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Xavia McDowell and Sincere Smith came up with the big plays Friday as East Bladen slugged out a 14-3 Senior Night victory over visiting West Bladen in their Four County Conference season finale.
| Photos by Kenneth Armstrong kenarmphoto.com |
McDowell, a sophmore fullback, carried 23 times for 132 yards and a touchdown to spark the Eagle offense. “Tonight was a coming out party for Xavia,” said Eagle Coach Robby Priest. “You always like to have a guy that benches 350 and squats 550 on your side.”
Smith, a sophmore defensive back/offensive end, turned in a number of key defensive plays that halted Knight drives, then scooped up a teammate’s fumble and darted 12 yards for the clinching touchdown with 7:26 left to play.
“Skippy (Smith) has a nose for the football,” said Coach Priest. “He has a very high sports I. Q. and he made some big plays for us.”
After forcing a Knight punt, the Eagle offense ate up most of the first quarter with a 15-play, 49-yard drive that capitalized on a trio of Knight offside penalties and 22 yards rushing from McDowell.
However West Bladen junior Ricky McLaurin tackled an Eagle runner on fourth down at the Knight 3 yard line to end the march.
On the second play following a Knight punt, West Bladen senior Justin Hall pounced on an Eagle fumble at the East Bladen 41 yard line. The Knights rode a 10-yard run by senior Jeremiah Purdie and an 11-yard burst from senior Malique McDowell to a first down at the Eagle nine.
On fourth down at the East six, the Knights ran a fake field goal play, but the pass into the end zone fell incomplete.
Following a short punt the Knights took possession at the Eagle 34 yardline, but three plays later East Bladen senior Jonathan Melvin intercepted a West Bladen pass at the Eagle 32 with 1:11 remaining in the half which ended in a scoreless tie.
The teams traded possessions to begin the second half, but a questionable intentional grounding call pushed the Knights back to their own 22 yardline.
Smith returned the ensuing West punt 8 yards to the Knight 44, and on the next play, Xavia McDowell broke through the line and galloped 44 yards for the game’s first touchdown. Senior Jesus Ramos booted the extra point for a 7-0 East lead with 7:51 left in the third quarter.
The Knights answered with a 50-yard drive in 14 plays. Malique McDowell gained 32 of those yards on 7 carries.
On first down at the Eagle 13, East senior Chris Cromartie dropped a Knight runner for a 3-yard loss. A pass in the flat looked destined for big yardage, but Smith nailed the receiver with a jarring tackle that knocked the ball loose.
On fourth down from the 14, West Bladen senior Ray Jones drilled a 31-yard field goal that trimmed the East lead to 7-3 with 39 seconds left in the quarter.
East Bladen responded with a 60-yard march in 9 plays. Xavia McDowell picked up 26 of those yards on 5 carries, and senior Nikita Owens added 18 yards on 3 rushes.
On second down from the West 18, Owens carried for 6 yards, but the ball squirted loose. Smith picked up the fumble and dashed 12 yards to the end zone for the touchdown that padded the lead to 14-3 after the Ramos conversion.
“We got real lucky on the one,” noted Coach Priest. “That scoop and score was really big.”
A swing pass from senior quarterback Stefan McDonald to junior T. J. Kemp gained 15 yards for West to the East 48 yard line, but a 17-yard loss on intentional grounding backed the Knights up. On the next play senior Trevor Lloyd intercepted a West pass and returned the ball 13 yards. A late hit penalty moved the ball to the Knight 22.
After Xavia McDowell powered through the line for 14 yards, the Eagles moved to the Knight 5 yard line. However the drive stalled and a mishandled snap foiled a possible 22-yard field goal attempt.
Malique McDowell bolted 17 yards out to the West 28 yard line, but Eagle senior Phillip Rhodie sacked the quarterback for a 10-yard loss, and the Knights turned the ball over on downs at their own 28 with 3:25 left.
East Bladen ground out the rest of the clock and reached the Knight 8 yard line in 6 plays.
Junior Kyle Tatum carried 10 times for 44 yards, and Owens added 40 yards on 12 rushes as the Eagles racked up 221 yards rushing on 49 snaps and did not attempt a pass.
“This was old school ground-and-pound East Bladen football,” said Coach Priest. “We kept plugging and plugging until Xavia broke one.”
“We kind of limped to the finish with all the injuries at halfback and to the starting quarterback,” continued Priest. “But we had our back-ups prepared through a lot of hard work, and hopefully we will get some guys healthy next week.”
Malique McDowell led the Knights with 67 yards on 13 carries. West Bladen finished with 108 yards on 36 rushes and 15 yards passing.
“My guys really played like I know they can,” said Knight Coach Russell Dove. “I am so proud of them. We had a chance to win in the fourth quarter.”
“We might be 0-2 since the Clinton game, but we are playing much better,” added Coach Dove. “We are tackling better, and flying around to the football.”
The Eagles improved to 9-2 overall and 5-2 in the league with the win. West Bladen dropped to 3-4 in league play and 5-6 overall.
Both teams will wait for Saturday’s play-off pairings to see where their next game will be.
Scoring Summary:
West Bladen 0 0 3 0 – 3
East Bladen 0 0 7 7 – 14
EB – Xavia McDowell 44 run (Jesus Ramos kick)
WB – Ray Jones 31 field goal
EB – Sincere Smith 12 run (Ramos kick)
Rushing: WB – Malique McDowell 13-67, Jeremiah Purdie 3-18, Traquan Horne 5-13, Daquan Lennon 5-14, James Moore 3-7, B. J. Drake 1-2, Stefan McDonald 6-(-15); EB – Xavia McDowell 23-132, Kyle Tatum 10-44, Nikita Owens 12-40, Smith 1-12, Coates 3-(-7).
Passing: WB- McDonald 1-8-2, 15.
Receiving: WB – T. J. Kemp 1-15.
Records: West Bladen 3-4, 5-6; East Bladen 5-2, 9-2.
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