Friday High School Football Round Up

“That’s two weeks in a row, that somehow or another, we found a way to win… period. The past two years, we would have found a way to lose.”

New Hanover Head Coach Kevin Motsinger summed up the character of his team as they battled back from a late fourth quarter deficit to beat Ashley 28-21 in a classic high school football game at Legion Stadium.

Both teams started the game trying to establish the run, both unsuccessfully for most of the first quarter, so NHHS opened it up and Jordan Betts hit Derek Reese on a big pass play that gave the Cats possession at the Ashley 26 yard line. Trey Brown was then able to get the ground game going as he took a hand off around the right end of the line and went untouched down the sideline all the way to pay dirt. Ashley blocked the PAT, and with 1:43 remaining in the opening quarter New Hanover led 6-0.

But Ashley wasn’t backing down, not in the least. Their defense had show that they were ready to dish it out, and their offense began to respond as well. Midway through the second quarter, the Screamin’ Eagles drove the ball down to the New Hanover 31 yard line, where Zach Finnegan hit Micah Allen on a slant, and Allen did the rest, scampering into the endzone.

New Hanover quickly answered as they got big runs from Darius Nelson and Jia Partee. With 2:54 left before halftime, Partee capped the drive from one yard out and Nelson then scored on a two point conversion, giving New Hanover a 14-7 lead.

Ashley opened up the air attack on their subsequent drive and a juggling one-handed catch by C.J. Caldwell gave the Eagles the ball at the NHHS 30. The drive then appeared to stall, but on fourth and ten, Ashley was at a spot on the field where they basically had to go for it, and Finnegan found Caldwell again for a first down. Running back Justin Jackson then found a seam up the gut and went 15 yards to the endzone, and the teams went to the locker room tied at 14.

Late in the third quarter, Ashley took the lead on a drive that was anything but ordinary. After taking over in New Hanover territory, Finnegan hit Allen with another slant; a roughing-the-passer penalty at the end of the play gave Ashley a first and goal from the 8. A false start penalty on Ashley moved the ball back to the 13 and from there, a would be touchdown pass was called back due to a holding penalty. But New Hanover then caught the penalty bug, and a third and goal from the 27 became a first and ten from the 14 after a pass interference penalty against the Cats. The never ending sequence lasted into the fourth quarter when Finnegan hit Caldwell for their second touchdown connection of the game.

Up 21-14, Ashley’s defense then forced New Hanover to punt and the Cats looked like they were in trouble.

But on what would become one of the game’s biggest plays, Jia Partee then stripped, just flat out ripped, the ball from an Ashley running back and carried it down to the Eagles’ 20 yard line. On the first play, Betts hit Jermaine Jones on a pass play down to the one, where Tray Brown would score from with 9:05 remaining in the game.

Despite the fact that their lead was gone, Ashley didn’t pack it in, and showed that this was a game they wanted playing fired up, and inspired football.

The Eagles were faced with a third and long, but Finnegan, who had a great night chucking it around, hooked up with Kyle LaRose who went all the way to the New Hanover 35. Ashley then needed another big play on fourth and four, and on a quarterback bootleg, Finnegan plunged for the first down. But the New Hanover defense stiffened and on fourth down, they stopped Ashley and gave the ball back to the offense with 4:44 left.

As if to say, “Oh, yeah!” the Ashley defense then got a big tackle from Zack Smith on third down and forced NHHS to punt.

C.J. Caldwell then returned the punt the distance, only to have it called back on a clipping penalty, and Ashley had to settle for possession on their own 38 yard line. Then on the first play from scrimmage, it was Finnegan to Allen on a pass play out to midfield which was then advanced 15 yards to the NHHS 35 on a personal foul penalty. After a pass, which was deflected at the line of scrimmage, fell into the arms of Caldwell who was lying on the ground at the New Hanover 23, it seemed like it just was Ashley’s night. But the best the Eagles could do was settle for a 45 yard field goal which wound up being short.

New Hanover took over on their own 33 yard line with :39 seconds left.

Enter Jermaine Jones. Betts found Jones on the first play, who broke over midfield and brought the ball to the Ashley 40 yard line. Needing a field goal to win, they got a little bit more. Betts hit Jones with another strike near the left sideline, and after a sick cut-back, Jones went against the grain all the way to glory with just 14 seconds remaining.

“Players make plays, and Jermaine Jones is a player. He’s a better kid than a player… He’s a senior and we needed a play,” explained Coach Motsinger.

And the difference between finding a way to win and finding a way to lose? “Weight room… in the weight room we are a team. We have found a way to win just like find a way in the squat rack… that has helped us find a way to win.”

As elated as the Wildcats were, the Eagles were equally deflated. Head Coach Dylan Dimock said, “Our kids played their hearts out. They played unbelievable. Jermaine Jones is a great player. I thought Zack played great and the defense played great. It’s a shame we couldn’t finish it. I thought our guys played unbelievable. They are devastated, it’s hard to talk to them right now, but we’ll get ready for West Brunswick next week.”

New Hanover, which hosts Laney in another county rivalry game next week, is now 4-3 on the season and are 2-0 in the Mideastern Conference. Ashley is now 1-1 in league play and 2-5 overall.

Hoggard 28 - Kinston 27

Often heralded for their kicking game, one extra point and a blocked field goal was the difference Friday night as Hoggard edged Kinston.

Down 14-0 in the first half, Hoggard cut the lead to 14-7 before intermission as Trey Simpson took the handoff and then threw back to quarterback Brad Busby who went in for the score.

Still trailing 27-21 going into the fourth quarter, Hoggard got the go ahead touchdown to take a 28-27 lead, but the game wasn’t over.

Kinston then worked their way into field goal range, but Hoggard blocked the game winning attempt, with less than a minute to play.

Hoggard is now 4-1 with the out-of-conference win, while 3A Kinston sits at 4-2 with the loss. Up next for Hoggard will be the first of three road games as they travel up to Jacksonville to play White Oak.

Jacksonville 26 - Laney 24

The Jacksonville Cardinals got their first win of the year as they eeked out a 26-24 win over Laney.

With the loss, Laney dips to 1-4 as they have lost four in a row after winning their season opener. The Bucs will look to rebound next week at Legion Stadium against New Hanover.

Photos: Chris Miranda - capefearphotography.net

-- Jesse Jones, CAPE FEAR SPORTS REPORT