DUNN – Midway’s offense exploded for 42 2nd half points and rallied for a key 49-33 Southeastern Athletic Conference football victory over West Bladen Friday night.
West Bladen drops to 2-3 in SAC-7 play and 3-4 overall and needed a victory to stay in the race for a potential wild card spot in the state playoffs.
The Knights had taken a 14-7 halftime lead before senior quarterback Wyatt Holland and junior Trey Gregory combined for 6 touchdowns to spark the 2nd half Raider rally.
Holland raced 35 yards for a touchdown to put Midway on top at the 8:07 mark of the 1st quarter. Senior Junior Acosta connected on the 1st of his 7 extra point kicks for a 7-0 lead.
With a minute remaining in the opening period, junior Gary Parker broke free and bolted 11 yards for a Knight touchdown. The conversion kick was blocked and the Raiders maintained a 7-6 lead.
The Knights faced a 4th down with 6:26 left before halftime, when freshman quarterback Hezekiah Adams tossed a 26-yard touchdown pass to senior Damarius Robinson. Robinson bulled into the end zone for the 2-point conversion and a 14-7 West Bladen lead.
Holland dashed 18 yards for a touchdown with 9:34 on the 3rd quarter clock. Acosta tied the game 14-14 with his extra point kick. At the 5:27 mark Holland pushed the Raiders in front 21-14 with a 4-yard touchdown run.
Thirty-six seconds before the quarter break, Gregory sprinted 36 yards to pay dirt as the Midway lead grew to 28-14. Gregory started the final period with a 4-yard touchdown run to stretch the lead to 35-14.
West Bladen answered as Adams popped free and scooted 20 yards for a touchdown. Sophomore Jordan Hester nailed the conversion kick to trim the margin to 35-21 with 7:16 remaining.
Gregory stretched the lead to 42-21 with an 18-yard TD run, but Adams fired a 30-yard touchdown pass to junior Tydrick Stewart 2 minutes later that whittled the lead to 42-27 with 4:21 on the clock.
A 48-yard gallop by Gregory padded the Midway lead to 49-27. Back came the Knights as Adams threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Robinson with 19 seconds on the clock. A conversion run failed.
Holland sparked the Midway attack running for 218 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also completed 7 of 14 passes for 117 yards. Gregory carried the ball 16 times for 149 yards and 4 2nd half touchdowns. He also had 1 pass reception for 11 yards. Teammate Nate Smith caught 4 passes for 80 yards.
Adams connected on 5 of 8 passes for 3 touchdowns and 101 yards The fleet-footed freshman carried the ball 9 times for 81 yards and another touchdown. Robinson led the Knights ground attack with 25 carries for 107 yards and a 2-point conversion. The powerful senior caught 2 touchdown passes for 51 yards.
Gary Parker toted the ball 15 times for 64 yards and a touchdown, and Stewart caught 2 passes for 35 yards and 1 touchdown.
Junior Aaron Wren led the Knight defense with 8 tackles. Sophomores Jahmar Richardson and Aaron Lewis and junior Deonte Lacey were all credited with 7 tackles each. Stewart contributed 6 tackles, and Parker and sophomore Messyah Whitted totaled 5 tackles each.
Junior Ahmir Stepps, sophomore Xavier Spaulding and junior Tyler Ward made 4 tackles each. Senior Keshawn Ballard and sophomore Malijah McKoy had 2 tackles each, and junior Kevonte Drye had 1 tackle.
Midway racked up 367 yards rushing and 117 passing for 484 total yards. West Bladen finished with 252 rushing yards and 101 passing for 353 total yards.
The Knights will close out their season at home Friday night against 2nd-place Clinton. Midway, now 2-2 in the SAC-7 and 5-3 overall, will travel to East Bladen Friday night for a game that should decide 3rd place in the conference.
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