Devilpups run past Rebels

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on September 29, 2013 1:03 PM

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astevens@newsargus.com

CALYPSO -- Somewhere buried beneath the sting of three consecutive losses lies a silver lining for North Duplin.

Six Carolina 1-A Conference games remain on the schedule and a postseason trip is still within reach for the Rebels.

North Duplin surrendered 27 third-quarter points and committed a pair of turnovers in a 39-22, non-conference loss to Lejeune on Friday night at H.E. Grubbs Field.

The Rebels (2-3) lost their third consecutive game.

"I tried to remind our guys in the huddle there that there's a lot of things left that are up for stake," North Duplin head coach Hugh Martin said. "The conference and playoff positioning, a lot of things are still there."

Down 14-12, the Devilpups converted a pair of third downs on their opening drive of the second half. The second third-down play ended in Jamaz Richardson's 16-yard touchdown scamper and two-point conversion run.

Richardson gained 124 of his 166 yards after halftime and found success on toss plays designed to get to the edge.

"We run our bread and butter which is of course Jamaz on the sweep," Devilpups' head coach Darryl Schwartz said. "We try to fake it and do other things with him and sometimes we hit it and we're lucky. They got shut him down a little bit in the first half and we came back and he started to look really good."

Richardson's punt return set up Stephen DiCenso's 41-yard touchdown run as Lejeune's lead grew to 26-14 midway through the third quarter. Richardson continued his third-quarter onslaught with a 65-yard touchdown run. On the next play from scrimmage, Bodine returned an interception 61 yards for a touchdown as the Devilpups' advantage swelled to 39-14.

Mora scored a late touchdown for North Duplin. He finished with 189 yards and two scores on 15 carries.

J.P. Payton's return to the Lejeune 46-yard line on the game's opening kickoff put North Duplin in good field position. Daron Goodman's 1-yard score put the Rebels ahead 7-0.

A mishandled punt attempt gave the Devilpups good field position of their own at the North Duplin 38-yard line. Brady Bodine found the end zone from 18 yards out but Rory Johnson's extra point was blocked late in the first quarter.

After the Rebels had a drive stall at the Lejeune 33-yard line, the Devilpups' offense went on the march. Lejeune (5-1) converted a key third-and-9 as Bodine hauled in a 17-yard touchdown pass from Daxton Derrick. The two-point conversion attempt failed and the Devilpups led 12-7.

North Duplin answered two plays later on Emiliano Mora's 54-yard touchdown run that gave the Rebels a 14-12 advantage with fewer than three minutes left in the half.

Lejeune drove to the Rebels' 12-yard line in the closing seconds of the first half. Jamaz Richardson's halfback pass on fourth-and-six fell incomplete.