Rosewood throttles East Carteret

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 15, 2014 11:03 PM

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rcoggins@newargus.com

It almost looked like a rugby scrum.

Then Garrett Tyndall emerged with the football, the referee signaled first down and Rosewood was off to the races on a bitterly cold Friday evening.

Tyndall's interception or fumble recovery -- the coaches are not sure how to record it -- was part of an incredible 48-point outburst during a 54-20 shellacking of East Carteret at Branch Pope Field.

Rosewood (7-5 overall) won a playoff opener for just the third time since 2003 and drew a second-round date with top-seeded Wallace-Rose Hill next Friday in the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 1-AA football playoffs.

Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. at Legion Field inside Overman-Holley Stadium.

Tied at 14-all early in the second quarter, Mariners' quarterback Brennan Lewis hooked up with Austin Goodwin for no gain at the original line of scrimmage. Rosewood defensive end Garrett Tyndall hit Goodwin at the same time, wrestled for Goodwin for the ball and popped up off the ground to show the official.

Turnover.

First down Eagles.

"I knew they were going to go for the pass by the way the guy in front of me fired off the ball," Tyndall said. "I knew if I did what my coaches told me to do, it would lead me to the right (spot).

"It was a big ... a good motivation boost."

One play later, sophomore quarterback Cameron Helt and speedy receiver Marquail Almontaser hooked up for a 49-yard touchdown. Almontaser's kick split the uprights and Rosewood gained a 21-14 advantage it would impressively pad as the game progressed.

"Whenever I released the ball, I actually thought it was going to be a bad ball because of my gripping," Helt said. "But I knew as soon as the ball touched Marquail's hands and he broke that first defender, he was off to the races.

"The offensive line held their ground the entire game."

After getting blown off the ball a week ago by archrival Princeton, the Eagles' linemen flexed their muscle against the Mariners. They opened seams on either side of the field that allowed six Rosewood ball carriers to combine for 389 yards rushing.

One week ago, the Eagles had just 236 yards of total offense.

Mike Woodard (197 yards, three TDs), Helt, Quan Joyner and backup quarterback Dylan Melgar combined for seven touchdowns during a 48-point eruption that dashed the Mariners' chances of claiming their first postseason win since 2006.

"Our momentum just picked up," Helt grinned.

Ninth-seeded East Carteret (5-7) seized a 14-6 lead just 7 1/2 minutes into the game. Dominic Carter galloped 61 yards to the end zone on the first play from scrimmage.

Brennan Lewis' 17-yard, fourth-down TD pass to Markel Miller capped a 16-play, 80-yard drive.

Rosewood's defense silenced East Carteret on its next eight possessions and forced four turnovers, including three interceptions -- two by Joyner and one by Nick Martin.

"It took a little while to get settled in," said RHS senior linebacker Evan Reiss. "It's kind of like riding a horse. You've got to get in the saddle, get riding with it and we just had to get adjusted to game speed.

"Once we did, it was easy."