RALEIGH – They left it all on the field.

Almost 700 yards of total offense; 30 fourth-quarter points; an interception return for a touchdown; a never say die attitude.

Northeast Academy came within seconds of forcing their second overtime game of the playoffs Friday night.

After trailing by as many as 24 points against Word of God, the Eagles came back and tied the score when senior quarterback Drew Pinnix connected with Jay Duncan for his third touchdown reception of the night.

Sophomore Arch Harrell’s conversion run evened the score at 54 with only 15 seconds remaining in regulation.

After an incompletion, Isiah Tucker passed to Jarvis Jenning, who then pitched the ball to Jonathan Taylor.

The hook and ladder play led to a 19-yard scoring run, giving the Holy Rams a 60-54 victory.

The win advances second ranked Word of God to the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association’s state championship game against undefeated St. David’s.

&uot;It’s hard to walk away from it,&uot; said Northeast head coach Collin Sneed.

&uot;Our players have a lot of heart.&uot;

In the huddle after the game, Pinnix, a team captain, told the team, &uot;I did it for you all and we did it for each other.&uot;

&uot;Drew played like a true leader.

Everybody stood up and walked with him.

He led the troops and unfortunately they beat us on the last play,&uot; Sneed said.

&uot;I watched eight tapes of them and we practiced against the plays they ran, but they never ran the hook and ladder.&uot;

The sixth ranked Eagles took the field fired up and struck first.

A. Harrell ran two plays for 16 yards, then Brodie Harrell added another eight.

A 22-yard gain by A. Harrell put the Eagles in Holy Rams territory.

Word of God was flagged for pass interference, moving the ball to the 15-yard line.

B. Harrell ran the reverse for 13-yards, then A. Harrell punched it in the final two for the score.

B. Harrell ran in untouched for the two-point conversion as the Eagles took an 8-0 lead.

Word of God wasted no time answering.

Four plays into their next possession, Tucker ran the ball 32 yards up the left side for the touchdown.

George Pettiford was stopped on the conversion run by James Sykes, Cole Vincent and Zack Mize.

The defensive stop kept the Eagles out front, 8-6, at the end of the first quarter.

The Holy Rams didn’t wait long to take over the lead.

On fourth-and-inches the Eagles were flagged for offsides and pushed back five yards.

Unable to convert, Northeast turned the ball over on downs.

Tucker kept the ball, going 13 yards on two carries.

Pettiford then took over quarterbacking duties, pitching the ball to Tucker who then completed the 45-yard pass to a wide-open Pettiford for the score.

Jarvis Denning caught the two-point conversion pass as the Holy Rams took the lead, 14-8.

Four minutes later, Word of God added to their lead after Tucker returned a punt for 76 yards.

Again the Northeast defense stopped the conversion run, keeping the Eagles within 12 points.

After picking off Pinnix’s pass, the Holy Rams again marched into the end zone, this time on a 19-yard run by Shaquan Webley.

Tucker ran in the conversion as Word of God extended their lead, 28-8.

Sophomore Brandon Futrell retuned the ensuing kickoff 22 yards to set the Eagles up on their own 37-yard line.

B. Harrell moved the ball two yards but an incompletion and a delay of game penalty pushed the Eagles to fourth-and-13.

Going for it, Pinnix took the ball 29 yards upfield for the first down.

A. Harrell then ran another 29 yards, putting the ball on the Holy Rams 10-yard line.

Two plays netted negative yardage but B. Harrell drew a pass interference call to give the Eagles another first down.

Pinnix muscled in for nine yards for the score and then ran the reverse for the two-point conversion as the Eagles closed the gap, 28-16.

After an onside kick was recovered by the Holy Rams Sykes sacked Tucker, forcing a fumble.

The ball was recovered by Word of God, but they lost 13 yards.

On third-and-eighteen Tucker found Denning for the 39 yard score.

Mize and Josh Jenkins stopped the conversion run, sending the Holy Rams in to the locker room with a 34-16 lead at the half.

With just over three minutes remaining in the third and on their own nine-yard line, the Holy Rams broke through for a 91-yard score.

The touchdown was called back because of a holding penalty and on the next play Pinnix picked off the quarterback’s pass, running it 12 yards for the score.

