East Bladen’s Eagles dominated all but 34 seconds of the first half, but then had to survive a furious Wilmington Laney second-half rally to escape with a 34-27 non-conference victory Friday night.
In the first 23 minutes and 26 seconds, the Eagles built a 21-0 lead and a 153 to minus 7 advantage in total yardage. However, the Buccaneers finally mustered some offense with a 52-yard scoring drive in just 5 plays to end the half.
Junior quarterback Trevon Greene ignited the rally with a 23-yard run then fired 3 straight completions to senior Justin Billingslea. Greene dove over from the one for the touchdown as time expired in the half. Senior Hayden Watkins booted the extra point.
“We let them back in the ball game with the touchdown right before halftime,” said Eagle Coach Robby Priest.
Led by the running and passing of Greene the Bucs scored on their first three possessions of the second half to trim the margin to 34-27 with 6:03 remaining.
However the Eagles took 4:28 off the clock with a 10-play 41-yard march that reached the Laney 3-yardline before stalling. Junior Ethan Hines carried 6 times for 37 yards to spark the drive. An illegal procedure penalty helped stop the East offense which turned the ball over on a fourth and goal play from the eight.
Greene completed passes of 15 yards to Ryan Williams and of 12 yards and 9 yards to Billingslea to move the Bucs to the Eagle 42 yardline on their final possession. However, 3 straight incompletions ended the Laney chances with 22 seconds on the clock.
“It’s good to learn from a win,” said Coach Priest. “I was afraid we wouldn’t be sharp after the two-week lay-off, but they have got a lot of athletes. They kept us bottled up all night. There were no big plays, but we played good enough to win.”
The Eagle defense smothered the Buccaneers early as 3 plays netted 2 yards, and Watkins fumbled the snap on the punt to give East Bladen the ball at the Laney 38.
Senior quarterback Tyquan McMillian circled left end for 16 yards to pick up a first down, and senior fullback Nikita Owens rammed through the middle for 10 yards to the one yardline.
The Laney defense held until fourth down when Owens powered into the end zone for the touchdown, and junior Jesus Ramos kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 9:00 left in the quarter.
After forcing a Laney 3-and-out and a short punt, the Eagles took over again at their own 39. East Bladen ground out a 58-yard, 17-play drive that moved to the Buccaneer 3 yardline before being stopped on downs.
Laney capitalized on a facemask penalty and a roughing the passer penalty to move to the East Bladen 45. However sophmore Xavia McDowell sacked Greene, and the ball popped loose and was recovered by senior Phillip Rhodie at the Buc 32.
Three plays later East Bladen was in the end zone again as junior Eian Hines sped around right end, tight-roped the sideline and cut back to the middle of the field to complete the 23 yard touchdown run. Ramos tacked on the conversion for a 14-0 lead with 5:43 on the first half clock.
Junior Kyle Tatum recovered his own on-side kick to retain possession for the Eagles at the Laney 45. Eleven plays later East Bladen scored again as McMillian tossed an 8-yard scoring pass to senior tight end Zach Johnson. Ramos added the extra point for the 21-0 lead with 34 ticks on the first half clock.
Leading 21-7 Ethan Hines ripped off runs of 10 and 33 yards to begin East Bladen’s initial second-half possession, but an Eagle fumble was recovered by Laney’s Karl Lane at the Buc 25 yardline to halt the threat.
The rejuvenated Buccaneers covered 75 yards in 7 plays to slice the lead to 21-14. A 20-yard run by junior Tyrese Bloodworth started the march, and Greene threw a 15-yard pass to junior Imeek Watkins. Billingslea snagged a 7-yard pass from Greene for the touchdown, and Hayden Watkins kicked the conversion with 5:11 left in the period.
After a trio of penalties against Laney for kicking the ball out of bounds, the Eagles finally recovered the kick-off at the Laney 49. Seven plays later East Bladen was in the end zone again. Eian Hines carried 3 times for 28 of those yards and darted 9 yards for the touchdown. Ramos split the uprights with the conversion to make it 28-14 at the 1:56 mark of the third period.
Laney answered with an 88-yard drive in just 4 plays. Senior Jamius Beckett picked up 21 yards on second down and one play later sprinted 54 yards for a touchdown with just 23 ticks left in the quarter. Hayden Watkins’ conversion made it 28-21 East.
East Bladen responded with an 81-yard, 8-play drive. McMillian hurled a 41-yard pass to sophmore Sincere Smith. Ethan Hines then reeled off runs of 9, 10 and 11 yards to put the Eagles in the end zone. The conversion failed, but East still led 34-21 with 9:08 on the clock.
Back came Laney with another 75-yard drive in 11 plays. Greene scrambled for runs of 13, 20 and 12 yards to highlight the drive. The 12-yarder was the TD run, but junior Derrick Burney blocked the extra point attempt to keep the margin at 34-27.
Ethan Hines led the Eagle offense with 153 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. His brother Eian rushed 17 times for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns. Owens rushed 21 times for 56 yards and a touchdown.
McMillain completed 2 of 5 passes for 49 yards and a touchdown. East Bladen rushed 67 times for 326 yards and totaled 375 yards in the game.
Greene rushed 8 times for 62 yards and 2 touchdowns for Laney. Greene also completed 15 of 22 passes for 138 yards and another touchdown. Beckett rushed 4 times for 83 yards and a touchdown. The Buccaneers rushed for 181 yards and totaled 319 yards for the game.
Billingslea caught 9 passes for 78 yards to lead the receivers. Imeek Watkins had 4 catches for 40 yards.
Scoring Summary
Wilmington Laney 0 – 7 – 14 – 6 – 27
East Bladen 7 – 14 – 7 – 6 – 34
EB – Nikita Owens 1 run (Jesus Ramos kick)
EB – Eian Hines 23 run (Ramos kick)
EB – Zach Johnson 8 pass from Tyquan McMillian (Ramos kick)
WL – Trevon Greene 1 run (Hayden Watkins kick)
WL – Justin Billingslea 7 pass from Greene (Hayden Watkins kick)
EB – Eian Hines 9 run (Ramos kick)
WL – Jamius Beckett 54 run (Hayden Watkins kick)
EB – Ethan Hines 11 run (kick failed)
WL – Greene 12 run (kick blocked)
Rushing: WL – Beckett 4-83, Greene 8-62, Tyrese Bloodworth 6-35, Imeek Watkins 7-12, Hayden Watkins 1- (-11). EB – Ethan Hines 26-153, Eian Hines 17-101, Owens 21-56, McMillian 3-16.
Passing: WL – Greene 15-22-0, 138. EB – McMillian 2-5-0, 49.
Receiving: WL – Billingslea 9-78, Imeek Watkins 6-40, Ryan Williams 2-20. EB – Sincere Smith 1-41, Zach Johnson 1-8.
Records: Wilmington Laney 1-4, East Bladen 4-0.
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