Teams always are excited and anxious to start a new season, never quite knowing what to expect.
For the West Bladen High School football team, the season couldn’t have started much better.
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Photos By: Kenneth Armstrong
Stefon McDonald ran for two touchdowns and passed for another Friday night as the Knights routed the South Robeson Mustangs 46-0 at the Castle.
West Bladen scored touchdowns on its first seven possessions and amassed 330 total yards. Meanwhile, the defense throttled South Robeson from the beginning, limiting the Mustangs to a mere 47 yards total offense and only four plays in West Bladen territory.
“We made a lot of mistakes, but the kids played with a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of excitement,” said West Bladen coach Russell Dove, who is in his third season. “Overall, I was pleased with everything, but we had some missed assignments, missed alignments, a lot of stuff we’ve got to work on. We’re going to get better at that. It was a good start to the season. I’m happy with the outcome, but we’ve got to get so much better from here.”
McDonald scored on runs of 18 and 1 yard and tossed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Prevatte in the first half as West Bladen opened a 33-0 lead. Malique McDowell finished with 111 yards rushing and a touchdown. De’quan Lennon ran for 84 yards and a score. James Moore and Devon Malcolm also ran for touchdowns.
Defensively, the Knights got strong performances from the likes of Idris Najeeullah, Hunter Pait, Trequan Horne, Ricky McLaurin, Shane Lewis and David Gittens.
“I was happy with the defense,” Dove said. “Coach (Travis) Pait and the guys have done a great job with the defense with the new kind of scheme we put in. The kids were flying around. They got a little lax at times, but that’s football. They did a good job, especially with a shutout, so I’m proud of them.”
West Bladen wasted no time in taking command of the game. After stopping South Robeson on its first series and forcing a punt that hit a Mustangs player and fell four yards behind the line of scrimmage, the Knights needed only one play to score from the 11 yard line. Moore took a pitch around the right side and scooted into the end zone with 9:28 remaining in the first quarter. The conversion kick was blocked.
West Bladen forced another three-and-out possession on South Robeson’s second possession, then drove 60 yards in nine plays, overcoming a pair of penalties, as McDonald rolled to his right looking to pass, but kept the ball and scored on an 18 yard run. Moore ran the two-point conversion that gave West Bladen a 14-0 lead with 3:17 remaining in the first quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, West Bladen’s Horne forced a fumble that was recovered by McLaurin on the South Robeson 45. Two runs by McDowell moved the ball to the 17 where Lennon swept around the left side for the Knights’ third touchdown of the first quarter that made it 20-0. The conversion kick was missed.
West Bladen went 65 yards in 10 plays on its next possession, which ended when Prevatte caught a TD pass from McDonald on fourth-and-goal from the 5. The conversion run failed.
The Knights got on the board in the final minute of the first half as McDonald connected with Moore on a fourth-and-seven play down to the 1, then sneaked in for the score. Ray Jones’ kick gave West Bladen a 33-0 halftime lead.
West Bladen took the second half kickoff and drove 54 yards in seven plays as McDowell barreled in from the 1. The senior running back rushed for 41 yards on the drive. Jones’ kick made it 40-0 with 8:36 remaining in the third quarter.
West Bladen’s final touchdown was set up by a Gittens fumble recovery at the South Robeson 25. Luis Ramirez scampered up the middle for 22 yards, then Malcolm went around the left side for 3 yards and the score. The conversion kick failed.
On the final touchdown, South Robeson was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty, which resulted in West Bladen kicking off from the Mustangs’ 45. Jones kicked off and drilled the ball through the goal posts for a touch back.
“A good first win. We’re happy,” Dove said. “But we’re going to do a lot of film work next week because I know there’s going to be a lot of mistakes on that film.’
Scoring summary
South Robeson 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 — 0
West Bladen 20 – 13 – 13 – 0 — 46
WB – James Moore 11 run (kick blocked)
WB – Stefon McDonald 18 run (Moore run)
WB – De’quan Lennon 17 run (kick failed)
WB – Hunter Prevatte 5 pass from McDonald (run failed)
WB – McDonald 1 run (Ray Jones kick)
WB – Malique McDowell 1 run (Jones kick)
WB – Devon Malcolm 3 run (kick failed)
Rushing: WB – Moore 7-56, McDowell 14-111, Lennon 10-84, McDonald 3-18, Luis Ramirez 2-22, Malcolm 1-3, B.J. Drake 2-(-5), Jonathan Ashworth 1-(-1).
Passing: WB – McDonald 3-4-0, 42.
Receiving: WB – Ashworth 1-29, Hunter Prevatte 1-5, Moore 1-8.
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