Prep notebook: Injured Mendez gets job done for Princeton

By Staff Reports
Published in Sports on November 24, 2014 1:48 PM

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PRINCETON -- Princeton place-kicker Vicente Mendez was not going to let a little old torn quadriceps keep him from playing.

Wait ... a torn quad? A kicker?

That's correct.

A senior, Mendez played through a torn quadriceps so that he wouldn't have to miss what could have potentially been his final game when the Bulldogs played Camden County on Friday evening.

Princeton coach Derrick Minor didn't need Mendez to punt or kick extra points, he just needed him to get the ball downfield on kickoffs. Normally a right-footed kicker, Mendez used his injured leg as the plant foot and kicked with his left.

While Mendez kicked the ball downfield, the Princeton coverage team struggled and three straight kickoffs were returned into Bulldog territory.

Mendez made two touchdown-saving tackles.

Princeton had Mendez try onside kicks the rest of the game. He was able to get high tricky bounces on each one, and two slipped through the hands of some Bulldogs, but they were never able to recover one.

Successful run

STANHOPE -- Eastern Wayne is experiencing its best two-season campaign since then-head coach Tasker Fleming roamed the sidelines.

The Warriors are 20-5 and continue to set program records with head coach Bubba Williams. EW posted a perfect worksheet (6-0) at home this season and have won five of six playoff games.

Williams' team ended a 36-year drought with its first postseason road victory since 1976.

"That's big," Williams said.

Welcome back, Al

WARSAW -- James Kenan's Al Owens waited all season to have break-out game.

He did it Friday night.

Owens surpassed the 100-yard mark with a 161-yard, two-touchdown effort in the Tigers' 55-19 rout of Martin Riverside in the second round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 1-AA playoffs.

After rushing for nearly 1,000 yards last season, Owens spent half of this season recovering from a broken hand. He's worked to get himself back into game shape and proved it against Riverside.

A gauntlet?

PRINCETON -- Whoever survives the east's final four in the NCHSAA 1-AA bracket could be considered the heavy favorite in the state championship game.

The four teams -- Wallace-Rose Hill, James Kenan, Tarboro and Princeton -- have combined to win 10 state titles and play for 18 overall in their respective program's history.

The quartet has combined to win 40-plus games this season.

Deja vu

STANHOPE -- Veteran Southern Nash head coach Brian Foster expected to play an "ugly game" against Eastern Wayne on Friday evening.

The Firebirds just couldn't minimize mistakes.

Foster experienced a sense of deja vu as Southern committed six turnovers, including five in the opening half. Two led to Eastern Wayne touchdowns, including Dameko Artis' 76-yard fumble return.

In consecutive second-round playoff meetings against the Warriors, the Firebirds committed a total of 11 turnovers -- six fumbles and five interceptions.