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BLADENBORO – Senior Tydrick Stewart ran for 2 touchdowns and freshman Hunter Hester threw for 2 more touchdowns as West Bladen celebrated Homecoming with a 39-20 Southeastern Athletic Conference football victory over Red Springs.

Stewart broke loose for touchdown runs of 63 and 44 yards and finished with 115 yards rushing on 16 carries. Hester completed 6 of 11 passes for 138 yards and the 2 touchdowns but did suffer 2 interceptions.

Knight Coach Stanley Williams said, “Execution and winning in all 3 phases of the game –offense, defense and special teams – was the difference tonight.”

Stewart’s 63-yard TD gallop with 5:48 left in the opening period staked the Knights to a 7-0 lead after sophomore Cade Allen booted the 1st of his 3 extra points.

The Knights then attempted an onside kick, and junior Cornelius Esters pounced on the ball at the Red Devil 49 yardline. West Bladen drove 34 yards, before Hester fired a 15-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Hezekiah Adams. Allen nailed the conversion for a 14-0 West lead at the 4:03 mark.

Jamie Tedder carried 4 yards for a Red Devil touchdown 9:44 before halftime to slice the margin to 14-6. A conversion run came up short.

Stewart answered quickly with his 44-yard scoring burst. A run for the 2-point conversion failed and West led 20-6 with 8:55 on the clock.

With 2:11 remaining in the half, Hester connected with junior Messyah Whitted on a 42-yard touchdown pass. The extra point attempt was blocked and the Knights led 26-6 at halftime.

Red Springs’ Mishon Wilson scored on a 15-yard touchdown run with 45 seconds left in the 3rd period. The conversion run failed and the West lead was 26-12.

The Red Devils then attempted an onside kick, but the kicker barely snubbed the ball. Knight senior Aaron Wren alertly grabbed the ball and raced 41 yards for a kickoff return touchdown. Allen tacked on the extra point to boost the West Bladen lead to 33-12 at the quarter break.

Senior Pernell Hooper blasted through the line and scored the final Knight touchdown on an 8-yard run. The conversion attempt failed but the lead grew to 39-12.

Tedder scored his 2nd touchdown of the night on a 3-yard run, and Curtis Wilson, Jr. ran the conversion to trim the final margin to 39-20 with 3:19 remaining.

Hooper carried twice for 41 yards rushing, and Whitted rushed 3 times for 14 yards to go with his 42-yard TD catch. Adams caught 2 passes for 47 yards, and Stewart had a 34-yard reception. Esters had 1 reception for 11 yards.

Wren had the 41-yard kickoff return, and Whitted returned 1 kickoff for 25 yards. Allen made 3 conversion kicks, and averaged 41.5 yards on his 2 punts.

Junior Aaron Lewis and senior Tyler Ward led the Knight defense with 11 tackles each. Senior Deonte Lacey finished with 9 tackles, and Wren was credited with 8 tackles and a sack to go with his scoring return. Stewart and sophomore Tyleak Ballard totaled 6 tackles each. Adams sparked the pass defense with 2 interceptions.

Mishon Wilson led the Red Devils with 12 rushes for 87 yards and a touchdown. Curtis Wilson, Jr. carried 15 times for 75 yards. Tedder ran 6 times for 37 yards and 2 touchdowns and caught 2 passes for 80 yards. Quarterback Scottie Locklear completed 7 of 13 passes for 127 yards but had 2 interceptions.

The Knights improved to 1-3 in the SAC-7 and 2-6 overall and will travel to St. Pauls Friday night.