The one-seeded Reidsville Rams clobbered the 4-seeded Central Davidson Spartans to move on to the fifth round of the postseason, the 4A East Regional Final. Tyson Broadway threw a staggering six touchdown passes, Dionte Neal had 270 receiving yards, the Rams defense forced three turnovers, and Kendre Harrison broke the record for most receiving touchdowns by a Reidsville Ram in an all-around effort that resulted in a 53-20 win.
It looked like things might get ugly quickly when Reidsville recovered a fumble and scored a touchdown all within the first three minutes. However, Central Davidson responded with a score of their own to knot things up at 7 apiece. Soon after, Dionte Neal would score a ridiculous touchdown on a screen pass, weaving his way in and out of traffic, going laterally from sideline to sideline, and then turning on the jets and bringing it 77 yards to the house. Central Davidson tried to answer once again, but on Reidsville’s five yard line, they turned it over on downs.
The two teams traded touchdowns in the first ten minutes of the second. With a minute to go in the first half and Reidsville driving downfield, they led 22-14. 34 seconds before halftime, they punched in the score via a Tyson Broadway-Ladonn Hatfield 23-yard connection. The two-point conversion failed, but Reidsville still held a comfortable 14-point lead and were set to receive the second half kickoff. Central Davidson fumbled the ball on their own thirty-six yard line with less than one second to play, and unfortunately for the Spartans, anything more than all zeroes is enough time for the Rams. Tyson Broadway sent it to Dionte Neal for the six-pointer, and at the half, it was a 35-14 lead for Reidsville.
What appeared to be the final nail in the coffin came less than five minutes into the third, as Reidsville would score again to make it a four-possession game. Kendre Harrison then broke the record for most receiving touchdowns in Rams history at the end of the third, pushing Reidsville ahead, 47-14. Thanks to that, the fourth quarter was smooth sailing to a 53-20 finish.
With this thirty-three point victory, the Rams kept their hopes of championship number twenty-four alive. Broadway finished 13/18 with 6 pass touchdowns and 370 pass yards for over 28 yards per completion. Nearly half of his passes were for touchdowns. Dionte Neal was an extremely large piece of those monster numbers, earning 270 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. Kendre Harrison added as well, catching two touchdown passes and putting up 71 receiving yards.
After this masterclass by the gold-and-navy, they will take on two-seeded West Craven, a team coming off of a big victory of its own. West Craven, who is now 12-1, defeated 11 Southwest Edgecombe 40-12 to make it to the state semifinals. This heavyweight clash will take place on December 5th in the ‘Ville as they vie for a spot in the 4A State Championship. Should they advance, they would take on the winner of the 4A West Regional Final between 1 Brevard and 6 Maiden.