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DUBLIN – Senior Eian Hines hauled in a 51-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Quinton Bedsole in the second quarter that lifted East Bladen to a 7-0 victory over West Bladen Friday night in the ‘Battle for the Bell” that was also Senior Night and Homecoming at West Bladen.
The Eagles converted two big plays on their 68-yard scoring drive. Ethan Hines, Eian’s twin brother, dashed 18 yards with a direct snap on a fake punt play that converted a fourth down-and-five situation.
Then on third-and-sixteen from their own 49 yardline, Bedsole laid the pass just over the outstretched defender’s hands at the Knight 22 yardline to hit Eian Hines in stride and Hines darted the final 22 yards to paydirt. Sophmore Pierce Melvin booted the extra point for a 7-0 Eagle lead with 4:22 remaining in the half.
A pair of runs by junior fullback Zion Barrett netted 10 yards, and junior quarterback Scott Bowen gained 7 yards on the keeper as the Knights drove to the East 39 on their next possession. After a delay penalty moved West back, a late hit out-of-bounds penalty on fourth down was ruled to be a dead ball penalty and the ball was turned over to the Eagles at the East 32 yardline.
The Eagles opened the second half with a 35-yard drive that erased 6 minutes off the clock and featured the running of junior Xavier Wooten. Wooten carried 4 times on the drive for 33 yards. Bedsole’s fourth down pass was broken up by Knight junior Jimmy Williams to give West possession at their own 31.
Junior B. J. Drake popped free for a 10-yard gain, and Barrett bulled his way for 12 yards on 3 carries as the Knights picked up a pair of first downs. However a Knight fumble was recovered by East Bladen’s Xavia McDowell at the Eagle 32 yardline.
The teams traded punts before the Eagles took another 6 minutes off the clock with a 51-yard, 12-play drive led by the running of Wooten and sophmore James Higgins.
Eian Hines went in at quarterback on the drive and scooted 40 yards around right end on a naked bootleg play for an apparent touchdown that was nullified by a block in the back penalty. The drive eventually stalled at the West 24 yardline when a fourth down pass fell incomplete.
“I liked what I saw with Eian at quarterback,” said Eagle Coach Robby Priest. “We have to get him some more reps there. He looked really smooth.”
The Knights took possession with only 4 minutes left to play and picked up a pair of first downs out to their own 40 yardline. However senior defensive back Kyle Tatum broke up a third down pass, and the fourth down pass was incomplete with only 1:13 remaining. The Eagles then ran out the clock.
“We can’t come out not ready to play and not focused,” said Coach Priest. “We’ve got a long way to go. But don’t take anything away from them. West played their butts off.”
“I can’t give enough credit to Coach (Taurius) Baker and how the defense played,” said Knight Coach Todd Pait. “If we could have had that kind of effort all year, we wouldn’t be in the situation that we are in.”
“I looked at that Bell earlier today and I didn’t see many close scores on it,” continued Coach Pait. “This is the kind of game that I came back here for. They (East Bladen) know they were in a game tonight.”
Things didn’t start well for the Knights as Tatum intercepted a Knight pass on the first play from scrimmage of the game. A 12-yard run by Ethan Hines and a 9-yard gain by Wooten produced a pair of first downs, before the Knights held on downs at their own 41.
Back-to-back ten yard runs by Barrett and Drake sparked a 39-yard West drive that was highlighted by the Knights pushing the pile forward on several of those runs. However a fourth-and-one play at the Eagle 20 yardline was stopped for no gain.
The Eagles answered with a 59-yard drive in 9 plays that reached the West 21 yardline. Ethan Hines broke loose for 29 yards to start the march. Wooten picked up 17 yards on 4 rushes, but on fourth-and-7 at the 21, Bedsole was sacked for a 14-yard loss by Knight junior Jonathan Robinson.
Wooten rushed 18 times for 101 yards to lead the Eagles. Ethan Hines finished with 19 carries for 91 yards as East Bladen held a 276-115 edge in total yards and a 221-111 edge in rushing yards.
Drake led the Knights with 45 yards on 13 carries, and Barrett added 39 yards on 9 attempts.
“Jonathan showed tonight what kind of football player he can be,” said Coach Pait. “B.J. plays hard every single play, and Zion Barrett is probably the best player in this conference that nobody knows about.”
Eighteen Knight senior football players were recognized in pre-game ceremonies. They include: Hunter Pait, Weston Pidgeon, Ricky McLaurin, Jonathan Ashworth, T.J. Kemp, Tykee Jeffries, Kassan Page, James Moore, Luis Ramirez, A.J. Willis, Trent West, Jaquel Jessup, Chris Council, Hunter Jackson, Jasaiah Roberts, Isaac Arellano, Nathan Kroesch and Fred Walters.
“Our seniors should hold their heads up high,” said Coach Pait. “They have nothing to be ashamed of tonight.”
West Bladen will travel to Pender Thursday for a 7 p.m. game that will conclude their season. East Bladen, now 4-2 in the league and 6-4 overall, will host Heide Trask Friday at 7 p.m.
At halftime Jazlyn Best was named Homecoming Queen and John Bowen was named Homecoming King.
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