FOOTBALL: Lakewood eliminates Princeton from 1AA playoffs

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on November 27, 2016 8:45 AM

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By RUDY COGGINS

rcoggins@newsargus.com

SALEMBURG -- Princeton stuck to its gameplan and strived to move the chains with its patented "three-yard" strategy.

And Lakewood, again, broke the big plays.

This time, though, the Leopards displayed their athleticism and speed on the ground -- particularly behind slashing backs Carsell Bennett and Dre Oates.

The duo combined to rush for 197 yards and three touchdowns during Lakewood's 42-22 second-round conquest of Princeton in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1-AA (large-school) football playoffs on an unseasonably mild Friday evening.

"This time was it long runs. We covered better, but we didn't tackle as well," Princeton head coach Travis Gaster said. "If you don't tackle against a good football team in the second round of the playoffs, you're going to struggle.

"They made the big plays running the ball and broke our contain a few times, and like I said, if you don't tackle, they've got athletes all over the field and they're going to make big plays."

Bennett reeled in a 58-yard TD pass from quarterback Zach Tanner midway through the opening quarter. The Bulldogs responded with a time-consuming 13-play, 71-yard drive that ended on Earl Gibson Jr.'s 34th touchdown of the season -- a 2-yard dive up the middle.

Princeton led 8-6.

Lakewood reeled off the next 20 points that included a 63-yard gallop from Bennett, which was set up by a trap play.

The Bulldogs (7-6 overall) pulled to within two touchdowns twice on Trace James 3-yard run and Garrett Klein's 25-yard scoring play from junior quarterback Adam Crocker in the second half.

"We had good yards, more yards outside than we took (before) because we're used to cramming things inside," Gaster said. "There were some holes made (by the O-line)...another thing we'll learn from as an offensive scheme. We'll be better next time."

The Leopards (10-3) iced the outcome with two more TDs, which set up a third-round meeting against perennial powerhouse Wallace-Rose Hill.

One of 11 Princeton seniors, Gibson Jr. churned out 101 yards on 27 carries. He concluded the year as the area leader in total rushing yards (2,184), total touchdowns (34) and total carries (274).

Lakewood held Princeton to 254 yards of total offense. The Leopards yielded just five third-down conversions and stopped two fourth-down tries on the Bulldogs' 11 offensive series.

"We knew they were good on defense and they proved that tonight," Gaster said.

Game notes:

FAMILIAR FACES

• Lakewood improved to 3-0 all-time against Princeton in the playoffs since 1972, according to records kept by the Association. Princeton played a Carolina Conference opponent in the postseason for the ninth time during that same span.

BALL MOVEMENT

• Princeton ran a total of 147 offensive plays during its two postseason games and compiled 624 yards of total offense. That translates to 4.2 yards per down.

BUILDING BLOCKS

• A misty-eyed Gaster reflected not only about the effort of his seniors, but the entire team. The players bought into the coach's offensive system, trusted in it and claimed the program's first conference championship -- shared by Lakewood and North Duplin -- in three-plus decades.

Gibson Jr., James and Stallworth each played their final game for the blue-and-gold along with fellow seniors AJ Webb, Le'Juan Williams, Chris Edmundson, Austin Hillis, Luke Braswell, Leshane White, Kevin Barber and Darius Avery.

NUMBERS GAME

• Princeton is 15-6 in conference play over the past four seasons -- its best stretch since 1983-85 when the Bulldogs compiled a 15-4 ledger with then-head coach Harvey Brooks.

This edition of the Bulldogs averaged 40.31 points -- third-best in program history, according to CarolinaPreps.com. The 2014 team set the mark (46.57) with current N.C. State sophomore Johnny Frazier in the backfield.