N. Duplin crushes Hobbton

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on September 8, 2012 11:29 PM

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CALYPSO -- North Duplin honored its 1972 state championship team at halftime of its game against Hobbton on Friday night at H.E. Grubbs Field.

The 2012 Rebels did their predecessors proud the rest of the evening.

North Duplin rolled to nearly 400 yards on the ground and hammered Hobbton 42-7 in a game that was never close.

"Tonight was one of those nights where every time we needed to make a play we made it," North Duplin head coach Hugh Martin said. "Two weeks ago at Lakewood it seemed like everything went against us, but tonight it all went our way."

The Rebels opened the game with an onside kick and recovered the ball. Five plays later Julio Mora ran into the end zone from eight yards out.

After a three-and-out on their next possession, the Rebels added to their tally. Tyler Royal raced 30 yards for a touchdown to make the score 14-0. After a Hobbton three-and-out, it was Mora's turn again as he capped a short drive with a three-yard touchdown plunge.

North Duplin recovered its second onside kick of the half and immediately drove the ball back into the Wildcats' red zone. Mora made the score 28-0 with another three-yard run.

"We want to put as much pressure on our opponent as we can," Martin said. "We got the first onside kick and it really gave us a spark so we tried it again and recovered it again."

Royal put the game on ice when he ran the opening kickoff of the second half back 90 yards for a touchdown. On the Rebels' next drive, Royal found Blake Rhodes for a 27-yard touchdown completion that made the score 42-0 and essentially relegated the starters to the sidelines for the fourth quarter.

Royal led the North Duplin offense with 155 yards on the ground on 15 carries. Mora added 125 yards on 18 totes and three touchdowns.

"Tyler made good decisions pretty much the whole game," Martin said. "I thought our line blocked well and we fixed a few things that we were doing wrong over the first two games."

Charles Chestnutt led the Hobbton offense with 48 yards on 11 carries. Chestnutt also caught the lone Wildcat completion for 39 yards. Rashad Davis totaled 15 yards on the ground and scored the visitors' only touchdown.

North Duplin (2-1 overall) entertains Dixon next week.