Beast of the East

Stallions rule over Monarchs to advance to state title game

How The East Was Won

South Columbus High School’s tenacious defense, led by Michael Hanson (44), Jonathan Buffkin and Andrae Jacobs (21) throw Northside tailback Tyler Witter for a three-yard loss Friday in the Eastern N.C. 2A Regional football championship game at South Columbus. South Columbus won 8-3 to put its season record at 15-0 and advance to next Saturday’s state 2A championship game against Lincolnton at 3:30 p.m., at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Touchdown!

T.J. Richardson crosses the goal line on an eight-yard run for the only touchdown of the night in South Columbus’ 8-3 victory over Northside Friday night for the Eastern N.C. 2A football championship.

Big reception

South Coumbus’ Donovan Watts battles for extra yardage after coming up with the second of his two big pass receptions in the Stallions’ 8-3 Eastern N.C. 2A regional championship win over visiting Northside.

Staff photos by Mark Gilchrist

By DAN BISER
Sports Editor

VINEGAR HILL – They may have scored only one touchdown and they may have suffered a season-high four turnovers, but it still turned out to be the greatest homefield football victory ever for the South Columbus Stallions.

With its defense giving another command performance, the unbeaten Stallions topped the previously unbeaten Northside Monarchs 8-3 Friday for the Eastern N.C. 2A Regional football championship before a standing-room-only crowd.

An eight-yard, second-quarter run by T.J. Richardson to cap a 95-yard drive and a third-quarter safety supplied the game-winning points for Coach Joey Price’s Stallions, who put their season record at 15-0.

“You have to hand it to our defense again,” said Price, whose Stallions yielded a first-quarter field goal to the Monarchs. “No matter how big the challenge, out defense always seems to be able to step it up and meet it head on.”

The win marked the first-ever regional football title for South Columbus, which will travel to Raleigh Saturday to take on the west champion Lincolnton in the state 2A championship game at Carter-Finley Stadium. (See related story).

Northside, which had eliminated South Columbus from the state playoffs in each of the past two seasons, closed its season with a 14-1 record. It marked the third straight year that Coach Bob Eason’s Monarchs had fallen in the regional title game.

“We weren’t able to get much going with our offense,” said Eason, whose squad lost to Clinton in each of the last two regional championship contests. “Their linebackers and defensive backs did a particularly good job.”

Richardson, who scored the game’s only touchdown on only his third carry of the season, said it has been “a big team effort” that has carried the Stallions to the state finals.

“We have a lot of pride,” said Richardson, a senior defensive standout. “Northside has a very strong team, but we felt we could stop them.”

Northside, led by senior standout quarterback Joe Womack, was limited to 118 yards of total offense.

Price said that the Stallions had some difficulties on offense, but stated that Northside’s defense was a big cause for that. Before Friday, the Stallions’ lowest single game point production of the season was 25.

“They had more speed and quickness on defense than we have gone against this year,” Price said. “We had two or three scoring other opportunities get away from us because of turnovers and penalties, but the effort was there.”

Late in the game, South Columbus appeared well on its way to a game-clinching score when running back Justin Smith lost the football inside the five-yard line while battling his way into the end zone. The Monarchs’ Austin Baggett picked up the ball and returned it to the Northside 20-yard line, giving Northside new life with 3 minutes, 12 seconds left in the game.

But the Stallion defense held the Monarchs on three downs, including lost yardage on two plays. SCHS ran out the clock from that point.

South Columbus quarterback Justin Duncan completed only two passes – both to Donovan Watts – for 46 yards. The first completion ignited the Stallion touchdown drive, and the second kept a timely Stallion possession alive in the fourth quarter.

Smith rushed for 80 yards on 22 carries for South Columbus, and teammate Dominique Betts had 45 yard on eight carries.

Richardson had substituted for Betts on the series that he scored the touchdown, and Price did not realize that Richardson was playing Betts’ position when he called a counter reverse.

“We usually have T.J. in there for blocking purposes, but when he got the ball, I wondered why (Betts) didn’t have it, and then I remembered he was standing beside me on the sideline,” Price said. “It didn’t really matter. T.J. can handle just about anything you ask him to do.”

Northside’s first -quarter field goal was set up when the Monarchs recovered a Justin Smith fumble at midfield on the Stallions’ second possession.

A 34-yard run by Womack was big play of the drive, moving the ball to the SCHS 19. But the Stallions forced a field goal and Kenneth Rowland easily drove the ball 28 yards through the uprights for a 3-0 Northside lead with 5 minutes, 34 seconds left in the first quarter.

A 64-yard punt by Rowland in the final seconds of the first quarter pinned the Stallion on their own five-yard line.

SCHS used 13 plays on their 95-yard scoring march. A 34-yard pass from Duncan to Watts to the Stallion 45 gave the Stallion offense a big lift as Smith followed with a 10-yard run, and Betts followed with a 13-yard ramble on the very next play. Betts added an 11-yard run and Richardson got his eight-yard touchdown run with 6:53 left in the half.

Northside was unable to gain favorable field position in the first half and it failed to convert a fake-punt attempt at midfield.

After Womack picked off a Duncan pass deep in Monarch territory later in the third quarter, Northside was again forced to punt and the snap from center sailed over Rowland’s head and out of the end zone for a safety and an 8-3 Stallion lead.

Womack, who has committed to play at East Carolina and will play in next week’s North Carolina-South Carolina Shrine Bowl, and Donte Moss each rushed for 45 yards for Northside.

“I thought we did a good job controlling a lot of things that Womack does,” Price said. “He has good size and runs a 4.4 (in the) 40-yard dash. He’s their key and he got outside on us a couple of times, but we I was pleased with the way we played him overall.”

Northside eliminated the Stallions in the first round of last year’s playoffs by a 14-13 score. In 2005, the Monarchs downed the Stallions 10-0 in the third round.

SCHS is the first team from outside the East Central Conference that has won the East 2A title since 1998.

South Columbus had advanced to the Eastern N.C. 2A championship game twice before - in 1996 and 2002 - losing to Clinton both times.

N – Kenneth Rowland 28 field goal.
SC – T.J. Richardson 8 run (kick failed)
SC – Safety. Northside snapped ball out of end zone.