Things didn’t go well for West Bladen at the beginning of Friday night’s non-conference football game with visiting St. Pauls. The Bulldogs’ Sylvester McAllister returned the opening kick-off 77 yards for a quick touchdown and a 6-0 lead, then penalties led to 3-and-outs for the Knights on their first two possessions.
However, the Knight defense came up with a key turnover, and West Bladen exploded for 22 second-quarter points en route to a 43-20 victory over the Bulldogs.
“I was proud of the way the kids responded,” said Knight Coach Russell Dove. “We learned a lot from last week (a 35-6 loss to Whiteville). It was a complete turn-around on how to handle adversity.”
The Bulldogs took over at the West Bladen 39 following a Knight punt and picked up a first down, but Knight junior A. J. Willis pounced on a Bulldog fumble to end the threat at the West 25.
The Knights embarked on a 75-yard, 8-play scoring drive. A 14-yard pass from quarterback Stefon McDonald to Hunter Prevatte gave West a first down at the St. Pauls 24 as the quarter ended.
On the first play of the second period, senior fullback Jeremiah Purdie bolted through the middle and galloped 24 yards for the touchdown. Senior Ray Jones booted the extra point for a 7-6 Knight lead.
The West defense then rose up and stopped the Bulldogs a yard short on a fourth down play at the Knight 43 yard line. Eleven plays later the Knights were in the end zone again.
Sophomore B. J. Drake carried 4 times for 26 yards during the drive, and McDonald connected with Prevatte again for a 12-yard gain. McDonald sneaked one yard for the touchdown, and Jones tacked on the conversion for a 14-6 lead with 4:26 left in the half.
On St. Pauls next play from scrimmage, Knight junior defensive back Ricky McLaurin picked off a Bulldog pass and raced 21 yards for another West touchdown. “That was a key play in the game.” said Coach Dove. “It kind of busted the game open for us.”
McDonald fumbled the conversion snap, but scooped up the ball and scooted around left end for the 2-point conversion and a 22-6 lead 2:14 before halftime.
A Knight onside kick attempt gave the Bulldogs the ball at the West Bladen 41. Bulldog quarterback Tommy Jackson connected on 3 straight passes to move the visitors to the Knight 8 yard line. Senior Trey Thompson darted 8 yards for the touchdown, and Jackson hooked up with senior Renardo Jenkins on the conversion pass that trimmed the margin to 22-14 at halftime.
Drake broke loose for runs of 17 and 12 yards to ignite a 67-yard, 11-play scoring drive that began the Knight second half. Senior Traquan Horne bulled into the end zone from 2 yards out for the touchdown, and Jones added the extra point for a 29-14 lead with 6:50 remaining in the third period.
A 16-yard pass from Jackson to Jenkins and a trio of Knight penalties moved the Bulldogs to a first down at the West 11 yard line, but the Knight defense stiffened and stopped St. Pauls on downs at the 10 yard line.
The Knights covered 90 yards in only 6 plays. Drake ripped off runs of 11 and 10 yards, before Moore had the ball pop loose and squirt out to Drake who scooped it up and sprinted 54 yards for the touchdown. Jones nailed the conversion again as the lead grew to 36-14 with 2:17 left in the quarter.
St. Pauls answered with a 52-yard touchdown drive in 6 plays. Jackson tossed passes of 11 yards to Jenkins and 10 yards to Noah Wheeler, and Thompson gained 17 more yards. On the first play of the final quarter, Jackson threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Wheeler that trimmed the margin to 36-20. The conversion pass failed.
Back came the Knights with a 63-yard, 5-play scoring drive. McDonald fired a 19-yard pass to junior Fred Walters to begin the drive. Drake ran twice for 17 yards, before Moore circled right end from 12 yards out for the touchdown. Jones kicked his fifth extra point of the game for a 43-20 lead with 9:44 left to play.
Senior Mason Skipper intercepted a St. Pauls pass and returned the ball 12 yards to the Bulldog 19 yard line. However, a well-timed blitz on fourth-and-one stopped the Knights and turned the ball back over to St. Pauls.
“This is a big win for us,” said Coach Dove. “Especially after what happened last week. And to play tonight without Malique (McDowell) and Da’quan (Lennon), we really had some kids step up and play big tonight.”
Drake led the Knight offense with 169 yards and a touchdown rushing. “B. J. ran hard,” continued Coach Dove. “He is a fullback, but he really looked good at the wing tonight.”
Moore carried 17 times for 84 yards and a touchdown, and McDonald connected on 5 of 8 passes for 61 yards and also ran for a touchdown and a conversion. Prevatte caught 3 passes for 33 yards.
Jackson completed 21 of 32 passes for 180 yards, a touchdown and a conversion.
West Bladen held an edge in rushing yards of 318 to 28 and had 379 total yards to 208 for St. Pauls.
Scoring Summary
St. Pauls 6 – 8 – 0 – 6 – 20
West Bladen 0 –22 –14 -7 – 43
SP – Sylvester McAllister 77 kick-off return (pass failed)
WB- Jeremiah Purdie 24 run (Ray Jones kick)
WB – Stefon McDonald 1 run (Jones kick)
WB – Ricky McLaurin 21 interception return (McDonald run)
SP – Trey Thompson 8 run (Renardo Jenkins pass from Tommy Jackson)
WB – Traquan Horne 2 run (Jones kick)
WB – B. J. Drake 54 run with offensive fumble (Jones kick)
SP – Noah Wheeler 9 pass from Jackson (pass failed)
WB – James Moore 12 run (Jones kick)
Rushing: SP – Thompson 8-23, Jackson 11-3, Wheeler 1-2. WB- Drake 19-169, Moore 17-84, Purdie 5-43, McDonald 3-11, Horne 7-10, Devon Malcolm 1-2, Jonathan Ashworth 1- (-1).
Passing: SP – Jackson 21-32-2, 180. WB – McDonald 5-8-0, 61.
Receiving: SP – Wheeler 9-111, Jenkins 9-52, James Patterson 1-13, Michael Barnes 2-4. WB- Hunter Prevatte 3-33, Fred Walters 1-19, Horne 1-9.
Records: St. Pauls 0-4, West Bladen 3-1.
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