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Photos by Kenneth Armstrong
ELIZABETHTOWN – East Bladen captured a share of the Three Rivers Conference championship Friday night with a 48-12 victory over rival West Bladen.
The Eagle victory coupled with Whiteville’s 47-14 victory over South Columbus left East Bladen tied with Whiteville and South Columbus for the league’s top spot. All three teams finished 8-1 in league play and are 10-1 overall.
A drawing was held to determine the league’s seeding for the play-offs and East Bladen drew the No. 1 seed with South Columbus getting the No. 2 seed.
East Bladen’s defense forced a 3-and-out on the first West Bladen possession. The Knight punter tried to run for a first down and was stopped short at the Knight 20 yardline.
“It wasn’t a fake punt,” said Knight Coach Kris Williams. “He’s a freshman and I think he thought the rush was a little better than it was.”
The Eagles capitalized on the short field in just two plays. Senior Sincere Smith turned a short pass from senior Quinton Bedsole into a 14-yard gain. Senior Trevares Carter dove into the end zone from 3 yards out for the touchdown. Junior Pierce Melvin booted the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
West Bladen answered with a 68-yard, 13-play scoring drive. Senior Dayvon Swindell bolted 11 yards to convert a fourth down play then tacked on a 9-yard run. Junior Kerron Washington ripped off an 8-yard run then scooted 23 yards around left end.
Sophmore Tyre Boykin powered into the end zone from 2 yards out on the quarterback sneak for the touchdown. Eagle junior James Higgins blocked the extra point attempt to keep East Bladen ahead 7-6 with 2:32 on the first period clock.
The Eagles fumbled the ensuing kick-off, and senior Jimmy Williams recovered at the East Bladen 26 yardline. Two plays later Smith made a diving interception of a Knight pass at the Eagle 14 yardline to regain possession for East.
Senior Xavier Wooten reeled off runs of 10 and 5 yards to start an 86-yard Eagle drive. On the second play of the second period, senior Davonta McIver charged through the middle of the line and raced 53 yards for a touchdown. Melvin converted the extra point kick for a 14-6 East lead.
East Bladen covered 73 yards in 9 plays on their next possession to boost their lead to 21-6. The Eagles overcame a holding penalty but were aided by unsportsmanlike and personal foul penalties against the Knights.
Junior Eric Chancy started the drive with runs of 11 and 10 yards. Wooten was the workhorse of the march picking up 30 yards on 6 carries culminating with a 3-yard run for the touchdown. Melvin nailed the extra point 2:32 before halftime.
Two plays later Chancy intercepted a Knight pass and returned it 30 yards for an Eagle touchdown. Melvin kicked the point for a 28-6 East lead at the 1:58 mark.
The Knights bounced back with a 58-yard scoring drive in 3 plays. Senior B. J. Drake popped through the middle and raced 50 yards for a West touchdown. A pass for the 2-point conversion failed, and East led 28-12 with 1:21 on the clock.
The Eagles flew 73 yards down the field with the help of a 15-yard run by Chancy and a 30-yard gallop by Wooten. Smith made a leaping catch of a Bedsole pass for a 39-yard gain to the West Bladen 9 yardline as time expired in the half.
On the first play after Eagle senior Adonis Avery returned the second half kick-off 25 yards, Bedsole fired a strike to Smith for a 38-yard touchdown pass. Melvin added the extra point for a 35-12 East Bladen lead 15 seconds into the second half.
Four plays later West Bladen fumbled the snap in a punting situation, and the Eagles regained possession at the Knight 20 yardline. Smith ran for 6 yards, Wooten picked up 5 and Chancy dashed 9 yards for the touchdown and a 41-12 East lead with 9:45 left in the quarter.
The Knights were stopped a yard short on fourth down at their own 38 yardline. Chancy began the scoring drive with runs of 7 and 11 yards, before Wooten capped the drive with runs of 14 then 13 yards for the touchdown. Melvin connected on his sixth extra point kick to pad the lead to 48-12 with 5:20 left in the third quarter.
West Bladen freshman ShyRon Adams snatched an Eagle fumble out of the air and returned it 20 yards, but a penalty pushed the Knights back to their own 40 yardline.
The Knights mounted a 59-yard drive that was stopped on downs at the Eagle 2 yardline. Swindell ignited the drive with an 18-yard dash, and Washington kept it alive with a diving catch of a Boykin pass for a 15-yard gain. Junior Nelson Drake snagged another Boykin pass for a 9-yard pick-up.
Wooten finished with 104 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns on 13 carries. Chancy carried 8 times for 83 yards and a touchdown, and McIver rushed for 60 yards and a touchdown on 3 attempts. The Eagles totaled 312 yards rushing and 411 yards of offense.
Bedsole completed 4 of 5 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. “We got Quinton’s confidence back,” said Eagle Coach Robby Priest. “We tried to switch some things up, and I thought we looked better in the shotgun. It’s nice to have options. The offensive line played good.”
“This group just doesn’t have that killer instinct,” continued Coach Priest. “We finally put them away in the third quarter, but why not do it in the first half. I am not sure we can develop it in a week or two.”
B. J. Drake rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries to lead West. Drake raised his season rushing total to 1,428 yards. “B. J. is just an amazing back and an even better young man,” said Coach Williams. “We are really going to miss him.”
Swindell finished with 45 yards rushing on 6 attempts. Washington carried 6 times for 37 yards. West Bladen totaled 222 yards rushing and 249 yards of offense.
“We played well early,” said Coach Williams. “But we just couldn’t maintain that momentum. In the middle of the third period things just started coming apart.”
Senior Jvahn Thomas led the Knight defense with 10 tackles – 6 solo. Senior Michael Hepburn followed with 7 tackles – 6 solo. Senior Zion Barrett finished with 6 tackles, and senior Jonathan Robinson had 5 tackles.
The Knights concluded their season with a 2-7 league record and 4-7 overall mark. East Bladen will wait for the play-off pairings to be announced Saturday.
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