Bethel Christian defeats Pungo Christian for DII 8-man state championship
By Joel Bryant, HighSchoolOT reporter
WILSON, N.C. — The Bethel Christian Trojans defeated the Pungo Christian Raiders 36-22 in Wilson on Friday night to claim the NCISAA 8-man DII state championship.
The Raiders started the game off on the right foot on a first quarter drive.
Quarterback Tristan Mann kept the ball and took off for an 80-yard dash to give his team an early lead. A successful two-point conversion made it 8-0.
From there, the Trojans locked in and took over.
Nathan Gurley tipped a pass and intercepted it for a momentum-turning play that set his team up with great field position.
The offense capitalized on that field position when sophomore Jalen Sims scored on a 16-yard touchdown run that tied the game at eight apiece after the conversion.
The Trojans kept their second quarter momentum going when Sims scored once again on a 50-yard carry that put his team up 16-8.
Sims' third score of the game made it 22-8 Trojans heading into the halftime break.
Pungo was able to regroup and come out with a renewed focus in the second half, as Fortino Beltran made it a one-score game with a 23-yard touchdown rush.
After Pungo turned it over on downs on its next possession, Sims scored yet again, this time from in close, to make it 28-16 Trojans.
But the Raiders had another push left in them, as a 51-yard pass from Mann to Beltran once again cut their deficit to just a single touchdown at 28-22.
That status was short-lived, as Sims scored for a fifth time from 23 yards out to make it a two-score game with under three minutes left to play.
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By Joel Bryant, HighSchoolOT reporter
WILSON, N.C. — The Bethel Christian Trojans defeated the Pungo Christian Raiders 36-22 in Wilson on Friday night to claim the NCISAA 8-man DII state championship.
The Raiders started the game off on the right foot on a first quarter drive.
Quarterback Tristan Mann kept the ball and took off for an 80-yard dash to give his team an early lead. A successful two-point conversion made it 8-0.
From there, the Trojans locked in and took over.
Nathan Gurley tipped a pass and intercepted it for a momentum-turning play that set his team up with great field position.
The offense capitalized on that field position when sophomore Jalen Sims scored on a 16-yard touchdown run that tied the game at eight apiece after the conversion.
The Trojans kept their second quarter momentum going when Sims scored once again on a 50-yard carry that put his team up 16-8.
Sims' third score of the game made it 22-8 Trojans heading into the halftime break.
Pungo was able to regroup and come out with a renewed focus in the second half, as Fortino Beltran made it a one-score game with a 23-yard touchdown rush.
After Pungo turned it over on downs on its next possession, Sims scored yet again, this time from in close, to make it 28-16 Trojans.
But the Raiders had another push left in them, as a 51-yard pass from Mann to Beltran once again cut their deficit to just a single touchdown at 28-22.
That status was short-lived, as Sims scored for a fifth time from 23 yards out to make it a two-score game with under three minutes left to play.
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