A. Harrell ran the conversion as the Eagles cut the lead to 34-24.

Word of God added one more score just before the third quarter expired, extending their lead, 42-24.

The Holy Rams added to that lead as a scrambling Tucker found Pettiford open for the 15-yard score.

Mize stopped Pettiford on the conversion run, but Word of God stretched their lead to 24, 48-24, with nine minutes left in the game.

Another team may have given up but not Sneed’s Eagles.

Northeast capped off a nine play, 67-yard scoring drive with a 21-yard reception by Jenkins.

The conversion failed, but the Eagles closed in, 48-30.

Jenkins recovered a Holy Rams fumble on their next play to give the Eagles the ball on their own 46.

On the next play, Pinnix connected with Duncan for a 54-yard score.

A. Harrrell ran through the Word of God defense for the conversion as the Eagles cut the lead to 48-38.

On their next possession, Word of God fumbled the ball again.

This time A. Harrell was there to recover.

With the momentum, and the crowd, swinging their way, the Eagles moved the ball upfield.

Again, Pinnix, connected with Duncan for the score, this time a 43-yard reception.

On the conversion, Pinnix scrambled, then found an open Duncan, pulling the Eagles within two, 48-46.

The Holy Rams stretched their lead to eight after Tucker ran in his third touchdown.

Tucker’s conversion pass was incomplete, but the Holy Rams took a lead, 54-46, with 1:16 left on the clock.

Earlier in the game, Pinnix challenged the defense to get him the ball back.

After John Pope returned the ensuing kickoff 20 yards, Pinnix showed what he could do, leading his team on the game tying drive.

Pinnix connected on nine passes for a career-high 164 yards.

A. Harrell led the Eagles with 195 yards on 22 carries.

B. Harrell carried 11 times for 113 yards.

Futrell and Pope combined for 159 return yards on nine carries.

All totalled, Northeast’s offense had a season-high 698 yards.

The Eagles finish the season with a 4-7 record, a record that pales in comparison to the miles this team has come in one season and the heart they showed on the field Saturday night.

Score by Quarters

NEA 8-8-8-30

WOG 6-28-8-18

Scoring Summary

NEA – Arch Harrell, 2-yard run, Brodie Harrell run; 4:08, 1st

WOG – Isiah Tucker, 32-yard run; run failed; 2:20, 1st

WOG – George Pettiford, 45-yard reception; Tucker pass to Jarvis Denning; 9:47,. 2nd

WOG – Tucker, 76-yard punt return; run failed; 5:52, 2nd

WOG – Shaquan Webley, 19-yard run; Tucker run; 3:26, 2nd

NEA – Drew Pinnix, 9-yard run; Pinnix run; 1:02, 2nd

WOG – Tucker, 39-yard pass to Denning; run failed; .36, 2nd

NEA – Pinnix, 15-yard interception return; A. Harrell run; 3:12, 3rd

WOG – Tucker, 51-yard run; Jonathan Taylor run; 06.9, 3rd

WOG – Tucker, 15-yard pass to Pettiford; run failed; 9:19, 4th

NEA – Pinnix, 21-yard pass to Josh Jenkins; run failed; 6:25, 4th

NEA – Pinnix, 54-yard pass to Jay Duncan; A. Harrell run; 6:10, 4th

NEA – Pinnix, 43-yard pass to Duncan; Pinnix to Duncan; 2:24, 4th

WOG – Tucker, 32-yard run; conversion failed; 1:16, 4th

NEA – Pinnix, 19-yard pass to Duncan; A. Harrell run; 0.15, 4th

WOG – Taylor, 56-yard run; 0.00, 4th

Rushing

NEA – Arch Harrell 22-195, Brodie Harrell 11-113, Drew Pinnix 12-49, Brandon Futrell 1-3

WOG – Isiah Tucker 18-235, Jonathan Taylor 1-44, Shaquan

Webley, 1-19, David Allen 4-11, George Pettiford 5-4, Jarvis Denning 3-1

Receiving

NEA – Jay Duncan 3-116, Josh Jenkins 4-28, Brodie Harrell 2-18

WOG – George Pettiford

2-60, Jonathan Taylor 2-29, Jarvis Denning 3-35

Passing

NEA – Drew Pinnix 9-28-1, 164 yards

WOG – Isiah Tucker 5-14-1, 113 yards; George Pettiford 0-3-1