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By John Clark

BLADENBORO – West Bladen rallied to within 35-21 of St. Pauls Friday night, but St. Pauls ran the score up to 49-21 with 2 touchdowns in the final 2:53 to claim a Southeastern Athletic Conference football victory.

Senior Jalen Kinard’s 8-yard touchdown run, and sophomore Omar Canuto’s extra point kick pushed the Bulldog lead to 28-0 with 8:58 left in the 3rd period.

Knight senior Malijah McKoy popped through a crease on the ensuing kickoff and bolted 46 yards to the St. Pauls 30 yard line. On 3rd down, Knight quarterback Hezekiah Adams evaded a couple of rushers and fired a 37-yard touchdown pass to senior Travis Baxley. Junior Cade Allen booted the conversion to trim the margin to 28-7 at the 7:26 mark.

West Bladen homecoming queen Ariana Carranza Toledo, left, and king Stefan Jessup were crowned Friday.

The Bulldogs drove to the Knight 24, before Adams intercepted a Theo Seitzer pass and returned it to the West 19 yard line. Adams tossed passes to sophomore Hunter Hester for gains of 5 and 9 yards, but the Bulldogs’ Jonathan Powell recovered a Knight fumble.

St. Pauls covered the 42 yards in 3 carries by sophomore Yoshua McBryde. After a 32-yard burst, McBryde scored the TD on a 2-yard run 51 seconds before the quarter break that padded the lead to 35-7 with Canuto’s kick. Canuto was a perfect 7 for 7 on conversions.

Junior Iyan Phillips recovered a Bulldog fumble at the St. Pauls 23 yard line early in the final period. Senior Messyah Whitted picked up 10 yards on 2 carries, before Adams darted away from a pair of St. Pauls rushers, scooted back to the middle and scooted 21 yards for a touchdown. Allen, who was a perfect 3-for-3, split the uprights to trim the margin to 35-14 with 8:13 left.

Senior Jahmar Richardson recovered the Knights’ onside kick at the Bulldog 43 yard line. Whitted banged through the line on runs of 14 and 5 yards, before Adams connected with junior Noah Hall on a 15-yard touchdown pass. Allen’s kick narrowed the gap to 35-21 at the 7:15 mark.

Sophomore Robert McKoy threw McBryde for a 6-yard loss after the kickoff, but on 3rd and 10 Seitzer evaded a pair of Knight rushers then pitched the ball to McBryde who dashed 36 yards to the West 20 yard line. Six plays later senior Tyler Parks carried 3 yards for the TD and a 42-21 lead with 2:53 on the clock.

The Knights fumbled the kickoff, and senior Jamarcus Smith recovered for the Bulldogs at the West 32 yard line. A facemask penalty moved the ball to the 11, and Seitzer threw an 11-yard TD pass to freshman Malikah Locklear with 1:46 on the clock.

Whitted rushed 24 times for 111 yards to lead the Knight offense and caught a pass for 18 yards. Adams carried 9 times for 49 yards and a touchdown and completed 5 of 9 passes for 76 yards and 2 touchdowns. Baxley snagged the 37-yard TD pass, and Hall grabbed 2 passes for 21 yards and a touchdown.

Phillips sparked the Knight defense with 7 tackles and a fumble recovery. Senior Aaron Lewis made 6 tackles, and Richardson finished with 5 tackles. Adams had 2 tackles and a pass interception.

“We felt like we could run the ball on them,” said Knight Coach Stanley Williams whose team totaled 179 yards rushing. “It has been a battle of attrition and the next man up mentality for us. We had 6 guys out tonight with injuries and 2 more went down tonight. But we are going to keep working and get ready for these last 2 games starting with Fairmont on Senior Night. Maybe we can get some of the guys back by playoff time.”

McBryde led the Bulldogs with 178 yards rushing and a touchdown on 16 attempts. Seitzer completed 9 of 13 passes for 156 yards and 3 touchdowns. Locklear snagged 3 passes for 75 yards and 2 touchdowns.

The Bulldogs drove 78 yards and 10 plays with the opening kickoff. McBryde carried 3 times for 42 yards to set up Seitzer’s 14-yard TD pass to Tykeem Oxendine for a 7-0 lead.

Sophomore Antonio Arnold’s interception of a West pass at the Knight 20 yardline set up the next Bulldog score. Parks ran 6 yards for the touchdown and a 14-0 lead 7:27 before halftime.

A 34-yard touchdown pass from Seitzer to Locklear capped an 81 yard drive and stretched the Bulldog lead to 21-0 with 1:31 left in the half.

West Bladen, now 0-3 in SAC-6 play and 2-6 overall, will host Fairmont Friday on Senior Night.