Daily Roundup: March 13, 2021

FOOTBALL

North Brunswick 20, Ashley 8

***Click here to view a gallery of 53 photos from the action***

Backup quarterback RJ Green injected some life into a struggling offense in the second half and finished with 208 passing yards and two touchdown to lead the Scorpions to a comeback win.

North Brunswick (1-1) was held scoreless in Tuesday’s season-opening loss to South Brunswick and they went almost three quarters without a point on Saturday.

Green connected with Tate Davis on a slant and the senior wide receiver went 50 yards for a touchdown with 15 seconds left in the third quarter to finally get the visitors on the board and cut Ashley’s (0-3) lead to 8-6. 

After forcing a punt, the Scorpions needed only two plays to grab the lead for good when Green connected with Marqis Willis for a 58-yard score with 8:51 on the clock.

“RJ was our JV quarterback for the first two games last year and then he broke him arm,” We were getting ready to move him up to varsity, so he hasn’t played in any varsity competition before this week. The game was too fast for him Tuesday, but it slowed down a little bit tonight and it will continue to slow down even more.”

North Brunswick’s defense was terrific all night. They forced five three-and-outs, came up with a goal line stand and got an interception from Kenton Stafford.

“We knew we had to play hard on defense and execute,” said Stafford, who also led the team in tackles. 

The final three-and-out came midway through the fourth quarter and gave the Scorpions the ball on their own 34 with 7:51 to play. They went 66 yards in six plays and Kameron Mapson sealed the victory with a 9-yard run with 5:20 remaining.

Mapson rushed for 35 yards on 11 carries, while Willis added 27 yards on seven carries.

The Screaming Eagles drove 56 yards in 11 plays to grab an 8-0 halftime lead. Quarterback Barrett Swails found running back Jaxon Jones in the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal with one second left. Jones converted the 2-point conversion on an option pitch.

Jones carried the ball 25 times for 84 yards. Swails went 11-for-18 for 118 yards. 

A 45-yard pass from Swails to Mikhail Pocknett gave the Screaming Eagles a 1st-and-goal from 5-yard line with less than five minutes to play, but all four rushing attempts came up short of the end zone.

The Scorpions managed to pick up a pair of first downs to run out the clock.

Both teams play at 6 p.m. Friday. North Brunswick plays at West Brunswick and Ashley visits Topsail.

Topsail 45, South Brunswick 21

Wake Forest signee Gavin Ellis continued his torrid start to the season by running for three touchdowns and throwing for two more in the road victory.

Through three games, Ellis has accounted for 11 touchdowns (seven rushing and four passing) and Topsail (3-0) is averaging a league-best 39.7 points.

“I feel pretty comfortable at quarterback,” said Ellis, who signed with the Demon Deacons as a tight end. “I’ve never been one to get nervous. I get butterflies before a game, but that’s about it. Once I get in the zone, you can’t get me out.”

A 5-yard run from Ellis put the Pirates up 13-7 with 7:34 left in the second quarter and the visitors increased their lead to 19-7 at halftime following a 32-yard touchdown pass from Ellis to Connor Wilson with 41 seconds on the clock.

On the first play of the third quarter, Ellis outsprinted everyone on the field for a 66-yard score. He also added a 22-yard touchdown run late in the quarter.

“It was great to cap the first half with a touchdown and then start the second half with a bang,” Ellis said. “We had the momentum and we were able to keep it.”

Topsail running back Demark Howell had touchdown runs of 37 and 45 yards. The Pirates’ final touchdown of the game came on a 9-yard pass from Ellis to Wilson.

South Brunswick (1-1) quarterback Roman Dilgard called his own number from the 1-yard line on the final play of the first quarter to tie the score at 7-all. 

Bishop Brown (8 yards) and Danny Parker (10 yards) also had touchdown runs for the Cougars.

Both teams return to action next Friday night at 6. Topsail hosts Ashley, while South Brunswick visits New Hanover.

GIRLS SOCCER

Coastal Christian 2, Calvary Day School 1

Elsa Johnson evened the score at 1-all in the 67th minute with a long-distance shot to the far post and the Centurions capitalized on an own goal two minutes later to secure the home victory.

A Calvary Day School defender played the ball back to the goalkeeper, but she whiffed on the clearance attempt and the ball rolled into the back of the net.

The visitors got on the board first in the 30th minute, but they couldn’t get anything else past Coastal Christian (3-1) goalkeeper Betsy Wheeler. 

Next up for the Centurions is a road match at Grace Christian on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

BOYS LACROSSE

Cape Fear Academy 18, Coastal Brigade 8

Michael Rosen put home a team-high seven goals and Noah Law chipped in six goals and one assist to give the Hurricanes a dominant home win.

Goalkeeper Owen Johnson stopped six shots. CFA (2-0) also got three goals and two assists from Nick Spinola. Cole Donner won 28 faceoffs and also added two assists and one goal. Jacob Borstad had the other goal.

The Hurricanes play at Arendell Parrott Academy on Tuesday at 5:15 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Daily Roundup Posts