James Kenan punches ticket to eastern 1AA regional final

By Staff Reports
Published in Sports on November 29, 2014 11:23 PM

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WARSAW -- Ken Avent Jr. isn't a betting man.

Had you told him before Friday's game that his James Kenan squad would survive a five-turnover outing against perennial prep football juggernaut Tarboro, he figured he'd spend Saturday cleaning up the Tigers' fieldhouse.

Not so fast.

Kenan did, indeed, ride out a turnover-filled contest and upended the Vikings, 22-14, in eastern semifinal-round play of the 2014 N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 1-AA playoffs Friday evening. The Tigers (12-1 overall) travel to county archrival Wallace-Rose Hill next Friday.

It's a rematch of last year's eastern final won by the Tigers. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. at Overman Field inside the Jack Holley Complex.

"We get to try again," said Avent Jr., whose team has faced the once-beaten Bulldogs on four occasions within the last 24 months. "It will be a wild time around here this week."

But more about this wild affair.

The second-seeded Tigers raced to a 15-0, first-quarter lead. Jaquan Williams opened the scoring with a 2-yard plunge with 6:16 to go.

Kenan executed a perfect squib kick on the kickoff, recovered the ball and cashed in on John Brooks' 28-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Ken Avent III. Williams supplied the two-point conversion run.

Brooks finished with 95 yards receiving.

"Getting those first two touchdowns and going up 15-0 pretty quick, to me, was kind of a big difference in the game," Avent Jr. said. "We played great defensively and did OK on offense ... turned the ball over too much, but bailed ourselves out on defense with several stops."

Tarboro tallied touchdowns in the second and third quarters. Avent III's 21-yard run boosted the advantage to 22-14 with 1:52 remaining in the third period.

The Vikings threatened to possibly tie the game in the fourth quarter, but the Tigers' defense responded with a goal-line stand at the 1-yard line. The teams traded interceptions and Avent III directed a time-consuming possession that all but sealed the outcome.

Junior Donta Mason paced Kenan's defense with 14 tackles, while Jalahne Stroud logged 10 stops. Brooks and Juan Hooper posted seven tackles apiece. Korey Beddingfield, Ishnel Georges (QB sack) and Braxton Brinson each had six tackles.

Mason picked off a Tarboro pass and Greg Washington recovered a fumble. Kenan held the Vikings' misdirection T scheme to 255 yards of total offense.