Best Buy Mobile's Did You See That? Plays of the Week

A week of heavy rain didn’t dampen this season’s football playoffs, and a number of teams shone through with some amazing games. Wake Forest-Rolesville bumped up to 12-0 in the season after smashing Clayton, 55-0 in the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs. They solidified their placement as the top-seeded team in the east and will continue on to the second round of playoffs.

Southern Durham tallied up a whopping 21 points in the first quarter against East Wake who remained scoreless until the second quarter. Desmond Lawrence scored first for Southern with an 11-yard touchdown run, followed up by a 47-yard touchdown pass from Alan Lea to Tony Creecy. Khamari Everette kept the points coming with a 46-yard interception return.

East Wake finally responded to the beat down with a 40-yard touchdown pass from Chris Pernell to Tyler Horton. Southern’s Alan Lea responded by hitting Kwindarius Sapp with a 35-yard touchdown pass. Lea set up another score by connecting with Alonzo Hedgepath for an 11-yard pass. East Wake brought in two more touchdowns thanks to a 1-yard run from Jamal Davis and a 6-yard run by Kasunn Williams, but it wasn’t enough to stop Southern from winning 34-20. Southern will continue into the second round of playoffs.

Middle Creek faced off with New Bern in the first round of playoffs to pull off a 40-14 win. J.T. Virant scored first for Middle Creek and caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Garrett Leatham. Devonte Knox followed up with a 3-yard touchdown run. The Mustangs worked up even more momentum, wracking up 17 points in the second quarter alone. Leatham connected with Dexter Montague for a 3-yard touchdown pass. New Bern finally responded with a 6-yard touchdown run by J.R. Williams, but the Mustang’s Matt Frongello kicked back with a 20-yard field goal. Stephen Sladek caught an 11-yard pass from the ever-present Leatham to further boost the Mustang’s lead. Rashad Benjamin brought in the last score for New Bern with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Josh Taylor. Frongello struck again with a 27-yard field goal to solidify Middle Creek’s move to the second round of playoffs.

Leesville Road shut out Broughton in football on Friday with a 20-13 win at the NCHSAA 4-AA playoffs. Austin Berrios started the game off strong for Leesville with a 15-yard touchdown. Dylan Edwards added a 1-yard touchdown before the second quarter. Berrios ran a 51-yard touchdown in the third quarter to keep the Caps scoreless at 20-0.

Broughton wasn't ready to give up the fight just yet, and Jeff Moore scored for the Caps on a 4-yard touchdown run. Moore later connected with Jamal Kirton for a 16-yard touchdown. Unfortunately for the Caps, there wasn't enough time left for a full comeback. Leesville will compete in the second round of playoffs at Jack Britt this week.

Athens pulled off a smooth win against Person with a 35-17 victory in the first round of NCHSAA 4-A playoffs. Athens’ Kelvin Mulebya blocked a Person punt in the first quarter for a safety, and Kyree Green followed up in the second quarter with a one-yard touchdown. Zack Bender scored before the half to boost Athens lead to 14-0. Green ran a 2-yard touchdown at the start of the second half and Snotherly connected with Kwamaine Jones for an 8-yard touchdown pass to keep the winning momentum going. Snotherly set up another score with a 61-yard touchdown pass to Wilder. Person wracked up an impressive 17 points in the fourth quarter, but Athens won the game and will play in the second round of playoffs.

The Bengals smothered the Wildcats in the first round of NCHSAA 4-AA state playoffs, keeping Millbrook scoreless into halftime. Eric Powell powered through for a 25-yard touchdown run, and Nate Budde scored shortly thereafter with a 30-yard touchdown run. Budde ran a 5-yard touchdown in the third quarter, but Millbrook wasn't ready to give up. The Wildcats' Trey McFarland threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Scott Gray. In response, Cory Hunter flew past Millbrook with a 135-yard touchdown run to boost Fuquay-Varina to a 21 point lead by the fourth quarter. Dontre Price caught an 11-yard pass from McFarland to solidify the Bengal's win, and Fuquay-Varina will head to Pinecrest this week for the next round of playoffs.

Garner left Wakefield in the dust, bagging a 21-17 win at the NCHSAA 4-AA state playoffs on Friday. Niklas Sade scored first for Wakefield with a 23-yard field goal, but Garner's Demetrius Fairley came in with a 29-yard touchdown for Garner in the second quarter. The Wolverines struck back in the third quarter with a 56-yard touchdown pass from Connor Mitch to Alex Starnes. Nigel King brought in the last score for Wakefield in the fourth quarter with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Mitch. Garner looked to be in trouble facing a 17 point deficit and only 7 minutes left in the game, but the Trojans found a second wind just in time.

Lemond Johnson connected with Dwight Darity for a 5-yard touchdown pass, and Fairley followed up with a 2-yard touchdown for Garner. Those final scores were just enough to give the Trojans the edge they needed, and they will head to Heritage High School to compete against Wake Forest-Rolesville.

Friday marked a down day for the Ravens who lost 45-22 to Charlotte Christian in their second-round of playoffs. Despite the loss, players Quinn Billerman and Connor Gonet put in a solid effort for their last game of the season. Billerman brought in two touchdowns and Gonet wracked up 21 carries for 62 yards. John Kincaid played a tight came for Charlotte Christian with three touchdowns.
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