Gurganus passes Dawgs past archrival Rosewood

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on November 7, 2009 11:09 PM

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A big-play, quick-strike offense has a strange way of disguising costly turnovers and penalties.

David Gurganus threw for 419 yards and four touchdowns as Princeton defeated Carolina 1-A Conference archrival Rosewood 42-20 at Branch Pope Field on Friday night. It was the regular-season finale both teams.

All six of the Bulldogs' scoring possessions lasted less than two minutes. The ability to score in a hurry helped make up for five turnovers and 81 yards in penalties.

"Some of those things were aggravating," said Princeton head coach Russell Williamson. "One of the coaches said it might just be the intensity of this rivalry. Everybody is playing hard."

Gurganus connected with Patrick Jacobs' on a 60-yard touchdown pass on the game's opening possession.

The Bulldogs appeared to be driving for another score before the Eagles' Jamie Wooten stepped in front of Gurganus' pitch to Javonte Davis and raced 65 yards to the end zone midway through the first quarter.

Princeton (8-3, overall 4-1 CC) responded with a six-play drive that took less than 90 seconds and culminated with Gurganus' 7-yard touchdown run. After an Eagles fumble, Gurganus added a 3-yard run for a score to stretch the lead to 21-7.

Rosewood used good field position following a short Bulldogs kickoff to cut into the deficit. Kevin Lewis' 3-yard score pulled the Eagles to within 21-14.

Gurganus went to the air again and found Benton Myers on the receiving end of a 72-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter. Three of Gurganus' four touchdown passes covered 60 yards or more.

Jyhkia Applewhite's 28-yard touchdown trimmed the margin to 28-20 as Cody Harris' extra point attempt was blocked.

Gurganus found Jacobs once more for a 69-yard touchdown pass midway through the second quarter. Jacobs finished with 7 catches for 199 yards and two touchdowns.

Myers hauled in a 28-yard touchdown pass for the only score of the second half. He ended the night with 171 receiving yards on six catches and two touchdowns and Princeton compiled 561 yards of offense.

"It seemed like David had a big night and we scored 35 points in the first half," said Williamson. "We overcame a lot of stuff in the first half penalty wise."

Rosewood (3-8, 1-4) moved the ball well at time, but was plagued by five costly turnovers. Applewhite paced the Eagles with 105 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.

"I thought our kids gave a great effort," said Rosewood head coach Robert Britt. "There were times when we had things going and then a mistake, a penalty and we're still not that team yet that can overcome those things. We're getting better, but we're still not that team yet."