Rosewood, Lakewood meet again in 1st round of playoffs

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 12, 2015 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

Man the trenches.

No turnovers.

Avoid three-and-out series.

That's the three-part game plan Rosewood hopes to execute when it meets conference rival Lakewood in round one of the 2015 N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 1-AA (large-school) playoffs Friday evening.

Oh, and the Eagles have one more thing in mind -- avenge an earlier loss to the Leopards.

"One benefit we have is the film (from the last game)," RHS head coach Robert Britt said. "We're going to try to do a few things differently, make some changes that's going to help us better this time. One good thing for the players, it's a game where they can try to redeem themselves.

"They know they didn't play very well the last time we played Lakewood and (we) didn't play very well last week against Princeton."

Statistically, Rosewood faces one of the state's top defenses. Seventh-seeded Lakewood allows just 9.5 points a game and has shut out four opponents this season. The Leopards have yielded just one touchdown in the last eight quarters of play.

In their meeting 33 days ago, Lakewood (8-3 overall) held Rosewood to a season-low 19 yards rushing. Senior running back Mike Woodard, the area's leading rusher, churned out a hard-earned 23 yards on 19 carries.

Penalties kept Britt's team behind the chains and a pivotal fourth-down stop near midfield helped the Leopards build a two-touchdown advantage in the opening quarter. The Eagles climbed to within 14-10, but could get no closer.

Lakewood reeled off 33 straight points that included a safety when its defense sacked RHS quarterback Cam Helt in the end zone just before halftime.

"We've got to do a better job than what we did last week in the trenches against Princeton," Britt said. "Our offensive and defensive lines have to be able to control the line of scrimmage, or compete at the same level as Lakewood. If we can be better Friday night up front than we were last week, I think we can be closer and have a chance to win.

"If we allow Lakewood to get us out of position and move us around, we're going to have a hard time."

Rosewood (7-4) has to slow down a Lakewood offense that's scored 20 or more points in five of its last six games. Carsell Bennett has emerged as the main rushing threat after the Leopards lost their top running back to a season-ending ACL injury.

Quarterback Zack Tanner is a dual threat. He accounted for 206 yards of total offense in his first outing against the Eagles. Britt's defensive unit will battle without starter Larry Nance.

"You kind of wish you get to play someone different outside your conference in the first round," said Britt. "We're glad we get the opportunity to play this week and be better than we were last Friday."

Rosewood has won three of its last five opening-round playoff games and is 18-27 all-time in 26 postseason appearances since 1972. Lakewood finished as the eastern 1-A (small-school) runner-up to Plymouth to last season.