The Reidsville Rams have been unquestionably dominant on offense this postseason, and continued that with their six-touchdown win against the Bunker Hill Bears. But, they also showed off their defensive skills when two of their best receivers accounted for four interceptions in this quarterfinal matchup! Four games into the playoffs, all four wins have featured Reidsville scoring over forty points, while their impressive defense has held up as well. This wasn’t unfamiliar territory for Reidsville, as they dominated in last year’s quarterfinal round as well, and next up, they will try to take down the seven-seeded Shelby Golden Lions to advance to the championship.
The first quarter was undoubtedly a weird one, featuring two interceptions and a safety, along with some offense. Que’Shyne “Flip” Flippen, known for his offensive prowess, showed off his defensive skills by picking off a pass on Bunker Hill’s first possession. Jariel Cobb then capitalized, powering through for a twenty-yard rushing touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, and Reidsville led, 6-0. The Bears fired back with a field goal, before forcing Reidsville to punt. However, the scary Rams defense showed their true colors when Paul Widerman scored a sack. Bunker Hill recovered, pushing it into Reidsville territory and making it into scoring position. But, Flip would snag his second interception of the quarter, denying the Bears a touchdown. However, they figured out a way to score nonetheless, getting a safety to bring it within one.
The second quarter started with the odd score of 6-5. After a punt, Al Lee launched it to Que’Shyne Flippen for a 65-yard touchdown! Talayn Weaver of the Bears then showed that he could go far, as well, scoring a 70-yard touchdown, followed by an extra point that brought it back within one. Lee, who ended up with an impressive statline, threw it to Diontae Neal for a touchdown, but Bunker Hill once again negated a Rams score by going 80 yards to the house! With a 20-19 lead, Reidsville punted, but they didn’t want to give their small lead up going into halftime. Kendre Harrison sacked the quarterback, forcing Bunker Hill to punt, and the score stayed close heading into the half.
The Rams then created some separation. Lee and Harrison connected for a touchdown, and Johnniyus Sharpe recovered a fumble to put them in beautiful field position. That didn’t matter, however, as Reidsville would miss the field goal. Flippen made up for that with another interception, completing the trifecta!
Both teams traded punts, and the Rams headed into the final quarter up 27-19. After both teams turned it over on downs, Jariel Cobb finally put another one on the board with a 15-yard rushing touchdown. With a 34-19 advantage, the Rams attempted an onside kick, but failed. Bunker Hill scored a rush touchdown to answer Reidsville, and the blow-for-blow, strike-for-strike action continued when Bunker Hill took their turn at failing to recover an onside kick. The Rams were forced to punt with under two minutes to go, and Bunker Hill had a chance.
That is, they had a chance until Diontae Neal picked it off and returned it 65 yards to the house, sealing the fate of the Bears and punching his school’s ticket to the semifinals! With a final score of 41-26, the Rams move on to face Shelby in an attempt to return to the state championship. Their defense must be on point up against the Golden Lions, but if they snatch four interceptions next week, they should be in the championship.