Trailing by 35 and set to receive the second half kickoff, West Bladen was hoping to get back in the game. Instead, the hard, line drive kick caromed off a Knights player and was recovered by Whiteville near midfield.
Although Whiteville didn’t score on the turnover, the play summed up West Bladen’s frustration.
Nydir Carr passed for one touchdown and ran 97 yards for another as Whiteville rolled to a 35-6 non-conference win Friday at West Bladen. The Knights lost four fumbles in the first half and didn’t score until the final play of the game when quarterback Stefon McDonald walked uncontested from the one.
“I kind of feel like Whiteville did against East Bladen last week (in a 29-8 loss),” West Bladen coach Russell Dove said. “We turned the ball over five times. You can’t win games like that.
“The first half we just looked like anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. I know we’re so much better than that. Offensively, we moved the ball and had some big runs. We just didn’t stick it in when we need to. It seemed like we would get down there and fumble.”
Three of those lost fumbles came in the first quarter and led to Whiteville touchdowns as the Wolfpack bolted to a 23-0 lead.
After the West Bladen defense held Whiteville’s offense to three plays on its opening possession, Taylor Smith’s punt was fumbled by B.J. Drake and recovered by the Wolfpack at the Knights’ 27. On the second play from scrimmage, Carr connected with Phillip Powell for a 27 yard score. The extra point attempt snap was mishandled, but Smith, the kicker, picked up the ball and passed to Monchovia Gaffney for a two-point conversion less than three minutes into the game.
On West Bladen’s first possession, the Knights fumbled on a sweep. Whiteville’s Nate Powell picked up the ball at the 35 and ran untouched for the score. Taylor’s kick gave Whiteville a 15-0 with 6:09 left in the first quarter.
Whiteville’s next possession was stopped by an interception by Luis Ramirez, who returned the ball to the Wolfpack 17. However, on West Bladen’s first play, Malique McDowell broke some tackles and was driving for the end zone when he was stripped of the ball and it was recovered by Whiteville at the 3.
On the first play, Carr kept it, found an opening off the right side and outran the West Bladen defense for a 97 yard touchdown. Again, the conversion snap was mishandled, but Taylor passed to Gaffney for the two-point conversion that gave Whiteville a 23-0 lead with a minute left in the first quarter.
Whiteville got a pair of short touchdown runs by Keshawn Bellamy in the second quarter for a 35-0 lead.
The teams played on even terms in the second half and, according to Dove, that’s what the Knights will take from the game.
“The defense hung in there in the second half,” Dove said. “We didn’t give up any points. We just needed to score some and we couldn’t do that. “We’ll take a lot out of the second half because we played like we’re supposed to play.
“The biggest thing that ate me a little bit was the sideline. We got in there (at halftime) and cleaned that up. Get up there and support your teammates. That was much more important to me.”
Whiteville, 1-2, is scheduled to host West Brunswick on Friday.
West Bladen, 2-1, is scheduled to host St. Pauls on Friday in its final non-conference game.
“It’s going to be a long week of practice and we’re going to get some stuff fixed, and we’ll get it right,” Dove said. “It’s one game. We’ll regroup. We just didn’t do the right things tonight. We’ll come back. I know what kind of kids I got. They’ll bounce back pretty quick.”
Scoring summary
Whiteville 23 – 12 – 0 – 0 — 35
West Bladen 0 – 0 – 0 – 6 — 6
W – Phillip Powell 27 pass from Nydir Carr (Taylor Smith pass to Monchovia Gaffney)
W – Nate Powell 35 fumble return (Smith kick)
W – Carr 97 run (Smith pass to Gaffney)
W – Keshawn Bellamy 1 run (run failed)
W – Bellamy 2 run (pass failed)
WB – Stefon McDonald 1 run (no conversion attempt)
Rushing: W – Carr 10-135, N. Powell 3-13, Raeqwon McAllister 3-47, Bellamy 10-22, P. Powell 4-35, Glenn Nealy 4-3. WB – James Moore 13-37, Malique McDowell 17-89, B.J. Drake 11-93, McDonald 4-(-5)
Passing: W – Carr 5-11-1, 92. WB – McDonald 3-5-0, 21.
Receiving: W – P. Powell 2-46, McAllister 2-38, Wesley Thompson 1-8. WB – McDonald 2-8, Hunter Prevatte 1-13.
Records: Whiteville 1-2, West Bladen 2-1.
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