Daily Roundup: November 3, 2023

COASTAL PREPS THREE STARS OF THE NIGHT

FOOTBALL

No. 11 Laney 27, No. 22 Middle Creek 13

First round 4A playoffs

***Click here to view a gallery of 30 photos from the action***

In their first home playoff game since 2010, the Buccaneers scored twice in the final minute to rally for a thrilling victory. 

Laney (9-2) marched 66 yards in nine plays for the game-winning score, which was a 4-yard run from Tyjhere Crudup with 37.1 seconds on the clock.

The biggest play was a 43-yard gain from Crudup on fourth-and-2 from the Middle Creek (6-5) 47-yard line. 

Crudup finished the night with 35 carries for 226 yards and three touchdowns. 

“I’m not going to lie, before the game I was really nervous,” said Crudup, who was playing in his first playoff game. “After warmups, I knew I was ready.”

Trailing by seven, the Mustangs took over from their own 24 with 34.9 seconds remaining. A pass across the middle was intercepted by safety Hampton Roderick, who returned it 35 yards for the game-sealing score.

The Laney defense got three stops on fourth down and forced three punts. 

“We knew coming into tonight that we needed to keep the ball away from them, and they only had three possessions in the first half,” coach Luke Little said. “We did what we wanted to, but penalties got us offensively in the first half.”

With Middle Creek leading 7-6 and looking for more, linebacker Mason Wiseman shot a gap and got a tackle for loss on fourth-and-2 from the 22-yard line late in the third quarter.

That led to a eight-play, 79-yard drive that was capped by a 30-yard run from Crudup. 

The visitors responded with a nice drive of their own that went 65 yards on 12 plays and took more than six minutes off the clock. An 8-yard pass from Hawke Shoenfeld to Michael Beatty gave Middle Creek a 13-12 lead with 5:03 left.

Laney will travel to No. 6 Apex Friendship on Friday at 7 p.m. The Patriots won 27-6 over No. 27 Southeast Raleigh. 

No. 24 Ashley 35, No. 9 Pine Forest 19

First round 4A playoffs

For just the second time in program history and first time since 2004, the Screaming Eagles registered a playoff victory.

Standout running back Jaelan Brewington surpassed the 150-yard mark for the fourth straight game and also scored a pair of touchdowns to increase his season total to 12.

Quinn Bentley found the end zone twice for Ashley (7-4), which scored on the opening drive of the game and never trailed. 

The Screaming Eagles’ only other postseason win came by a score of 30-7 over Havelock on Nov 12, 2004. 

“”What I’m most proud of is how they’ve become a family,” second-year coach Dante Lombardi said. “This group has been hungry all year. They were tired of hearing how bad Ashley was.”  

Quarterback Tyler Carter threw TD passes to Bentley and Dominic Michelangelo. Tyler Gladden sealed the victory with a late interception. 

Ashley will host No. 25 Fuquay-Varina on Friday night at 7 p.m. The Bengals also pulled off an upset, beating No. 8 Jack Britt by a score of 17-9.

No. 26 New Hanover 23, No. 7 Hillside 6

First round 4A playoffs

An incredible performance from the Wildcats’ defense sent them into the second round for the seventh time in the past nine seasons. 

New Hanover (6-5) got a pair of touchdowns from running back Mason Shand. Senior quarterback Caleb Robles sealed the victory with a 50-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. 

The only touchdown for Hillside (6-5) came on a kickoff return following Shand’s 6-yard scoring run. The Wildcats blocked the extra point to maintain a 7-6 lead.

The Wildcats opened the second half with a 17-play, 71-yard drive that took nearly nine minutes off the clock. Shand bullied his way into the end zone from 1-yard out. 

Next up will be a trip to No. 10 New Bern on Friday night at 7. The Bears advanced with a 51-35 victory over No. 23 Apex.

No. 3 Hoggard 52, No. 30 Chapel Hill 0

First round 4A playoffs

In his first career start, freshman quarterback Matthew Boring went 12 of 14 for 170 yards a touchdown to lead the Vikings to another dominant win.

