By Sonny Jones
Needing a win Friday night to keep its playoff hopes alive, East Bladen executed its game plan to near perfection in outscoring Midway 49-35 on Senior Night at Lenon Fisher Stadium.
“I’m proud of the way we played,” East Bladen coach Robby Priest said. “We came out fired up, pumped up. There was a lot of good distractions with the honoring of the seniors, cheerleaders and band. They did a good job of staying focused. I just thought we played well as a team.”
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Photos by Kenneth Armstrong
The Eagles improved to 3-2 in the Southeastern Athletic Conference and 4-5 overall. East Bladen closes the season next Friday at Clinton (4-1, 6-2). The winner will receive the league’s automatic No. 2 bid for the state playoffs. The loser would need a wild card bid to play in the postseason.
Midway (2-3, 5-4) hosts Fairmont (2-3, 2-6) next Friday in a game with potential playoff implications. St. Pauls (5-0, 7-0) has clinched the league’s top seed and will host Red Springs (0-5, 1-5) next Friday.
The Eagles’ plan in Friday’s win against the Raiders was simple. Control the ball and keep the explosive Midway offense and quarterback Wyatt Holland off the field.
Seldom has a plan worked so well. “For once in my life it worked to perfection,” Priest said.
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East Bladen Senior Night
Photos by Kenneth Armstrong
The numbers told the story:
• Tim McLean rushed for 153 yards on 17 carries and sealed it with a 42 yard touchdown run with three minutes to play.
• Masion Brooks carried the ball 13 times for 129 yards and had scoring runs of 14, 29 and 35 yards.
• Javius Brooks ran for 112 yards on 20 carries, scored on runs of 21 and 3 yards and threw an 11-yard touchdown pass on the halfback option to Nazire Smith midway through the third quarter that put the Eagles ahead for good at 27-21.
• East Bladen ran 69 plays, amassed 448 yards and dominated the time of possession by nearly 3-to-1 (34:57-13:03) behind an offensive line led by seniors Connor Britt and Nathan Lacewell that opened the holes. The Eagles were credited with 27 first downs compared to 14 for Midway.
• The Eagles pressured Holland throughout, especially in the second half. Although he threw four touchdowns that gave him 29 for the season against only two interceptions, he completed only 12 of 27 pass attempts for 258 yards. “It’s hard for a quarterback to throw from his back,” Priest said. “We don’t want to hurt anybody, but we wanted to get after him, get after his feet and make him uncomfortable.”
McLean’s clinching touchdown came two plays after the Eagles’ Sherman Monroe picked up a first down on a fake punt from the Midway 45. East Bladen punter Jadon Pridgen had been injured earlier in the game and was unavailable. During a time out “we talked about it over the headset and decided to go for it,” Priest said. “Ran the fake and it worked. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t.” Monroe took the direct snap and went around the right side for 8 yards on fourth and 7.
East Bladen recognized its senior players prior to the game. Those playing their final home game were Tim McLean, Ahmad Powell, Zavarion Palmer, Sherman Monroe, Willie Battle, Jaylan Britt, Donnie Ezzell, Connor Britt, Jeremiah Jones, Kory Smith, Kenneth Armstrong, Nazire Smith, Javius Brooks, Robert McKoy and Nathan Lacewell.
Also, Kaniyah Fulton was named Female Varsity Sweetheart and the late Lamont Pridgen was named Male Varsity Sweetheart. Pridgen, 18, was shot Feb. 10 in the Whiteville Food Lion parking lot and died 11 days later. His jersey was draped across a chair on the East Bladen sideline during Friday’s game.
SCORING
1st Quarter
M — Gregory 5 run (Acosta kick)
E — J. Brooks 21 run (Pope kick)
M — McCrae 8 pass from Holland (Acosta kick)
2nd Quarter
E — M. Brooks 14 run (kick failed)
E — J. Brooks 3 run (J. Brooks run)
M — Culbreth 48 pass from Holland (Acosta kick)
3rd Quarter
E — Smith 11 pass from J. Brooks (kick failed)
E — M. Brooks 29 run (Powell pass to J. Brooks)
4th Quarter
M — Lupo 24 pass from Holland (Acosta kick)
E — M. Brooks 35 run (run failed)
M — Culbreth 12 pass from Holland (Acosta kick)
E — McLean 42 run (Powell run)
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