West tops East
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, September 26, 2007
CREEKSVILLE – There was a second half shootout here Monday.
When the dust settled, it was Northampton County High School n West that outlasted cross county rival Northampton-East by a final of 36-33.
With East leading 33-30, West took over and used a steady diet of Dasmine Moody to move the football down the field. Moody carried six times on a seven-play drive, including covering the final three years for the touchdown with just 3:52 to left to play.
The conversion failed, but West had a lead they would never relinquish.
Northampton-East got the ball back with just under four minutes to play at their own 33-yardline. They drove the football from that point to the West 38 behind the running of Rayshawn Mercer and Laquan Jacobs. Eventually, however, the Rams surrendered the ball on downs and West ran out the clock.
It took East just a few plays to score the first touchdown of the night. After Mercer blocked a West punt, the Rams got the ball on the West 30-yardline.
Mercer picked up six yards before Laquan Tann had back-to-back runs of more than 10 yards, the last of which was a touchdown scamper. Demar Smith added the PAT and East led 7-0.
West answered quickly, going 61 yards on seven plays. Antonio Manley capped the drive on a two-yard plunge and Moody added the conversion run to make it 8-7 in favor of the Hurricanes.
The game stayed even until late in the first quarter when a bad snap on a field goal attempt by East forced the team to attempt a pass. Willis Bowman picked off the pass and went 97 yards for a touchdown. The conversion run failed, but the Hurricanes led 14-7 at the intermission.
When East scored at the 6:28 mark of the third quarter, it ignited a scoring explosion for both teams. Jacobs went in from 15 yards out to cut the West lead to 14-13, but the kick failed.
West answered, however, going 65 yards on 12 plays. Manley capped the drive on a three-yard run and added the conversion to give West a 22-13 lead with 42 ticks left on the third quarter clock.
East answered quickly on a one-yard plunge by Mercer, but the conversion failed, leaving West ahead 22-19 with 10:21 to play in the contest.
After a fumble on the kickoff, the Rams got the ball back and drove 47 yards on just four plays to take the lead when Mercer scored from one yard out. The run failed, but East led 25-22.
The lead was short-lived as Bowman returned the kickoff 85 yards for a score. Moody added the conversion and West led 30-25.
Northampton-East came right back, scoring on a five-play, 48-yard drive. Jacobs hit paydirt on a 46-yard scamper. Latrael Ashe connected with William Bellanca on the conversion to give East a 33-30 edge.
Northampton-East was led by Tann who had 134 yards on 17 carries. Jacobs (121) and Mercer (117) were also over the century mark for the Rams.
Moody had a team-high 128 yards to pace the West ground game.
The Rams (3-3) fell to 0-1 in the Tar-Roanoke Conference. They will travel to Gates County Friday night for a 7:30 p.m. contest.