A stifling defense and a strong rushing attack propelled the East Bladen’s Junior Varsity football team to a 48-0 win over the host Whiteville Wolfpack Thursday night.
The Eagles scored on each of their offensive possessions during the game and totally dominated the statistics piling up 321 yards of total offense while holding Whiteville to only 14 total yards.
Whiteville took the opening kicked and drove nine plays to the East Bladen 20 yard line before being stopped on downs.
East Bladen took over possession of the ball with 3:40 remaining in the first quarter. Xavier Wooten and James Higgins combined for 58 yards of rushing to move the ball to the Whiteville 28 yard line.
Trey Carter dashed 21 yards on the next play, before Wooten galloped 7 yards around right end for the touchdown. Carter added the two-point conversion run to give East Bladen an 8-0 lead with 8:10 remaining in the second quarter.
Messiah Leach recovered the ensuing kickoff to give the Eagles the ball on the Whiteville 41 yard line. On the second play from scrimmage, Higgins broke loose for a 40-yard touchdown run. Wooten tacked on the two-point conversion run to stretch the Eagle lead to 16-0.
The Eagles forced a punting situation on the next Wolfpack possession. A bad snap led to the punter being tackled for a 19-yard loss giving the Eagles possession at the Whiteville 18 yard line.
On the third play from scrimmage, Wooten scored his second touchdown of the night on a five yard run. The pass attempt for the two-point conversion was incomplete and East Bladen led 22-0 with 3:20 remaining in the first half.
The Eagles forced a punting situation on the next Wolfpack possession. The punter’s knee was on the ground when he received the ball giving the Eagles possession at the Whiteville 26 yard line. On the second play of the drive, quarterback Quinton Bedsole avoided a sack, rolled right and found Higgins in the flat. Higgins broke several tackles and scored on a 26-yard pass play. Wooten added the two-point conversion to stretch the Eagle lead to 30-0 at halftime.
East Bladen’s Shy Pone returned the second half kickoff 37 yards to the Wolfpack 43 yard line. Three plays later, Wooten bolted 55 yards for his third touchdown of the night. The two-point conversion attempt failed and the Eagles lead 36-0.
Whiteville turned the ball over on downs on their next possession. On the next play, Leach scooted 58 yards for a touchdown. The two point conversion attempt failed and the Eagles led 42-0.
On the second play from scrimmage for the Wolfpack, East Bladen corner back Raquan Abbey intercepted a pass and returned it to the Wolfpack 24 yard line. Six plays later, Eric Chancy circled left end for a 7 yard touchdown run to give East Bladen a 48-0 lead. The Eagles took a knee on the two point conversion.
“The offense and defense did a great job tonight,” said Eagle Coach Ritchie Priest. “We played with a lot of intensity on both sides of the ball. I was really happy with how physical we were throughout the entire game. It was a great win and it feels good to be 2-0.”
Xavier Wooten led the Eagles with 100 yards rushing on 8 carries. Teammate Trey Carter rushed 4 times for 44 yards. James Higgins ran 3 times for 57 yards, and Messiah Leach added 69 yards rushing on 2 attempts for the winners.
Quinton Bedsole connected on his only pass of the night for 26 yards to James Higgins.
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