John Paul II advances to 8-man title game with win over Fayetteville Christian
By Kyle Morton, HighSchoolOT producer
GREENVILLE, N.C. — The John Paul II Saints took down the Fayetteville Christian Warriors 41-12 at home on Saturday night to advance to the NCISAA DI 8-man football state title game.In just its second year as a program, John Paul II has reached the pinnacle of its level of competition.
"I was thinking maybe next year or the year after we'd have a shot at states," said head coach Sean Murphy. "The fact that we're here a year earlier is huge. The kids worked really hard this offseason, and they're focused, they believed... the future is bright."
In a rematch of a regular season contest that the Saints won 52-24 on October 23, the hosts took control early.
Rion Roseborough, who became the star of the game, scored the first touchdown of the contest from about 20 yards away, capping off a game-opening touchdown drive from the Saints and putting them up 6-0.
He also scored the game's second touchdown, with a run of about 10 yards to make it 12-0.
After another defensive stop, the Saints turned to Roseborough again. This time, the Warriors stopped him twice before failing to bring him down on fourth-and-goal.
A successful conversion made it 20-0 Saints, a lead the team took into the halftime break.
An injury to Fayetteville Christian quarterback David Herden forced backup Joshua Coates into action, but Coates made a big play through the air on the opening drive of the second half and finished it off with a one-yard touchdown run to put his team on the board.
That was as close as Fayetteville Christian would get, as John Paul II's power running game helped them run the clock down while building out their lead.
Quarterback Ethan Mitchell and running back Josiah Thompson added scores for the Saints before Roseborough made his most impressive play of the night to put the game well out of reach at 41-6.
The Warriors got one touchdown back late to make it 41-12.
The Saints will find out their state championship game opponent on Monday night when St. David's takes on Arendell Parrott in Raleigh.
The two combatants have been successful programs in North Carolina eight-man football for some time now, and the second-year challengers dropped games to both squads in the regular season.Top of Form
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By Kyle Morton, HighSchoolOT producer
GREENVILLE, N.C. — The John Paul II Saints took down the Fayetteville Christian Warriors 41-12 at home on Saturday night to advance to the NCISAA DI 8-man football state title game.In just its second year as a program, John Paul II has reached the pinnacle of its level of competition.
"I was thinking maybe next year or the year after we'd have a shot at states," said head coach Sean Murphy. "The fact that we're here a year earlier is huge. The kids worked really hard this offseason, and they're focused, they believed... the future is bright."
In a rematch of a regular season contest that the Saints won 52-24 on October 23, the hosts took control early.
Rion Roseborough, who became the star of the game, scored the first touchdown of the contest from about 20 yards away, capping off a game-opening touchdown drive from the Saints and putting them up 6-0.
He also scored the game's second touchdown, with a run of about 10 yards to make it 12-0.
After another defensive stop, the Saints turned to Roseborough again. This time, the Warriors stopped him twice before failing to bring him down on fourth-and-goal.
A successful conversion made it 20-0 Saints, a lead the team took into the halftime break.
An injury to Fayetteville Christian quarterback David Herden forced backup Joshua Coates into action, but Coates made a big play through the air on the opening drive of the second half and finished it off with a one-yard touchdown run to put his team on the board.
That was as close as Fayetteville Christian would get, as John Paul II's power running game helped them run the clock down while building out their lead.
Quarterback Ethan Mitchell and running back Josiah Thompson added scores for the Saints before Roseborough made his most impressive play of the night to put the game well out of reach at 41-6.
The Warriors got one touchdown back late to make it 41-12.
The Saints will find out their state championship game opponent on Monday night when St. David's takes on Arendell Parrott in Raleigh.
The two combatants have been successful programs in North Carolina eight-man football for some time now, and the second-year challengers dropped games to both squads in the regular season.Top of Form
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