Cougars punch in early TD before W-RH takes command

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on November 13, 2011 1:52 AM

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TEACHEY -- Wallace-Rose Hill entered its second round matchup in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1-AA Mideast Region football playoffs with Goldsboro riding a nine-game winning streak.

Make it 10 in a row.

Wallace-Rose Hill scored three touchdowns in the second quarter and rolled past Goldsboro 45-13 at Legion Stadium. The Bulldogs entertain Red Springs this week.

"To beat a team like Wallace-Rose Hill, you have to be nearly flawless," Goldsboro head coach Eric Reid said. "Tonight we were far from flawless."

The game started with a bang for the Cougar offense as Devante Harris took a handoff on the fourth play from scrimmage and raced 51 yards for a touchdown. Alan Odom's extra point made the score 7-0.

Reaching back into his old playbook, Reid employed the "full-house" backfield early in the game and appeared to catch the Bulldogs off guard.

"We saw some things on the tape when they played James Kenan that we thought we could use," Reid said. "It worked on the first couple of drives, but to their credit they made adjustments."

Wallace-Rose Hill got on the scoreboard on the opening possession of the second quarter when DJ Bennerman capped a long drive with a nine-yard run. The Bulldogs' no-huddle attack kept Goldsboro's defense guessing throughout the game.

Back-to-back touchdown runs from Traymon Evans gave W-RH a 20-7 advantage.

"Most teams that go no-huddle are passing teams," Reid said. "(Wallace-Rose Hill) does that, but they do it with the Wing-T, so there is almost no time to adjust or substitute because there aren't any incompletions. You have to race just to get lined up before they snap the ball again."

Wallace-Rose Hill (12-1 overall) dominated the third quarter as Bennerman and Evans each recorded a six-yard scoring run. Tracy Murrell put the Bulldogs ahead 38-7 with a 58-yard punt return for touchdown.

Goldsboro's second score of the game came midway through the fourth quarter when quarterback Julius Murphy hooked up with Rodney Cook on an 18-yard scoring strike.

Wallace-Rose Hill capped the scoring on a 16-yard run by Jaquayle Robinson. The Dogs finished with 425 yards of total offense. All of that production came on the ground -- led by Ladarius Lanier's 190 yards on 18 carries. Evans added 65 yards on 14 totes.

Goldsboro (7-5) finished with 184 yards on the ground. Harris led the way with 150 yards on 15 carries and Devion Newkirk added 33 yards on four carries. Murphy completed six passes for 68 yards and one score.

"Overall I was proud of the way the guys for their effort," Reid said. "We have eight seniors that played their last game at Goldsboro High School tonight and I don't think they have anything to hang their heads about."