FOOTBALL: Cherokee knocks out North Duplin in 1A playoffs

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on November 27, 2016 8:44 AM

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By JUSTIN HAYES

jhayes@newsargus.com

CALYPSO -- The good fight often hurts.

Such was the case last evening, when a talented yet undersized North Duplin football battled valiantly before succumbing to powerful Cherokee, 22-20, in the second round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1-A (small school) football playoffs at venerable H.E. Grubbs Field.

In every sense, the affair was an instant classic.

Both teams opened the contest with an air of conservatism, shadow-boxing at the point of attack and vying for running room along what quickly developed as a black-and-blue line of scrimmage.

Neither outfit could develop sustained traction, and produced just 81 yards of total offense in the opening quarter.

That stalemate wouldn't last long, however.

Both teams found paydirt in the second stanza, with North Duplin striking first on a 1-yard plunge by quarterback Will Archer. His effort capped a nine-play, 95-yard scoring drive that was highlighted by a field-position-flipping, 55-yard sprint by fullback Colby Bass with the Rebels pinned deep in their own territory.

Cherokee responded with its own brand of ground-and-pound, scoring just four minutes later on a 26-yard jaunt by tailback Isaiah Evans. The subsequent PAT -- which missed low and right -- gave the Rebels a 7-6 advantage at halftime.

"We felt good about trying to continue what we were doing," North Duplin head coach Hugh Martin said. "They shifted a little bit, and we were trying to understand where they were defensively."

The third quarter saw both teams flagged for dead ball and unsportsmanlike penalties as the two continued their turf war waltz between the 20-yard lines. A lumbering 12 minutes was finally broken up by Cherokee quarterback Tye Mintz, whose three-yard touchdown run and conversion provided what all in attendance thought would be a 14-7 Braves lead entering the final quarter.

Until it wasn't.

North Duplin fumbled the ensuing kickoff, giving Cherokee the ball on the 20-yard line. Two plays later, a shifty cut by Mintz allowed him once again find the end zone. When Evans slithered in for the 2-point conversion, the visitors finally held what had eluded both teams all night -- momentum.

But the Rebels, trailing by two scores, had plans of their own.

Junior tailback Kenny Sheppard found his rhythm between the tackles on North Duplin's next drive, scoring on a 2-yard rip with 7:05 remaining in regulation. The Rebel Nation's celebration was short-lived, however, as the green-and-gold's conversion attempt was denied.

Cherokee 22, North Duplin 13.

From there, the Braves went conservative -- and it cost them dearly.

Four rushing attempts into a sea of North Duplin jerseys quickly moved Cherokee into punt formation with just over three minutes remaining. And Mintz, who rescued his center all night from a litany of high snaps, could not do so when it mattered most.

The junior chased the high, wobbling runaway to the 5-yard line, made a clean grab of it and attempted a rugby-style kick -- only to see it blocked and recovered for a touchdown by North Duplin's Cody Craig.

Martin, whose view of the score was completely obscured, wasn't surprised to see his team make a play -- it was merely a matter of proper execution.

"We played a lot of base defense, but were really flying to the ball," the coach noted. "Our line was holding up to their size, and our linebackers were running to things real well -- it gave us that chance."

Cherokee, visibly stunned on its sideline, followed that miscue with another three-and-out, punting to what seemed like the whole of a rocking Calypso with 1:37 remaining.

Any notion of a miracle Rebel comeback, however, quickly dissolved.

The visitors tightened matters along the line of scrimmage, using their mass to force North Duplin behind the chains and into obvious passing situations. On fourth-and-11 from the 32-yard line, Will Archer's last-gasp heave to keep the Rebels alive fell incomplete along his own sideline.

Cherokee 22, North Duplin 20.

Final.

Post-game, emotions ran the gauntlet for the Rebels, who rallied from an 0-3 start to the season to finish with a share of the Carolina 1-A crown and a No. 1 playoff seed -- the program's first since 2007.

There was the coaching staff, measured in meter and long on praise, extolling the team's virtues in a round near mid-field. There were the players, on bended knee, handling the aftermath with a poise beyond what is normally credited to teenagers.

Then there was Martin, the studious head coach of this one-stoplight bunch, staring at his call sheet, knowing he was out of options. No doubt about it -- this will linger a while.

"You always hate to see it end," the dejected coach said. "This has been a special group... in terms of closeness, in terms of taking coaching from us... I just hate to know that I'll never coach some of these young men again."

But as always in Calypso, they'll keep fighting the good fight -- no matter the outcome.