Hoggard (10-1) has now reached the second round of the 4A playoffs 11 of the past 12 seasons. 

After forcing a three-and-out on the opening series of the game, the Vikings grabbed the lead by going 55 yards in seven plays. M’kel Bellamy found the end zone from 1-yard out.

Hoggard scored on its first six drives to build a commanding 42-0 halftime lead.

All three running backs – Bellamy, Javion Joseph-Fontaine and Tamear Webb – had three touchdowns. 

Boring’s first career TD pass was a 39-yard completion to Skyler Merrill with just over a minute remaining in the opening quarter that increased the advantage to 21-0.

Tobias Brubaker completed the scoring with a 23-yard field goal.  

Chapel Hill (6-5) managed just 70 total yards in the game, while the Vikings finished with 391 (221 rushing and 170 passing).

Hoggard will host No. 19 Jordan in the second round. The Falcons earned a 42-21 win at No. 14 Holly Springs.

No. 9 North Brunswick 28, No. 24 Person 27

First round 3A playoffs

A hard-fought battle came down to the last play, and the Scorpions were able to block a field goal to survive and advance. 

A pair of touchdown runs from quarterback TT Green as well as another from Jabril Dashiell gave North Brunswick (8-3) a 21-8 halftime advantage.

Person (5-6) scored 19 consecutive points in the second half to grab a short-lived 27-21 lead.

On the next possession, Green connected with Michael Green for a 75-yard score. Jacob Molina’s extra point was good, giving the home team a one-point lead. 

The Scorpions will be back at home next week at 7 p.m. against No. 25 Greenville Rose, which upset No. 8 White Oak by a score of 21-19.

No. 6 Whiteville 42, No. 27 South Granville 0

First round 2A playoffs

The Wolfpack scored 21 points in each half to cruise at home and set up one of the best second round games in the entire state.

Whiteville (9-2) will welcome the defending state champion No. 11 East Duplin. The teams met in the fourth round a season ago with the Panthers coming away with a 49-6 win.

Friday’s contest was completely one-sided. The Wolfpack finished with 19 first downs, while South Granville (5-6) managed only two.

After Montrez Holland recovered a fumble, fullback Jamal Faulk scored a 2-yard touchdown to give Whiteville an early lead.

Alzaish Baldwin recovered a fumble on the ensuing drive, and the Wolfpack once again capitalized with a short TD run from Nallegem Powell.

Quarterback Luke Odham found Will Fisher for a 10-yard score that increased the lead to 21-0.

Faulk, Powell and Tyshawn Lennon all found the end zone in the second half. 

No. 13 East Bladen 57, No. 20 North Edgecombe 14

First round 1A playoffs

The area’s leading rusher, Masion Brooks, scored four touchdowns in the opening half to give the Eagles a commanding lead.

East Bladen (6-5) will travel to No. 4 Northside-Pinetown in the second round. The Panthers had an opening round bye.

Other scores

1A: No. 18 Pender 58, No. 15 Warren County 42

1A: No. 10 Perquimans 40, No. 23 East Columbus 6

2A: No. 8 Cummings 27, No. 25 Trask 22

BOYS BASKETBALL

Southeastern Homeschool 74, HALO Wolfpack (Ga.) 46

at Southeast Tipoff Tournament in Suwanee, Ga.

The Cardinals opened their season with a dominant 28-point victory. 

Blake Batts drained four 3-pointers in the opening quarter and finished with a game-high 26 points.

Southeastern Homeschool led 31-15 after the first quarter and 48-24 at halftime.

Brice Griffin and Eli Perez both scored 12 points, while Canon Lang also reached double figures with 10.

Southeastern Homeschool 51, Konos Academy (Ga.) 31

Juniors Blake Batts and Brice Griffin combined for 30 points to help the Cardinals pick up their second win of the day.

Batts once again led all scorers with 19 points, including 14 before halftime. 

Griffin scored five of his 11 points in the first quarter to help Southeastern Homeschool (2-0) build an 18-10 advantage.

The other double figure scorer was Canon Lang, who finished with 10. 

 

 

 

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