ELIZABETHTOWN – Senior Ethan Hines rushed for 294 yards and 5 touchdowns Friday night as East Bladen advanced to the second round of the NCHSAA Class 2A Football Play-offs with a 62-42 victory over Farmville Central.
Ethan Hines also caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Quinton Bedsole to finish with 306 total yards and scored 6 touchdowns and a 2-point conversion. For the season Ethan Hines has now rushed for 1,666 yards.
“He has been healthy this year,” said East Bladen Coach Robby Priest. “We have tried to keep him from getting pounded as much. Ran him outside more when we could.”
East Bladen, the No. 3 seed in the MidEast, improves to 8-4 and will travel to No. 2 seed Ayden-Grifton next Friday for a 7:30 kick-off.
The Eagle defense forced a 3-and-out to start the game as senior Kyle Tatum dropped Farmville’s T. J. Willoughby for a 4-yard loss on third down. Three plays later junior Xavier Wooten popped through the line and raced 52 yards for an Eagle touchdown. Sophmore Pierce Melvin booted the extra point for a 7-0 lead at the 9:14 mark.
Farmville answered with a 69-yard drive in 8 plays. Willoughby sparked the drive with a 35-yard run then capped it with a 2-yard touchdown run as the Jaguars pulled even at 7-7.
East Bladen matched that score with a 61-yard march in 8 plays. Bedsole hurled a 35-yard pass to Eian Hines, Ethan’s twin brother, that moved the ball to the Jaguar 14 yardline. Four plays later, Ethan Hines darted off the left side on a 2-yard touchdown run. Melvin tacked on the point for a 14-7 Eagle lead with 2:18 left in the period.
After forcing a 3-and-out, the Eagles covered 67 yards in 5 plays. Ethan Hines bolted through the line on the counter-play, faked out a defender near the Jaguar 25 and outran him to the end zone on a 55-yard touchdown run. Melvin connected on the conversion for a 21-7 East lead 10:30 before halftime.
Senior fullback Tyreke Tyson galloped 40 yards to ignite an 80-yard Farmville scoring drive. After a 23-yard pass from quarterback Brad Shackleford to junior Kameron McNeill, Shackleford zipped a 14-yard touchdown pass to sophmore Matt Leavelle that closed the gap to 21-14 with 7:30 on the clock.
A run on a fake punt came up short for the Eagles at their own 46, and Farmville capitalized on a trick play as Leavelle took a lateral pass from Shackleford then lobbed a 43-yard touchdown pass to McNeill who was all alone behind the defense. The extra point kick knotted the score 21-21 with 3:23 remaining.
The Eagles flew 65 yards down the field in 9 plays. Bedsole found Eian Hines racing down the right sideline with a 29-yard pass. Wooten bolted 11 yards, and Ethan Hines picked up 8 more then beat the defense to the right pylon on a 4-yard TD run. Melvin nailed the extra point for a 28-21 lead 36 seconds before halftime.
Ethan Hines finished the first half with 3 touchdowns and 120 yards rushing. On the first snap from scrimmage after intermission, Ethan broke free again on the counter and scooted 63 yards to the end zone. Melvin split the uprights again for a 35-21 lead 15 seconds into the second half.
The Jaguars bounced right back with a 55-yard drive in 9 plays. Tyson ripped off runs of 10 and 20 yards before Willoughby carried 4 yards for the touchdown that sliced the lead to 35-28 at the 8:15 mark.
Back came the Eagles with a 56-yard drive in 10 plays. Ethan Hines gained 40 of those yards on 5 runs then snared a 12-yard touchdown pass from Bedsole that padded the lead to 41-28 with 2:41 left in the period.
A 47-yard pass from Shackleford to McNeill sparked a 65-yard Farmville drive. Tyson banged through the line and powered 20 yards for the touchdown that closed the gap to 41-35 nineteen seconds before the quarter break.
The Eagles responded with a 57-yard drive in 9 plays. Ethan Hines broke free for runs of 23, 9 and 18 yards before charging through the line from a yard out for the touchdown. Ethan Hines went off the left side again for the 2-point conversion and a 49-35 lead with 8 minutes left.
The Jaguars picked up a pair of first downs, but a fumbled snap was recovered by Eagle junior Xavia McDowell at the East Bladen 17 yardline with 6:38 on the clock.
East Bladen took almost 4 minutes off the clock with an 83-yard scoring drive in 9 plays. A facemask penalty and a 10-yard gain by Wooten started the march. Bedsole fired a 38-yard touchdown pass to Eian Hines who was streaking down the left side. Melvin added his sixth extra point of the night for a 56-35 lead with 2:38 remaining.
A hook-and-ladder play by the Jaguars gained 35 yards – 24 of them by Willoughby – as Farmville moved 65 yards in 4 plays. A 17-yard pass from Shackleford to McNeill set up Willoughby’s 5-yard TD run that trimmed the margin to 56-42 with 1:50 left.
Four Eagle running plays milked the clock down to ten seconds before turning the ball over to Farmville. On the last play of the game, Eagle sophmore James Higgins intercepted a Jaguar pass and sprinted 46 yards to the end zone as time expired.
Wooten finished with 20 carries for 116 yards as the East Bladen ground game piled up 406 yards rushing. “The line play was outstanding,” stated Coach Priest.
Eian Hines caught 3 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown, and Bedsole completed 4 of 7 passes for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns.
“Quinton played well tonight,” said Priest. “I am probably harder on him than anybody. We came out aggressive tonight and threw the ball when we wanted to and not when we had to. We went deep 3 times in the first half.”
For the game the Eagles held a 406-299 edge in rushing yards and a 520-471 edge in total yards. Willoughby ran for 152 yards and 3 touchdowns on 19 carries to lead Farmville, while Tyson finished with 149 yards and a TD on 20 rushes. McNeill caught 4 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown, and Shackleford completed 7 of 12 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown.
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