More on Grimsley and Eastern Guilford wins from Friday night

from Click Here at the Burlington Times News:

MT. HERMON — The rushing attack of Greensboro Grimsley held off a persistent Southern Alamance offense on Friday night, 34-28.

“I put it (the win) on all the coaches and our offensive line,” said Whirlies running back David Ray, who had 36 carries 267 yards but no touchdowns. “We got a push up front.”

The Patriots (1-8-1 overall, 1-4 Metro Conference) had no answer for the Whirlies rushing attack, surrendering 468 yards on 74 attempts.

“We just gave up too many big plays,” said Southern Alamance linebacker Dalton Covington. “Everyone did their jobs. They just hit the home run when they needed to.”

Greensboro Grimsley (3-7, 3-2) attempted only one pass, an 8-yard completion.

“They controlled the line of scrimmage, basically, all night,” said Southern Alamance coach David Barrow. “We didn’t put together enough stops. … Grimsley dominated the line of scrimmage.”

The Whirlies had 21 first downs, all of them on the ground.

“(The rushing game) was huge,” Greensboro Grimsley coach Martin Samek said. “They burnt the clock, controlled the game ad shortened the game. The offensive line played fantastic.”

Greensboro Grimsley got its ground attack off quickly when receiver Darius Gardner returned the opening kickoff for a 75-yard touchdown.

“That gives the team confidence,” Samek said on the quick scoring strike.

Southern Alamance returned the favor quickly with a Justin Dunn 59-yard touchdown run, but was forced to play catch-up all night because of the Whirlies ground attack.

Greensboro Grimsley received rushing scores from receiver Torian Patterson and running back Eric Davidson of 23 yards and 2 yards, respectively. Quarterback Dominique McNair had touchdown runs of 2 yards and 1 yard.

Patterson had 15 carries for 151 yards.

Eastern Guilford over Burlington Williams from the The Times News:

With two victories coming into Friday night’s Mid-State Conference road test with Williams High School, Eastern Guilford quarterback Josh Morehead said it would be understandable if opponents didn’t expect much from the Wildcats.

But after their dramatic 33-31 victory against the Bulldogs, the Wildcats proved that there’s plenty of life left in their 2009 season.

“Everybody just doubts us,” Morehead said. “But we’re a pretty good football team. … We’ll show everybody.”

The Wildcats (3-7 overall, 3-3 Mid-State 3-A) proved their point in a roller-coaster second half that saw the Bulldogs land several huge game-changing blows.

After going ahead 26-9 on a 27-yard Morehead touchdown run, the Bulldogs (5-4-1, 3-3) answered with an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from Tevin Leath and a 15-yard touchdown pass from Grover Moore to Hunter Spriggs, cutting the lead to 26-24 with 8:14 left in the fourth quarter.

“We fought and fought and fought and fought,” Williams coach Scott Frazier said. “We came back and made some plays in the second half.”

It was then that Eastern Guilford embarked on a wild drive that ate up 6 minutes, 37 seconds and featured as many lowlights as highlights.

Eastern Guilford had four penalties — including an unsportsmanlike conduct call after a crucial first down — and had four more plays go for negative yardage.

“We had some guys some bad mistakes as far as controlling their temper and got backed up,” Eastern Guilford coach Scott Loosemore said.

The Wildcats also converted three third downs, including one when running back Devonte Andre hit tight end Jeremy Gaddy for a 34-yard gain on a third-and-16.

Facing third-and-goal from the 9, Morehead fired a pass to Gaddy, who bobbled it before pulling it in for a touchdown that put the Wildcats up 33-24 with 1:37 left.

“I turned and he hit me right there in the hands, but it slipped,” Gaddy said. “I had to catch it again at the last second. I thought I was about to lose the game for us.”

But Williams had one more surprise as Moore hit Spriggs for a 44-yard touchdown pass two plays later.

“That’s just the kind of things that have been happening to us,” Loosemore said. “We lose focus at the wrong times.”

Eastern Guilford fell on the Bulldogs’ onside kick try and burned the final 1:18 and kept its playoff hopes alive.

The Wildcats took control early when an Andre touchdown run and a Morehead touchdown pass to Butch Huffman helped give them a 14-3 lead. But the Bulldogs jumped back into contention when Tyler Currie scored on a 27-yard fumble return in the final minute of the first half.

Morehead answered by hitting Rashard Wicks for a 32 yard touchdown strike with 34 seconds left in the half.

“I’m very proud of them right now for the fact that most teams, when they’re 2-7, they pretty much pack it in,” Loosemore said. “These guys didn’t pack it in.”

2 thoughts on “More on Grimsley and Eastern Guilford wins from Friday night

  1. Look out for EG to possibly surprise someone in the playoffs if they win this friday night vs. McMichael!

  2. Watched the Eastern Guilford Wildcats last season and most of this year. I would have to say that there is a different mentality on the team at this point in the season. They have players that are capable of making big plays often. If/When they make the playoffs I would not want to be the team that has to face them in the playoffs. EG may make your season come to a screeching halt.

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