By John Clark
WILMINGTON – Ashley scored 2 touchdowns in the final 6:43 Saturday night to overcome a 32-28 East Bladen lead and post a 42-32 non-conference football victory at Legion Stadium
Senior Masion Brooks bulled into the end zone from 4 yards out to cap a 62-yard, 6-play drive that vaulted the East Eagles on top with 8:40 left to play. Brooks carried 4 times for 23 yards, and junior Malaki Moore hauled in a 17-yard pass from junior Kewone Maynor to highlight the drive.
Senior quarterback Braden Quinn completed passes of 12 yards to Vincent Agrillo and 25 yards to senior Tyler Carter to ignite the Ashley rally. Junior Quinn Bentley banged into the line on 4 straight carries and and scored the go-ahead touchdown from a yard out at the 6:43 mark. Freshman Bodey Porter booted the conversion for a 35-32 Ashley lead.
A 10-yard quarterback sack by the Ashley defense on 4th down regained possession for the Screaming Eagles at the East 24 yard line. Quinn scrambled for 13 yards then connected with senior Dominic Michelangelo on a 12-yard TD pass with 1:59 left. Porter added the kick for a 42-32 lead.
An East fumble on the ensuing kickoff turned the ball back over to Ashley and the Screaming Eagles ran out the clock.
“Too many turnovers. You can’t turn the ball over like that and win,” said East Coach Robby Priest. The Eagles lost 3 fumbles and turned the ball over inside their own 25 two other times on a fake punt and a quarterback sack. Ashley suffered no turnovers or interceptions but were stopped on downs at their own 38 and 47 yard lines.
Brooks rushed 19 times for 173 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead an Eagle offense that outgained Ashley 354-341. Maynor completed 3 of 5 passes for 68 yards and 2 touchdowns. Moore caught all 3 of them including touchdown passes of 43 and 8 yards. East senior Darius Williamson carried 12 times for 45 yards, and sophomore Dashon Campbell picked up 31 yards on 3 rushes.
Quinn completed 15 of 24 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown for Ashley. Michelangelo hurled a key 53-yard TD pass to Carter who finished with 4 catches for 91 yards. Junior Quinn Bentley rushed 18 times for 77 yards and 4 touchdowns. Junior Jaelan Brewington picked up 80 yards on 11 carries to lead the Ashley ground game.
Campbell had a sack and a 7-yard tackle for loss on East Bladen’s initial defensive series. Senior Jadon Pridgen sacked Michelangelo for an 11-yard loss on 4th down at the Ashley 47 yard line. Two plays later Moore hauled in Maynor’s 43-yard TD pass for a 6-0 East lead.
Ashley’s Tyler Gladden recovered an East fumble at the visitors 5 yard line, and Bentley barreled into the end zone on the next play. The conversion kick was blocked leaving the score tied 6-6 at the 4:16 mark.
Ashley recovered another lost fumble at the East 33 yard line. Bentley broke loose on a 31-yard touchdown run then ran the 2-point conversion for a 14-6 Screaming Eagle lead with 16 ticks left on the 1st quarter clock.
East Bladen answered with a 65-yard drive in 8 plays. Brooks started the march with an 11-yard run then blasted through the line on a 21-yard touchdown burst to slice the lead to 14-12. Williamson carried 4 times for 23 yards on the drive.
Brewington picked up 34 yards on 3 carries as Ashley moved 37 yards to the East 20 yard line. However Xavier Allen broke up a 4th down pass to end the threat. Four plays later East tried a fake punt on 4th down but turned the ball back over on downs at their 24. Bentley capitalized with a 2-yard TD run as Ashley went up 21-12 after Porter tacked on the point 1:20 before halftime.
East Bladen started the 2nd half with a 73-yard, 10-play drive. Brooks powered for 8 yards, and Campbell broke 3 tackles for a 19-yard gain. Senior Matthew Kemp reeled off runs of 5 and 14 yards, before Maynor fired an 8-yard scoring pass to Moore who made a diving catch. Senior Chris Harding grabbed the 2-point conversion pass in traffic to whittle the margin to 21-20.
Then came probably the most pivotal play of the game. On 4th down at their own 47, Ashley ran a double pass. Quinn threw the backwards pass to Michelangelo who launched a 53-yard TD pass to Carter who was well behind the Eagle defense. The score capped an 85-yard drive. Porter kicked the conversion for a 28-20 Ashley lead.
Brooks galloped 45 yards to highlight a 64-yard East drive then exploded through 3 tacklers on a 4-yard TD run as the Eagles trimmed the margin to 28-26.
Moore broke up a 4th down Ashley pass at the Screaming Eagle 38 yard line to set up East Bladen’s go-ahead drive.
“We kept competing despite all the cramps and other injuries,” shared Priest. “We kept losing people, but the guys had a next man up mentality. That will help us build some depth, and some of those guys got some playing time that we are going to need later in the season.”
The Eagles, now 1-2, will host James Kenan Friday.
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