As a testament to the strength of Big Carolina Conference football, three teams advanced to the third round of the NCHSAA football playoffs, After Thursday night, only one would survive to see a fourth-round game.
3A — #1 Havelock 20 #25 J.H. Rose 6
The top-seeded Havelock Rams are enjoying a home-field advantage as they hosted conference foe J.H. Rose on Thursday.
The 25th-seeded Rampants, who ended the regular season 4-6, opened the playoffs, beating White Oak 21-19 and New Brunswick 14-7. Both teams had won their respective conference championships.
Havelock, champions of the Big Carolina Conference, extended the Rampants playoff theme, but this time, the Rams proved more than J.H. Rose could handle. Havelock, who beat J.H. Rose 35-7 to end the regular season, rolled to a 20-6 third-round playoff win and will host a fourth-round game next Friday against the winner of #13 Northern Nash (11-1) and #5 Scotland (10-2).
The Rams (13-0) got on the scoreboard at 10:06 of the first period as Lebron Sharpe ran for a 37-yard touchdown. Jolee Hickey would run in the two-point conversion attempt for an 8-0 Ram lead.
Sharpe, who entered the game with 1,387 rushing yards, injured his right knee late in the first half and did not return. Sharpe remains questionable for next week’s game.
“We’ll have to evaluate more tomorrow, but I hope it’s not serious,” said Havelock head coach Brent Wooten.
Sharpe had just three carries in the game. Jalen Morgan was moved to tailback and finished the night with 16 carries for 82 yards.
“I was proud of how we battled on offense after Sharpe went out, we made some good adjustments at halftime, and Morgan came up big,” noted Wooten.
Havelock quarterback Jonathan Williams scored on a three-yard run with 4:36 to play in the first half, and the Rams took a 14-0 lead at halftime. Williams finished the night with 70 yards rushing and has 1,198 for the season.
The Rams put the game away with an electrifying play with 59 seconds remaining in the third period. Havelock was facing a 3rd and 35 at their own 9-yard line when Williams found a streaking Jaheim Waller over the middle. Waller outraced the Rampant defense to the endzone for a 91-yard pass play and a 20-0 lead.
The Havelock defense was just as stellar as Khimani Nolan, Kamari George, and Sam Baldree intercepted J.H. Rose’s passes. The Rams combined for seven quarterback sacks as Christopher Bispham, Semaj George, Jolee Hickey, and Baldree all took turns running down Rampant QBs.
J.H. Rose (6-7) would add a late touchdown to avoid the shutout in losing 20-6.
4A — #2 Cleveland 56 #10 New Bern 13
Riding a six-game win streak, the New Bern Bears traveled to Clayton Thursday to play the #2-seeded Rams of Cleveland. The Bears, however, would run into a juggernaut named Tyson Stokes, who scored four first-half touchdowns in leading Cleveland to a 42-0 halftime lead and a 56-13 win.
Rams quarterback Jackson Byrd opened the scoring with a 5-yard TD run in the first period, 7-0 Cleveland. Still in the first, Byrd’s short pass to Stokes was gathered in, and Stokes took the remaining 75 yards to give Cleveland a 14-0 lead. Stokes scored again, a 2-yard run with under a minute to go in the first period for a 21-0 lead.
The Rams (13-0) would add 21 more points in the second quarter for a 42-0 margin at halftime. Stokes finished the game with four touchdowns, while Byrd threw three TDs and rushed for a fourth.
New Bern (6-7) struggled on offense all night.
The Bears’ thousand-yard freshman running back sensation Karvin “Duke” Magwood was injured after a hit late in the 2nd quarter and would not return to the game.
“I am super proud of the way these kids played all season long; they played through a lot of adversity, and a lot of things did not go their way,” said New Bern head coach Terrance Saxby. “All these players will be better young men because of everything that happened to us this season. I am eager to get to work with my underclassmen, and I’m excited for my seniors. They have a bright future.”
