rosewood plays host to East Carteret on Friday.