Get your own Free Home PageAfter keeping Dudley in the game with a pair of first-half turnovers Friday night at Manzi Stadium, Smith went back to old reliable in the second half.
Old reliable is sophomore fullback J.J. Thompson, the team's leading rusher. After carrying the ball for one yard on one carry in the first half, Thompson found his number called early and often by Smith coach Tony McKee. The result was a 73-yard second half and a pair of touchdowns that led the Golden Eagles to a 22-6 win over their arch-rivals.
Smith got untracked on its first drive of the second half. Out of the Eagles' one-back set, Thompson barreled up the middle on most of the nine plays of a 65-yard drive. He capped the drive with a two-yard run for the night's first touchdown. Brian Woodward added the PAT kick for a 7-0 BLS lead with 8:07 left in the third quarter.
The Golden Eagles defense was as big a star as Thompson in the second half. It held Dudley in check and Smith (3-0, 6-2) gradually won the field position battle.
The defense caused Smith's second score, a Dudley safety that occurred when Panther tailback Dominique Brown fumbled a pitch on his goal line. Brown, instead of being tackled in the end zone, hurled the ball through the back of the end zone. Thus, Smith was staked to a 9-0 advantage with 33 seconds left in the third quarter.
After a nice return by Brandon Free on the ensuing kickoff, Smith drove 26 yards in four plays with Thompson going over from the 1-yard line for 15-0. Woodward's PAT kick hit the right upright.
The Smith defense stymied Dudley again and set up the Golden Eagle offense with excellent field position for its next possession. BLS quarterback Duane Taylor found Brandon Free for a 17-yard touchdown on the fifth play of a 32-yard drive to make it 21-0. Woodward's PAT kick ended the night's scoring for Smith.
Dudley got its lone score after Taylor's pitchout to Mike Able in the last minute was recovered the by Panthers at the Smith 13-yard line. On the first play after the turnover, Brown hit Victor Chavis for a touchdown with 47 seconds left. Brown's two-point run failed.
The Smith defense held Dudley to 99 total yards. Shamaree Brown led the way with 16 tackles. Dudley's Dominique Brown, one of the league's top runners, was held to negative 13 yards on 14 carries. Other defensive standouts on this night were P.J. Southerland (10 tackles), Antonio Williams (six tackles) and Brandon Summers (five tackles and a sack).
Thompson now has 524 yards and eight touchdowns on the season.
"J.J. is always tough in the second half," McKee said afterwards. "Guys are pretty tired at that point in the game and they can't tackle him. Our offensive line also did a much better job in the second half."
The Golden Eagles totaled 308 yards with Free being the most productive on this night. Free had seven catches for 107 yards.
Now the Eagles have two weeks off to get prepared for Glenn, which trails Smith by one-half game for first place in the Piedmont Triad 3-A. Angelo Evans had 224 yards on 14 carries to lead the Bobcats past Southwest 41-3 Friday night. Glenn routed Smith 22-0 last year.
"This was definitely a big win for us," McKee said of the Dudley win. "I think one more puts us in the playoffs for the first time since 1989."
Dudley will host Carver next week. The Yellowjackets, the defending state champions, are tied with Glenn for second place.
© 1999 bls@oocities.com
Get your own Free Home Page