CCS squelched by RMA 48-8...
By Jimmy Lewis
Staff Writer WILSON DAILY TIMES
When Rocky Mount Academy wasn’t stopping itself Tuesday night, the Community Christian School eight-player football team offered little resistance.
The Cyclones allowed scores on seven of nine possessions, and a running clock was in effect by the end of the third quarter in a thorough 48-8 CCS defeat.
After the game originally scheduled for Friday, CCS fell to 0-3 overall, all against 2-A opposition from the Colonial Carolina Conference. Rocky Mount Academy remained unbeaten in three games by running and throwing nearly at will against the Cyclones, a 1-A member of the split league. The CCC is the only league in the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association that sponsors eight-player football.
“We didn’t compete as well as I’d liked to, I can say that — nowhere on the field,” CCS head coach Andy Jackson lamented. “I take all the blame for that. We need to be more motivated to play a game. I guess we just weren’t prepared well enough.”
CCS snuffed out the Eagles’ first offensive series, with junior defensive end Austin Conway pouncing on a fumble. The Cyclones moved their opening possession to midfield, but an interception from senior quarterback Grant Webb thwarted the drive.
Seven consecutive RMA drives which ended in points followed. Of particular issue for CCS was an inability to cover receivers in the secondary, with RMA wideouts running wide open at times. Two touchdown passes were dropped.
“I think it’s just we’ve got to get faster and we’ve got to start jamming,” Conway said of the secondary. “We’re not jamming at the line, so they’re just going by.”
RMA wide receiver Christopher Rabil was the chief instigator of the Cyclones’ woes in the defensive backfield. He accounted for three total TDs, opening the scoring on a 27-yard strike from quarterback Isaiah Thomas. Rabil tacked on a 42-yard scamper off a jet sweep to make it 15-0 and burned the CCS secondary for a 43-yard TD reception on a fourth-and-22 to extend the deficit to 31-0. He finished with three receptions for 80 yards, all in the first half.
The CCS defense yielded 300 yards of total offense by halftime and surrendered 224 yards on the ground in losing the battle on both lines of scrimmage.
“I think at this point, our team is mature enough not to get pushed around like we got pushed around tonight,” Jackson said. “They pretty much did whatever they wanted to. I think our kids have got to get tired of being pushed around and push back some. We talk about and talk about it, but until they get the fire in their belly to do it, we’re not going to be very good.”
RMA junior kicker Trey Smelcer also hurt the Cyclones with his hands and feet. He pulled in an 8-yard scoring toss from Thomas to help push the Eagles’ lead to 39-0 and induced the running clock with a massive 49-yard field goal that cleared the crossbar by a good 3 to 4 yards. It was easily a career long and Smelcer’s first field goal of the year.
“These guys on the sideline got pretty hyped about it,” RMA head coach Terrell Hudgins said. “The kicking coach got very excited and I got a few goose bumps after he knocked it down.”
CCS averted the shutout with 10:21 left on Webb’s 1-yard pass to Conway. The duo reconnected on the two-point conversion to make it 42-8, but Caleb Lambert soon darted 51 yards to cap the scoring.
It doesn’t get much easier for CCS, as it begins a four-game road trip at another 2-A team in Cary Christian on Friday.
“We weren’t giving 100 percent,” Conway said. “There were only a few players giving 100 percent. The offensive line was terrible, if you ask me. We weren’t giving effort.”
By Jimmy Lewis
Staff Writer WILSON DAILY TIMES
When Rocky Mount Academy wasn’t stopping itself Tuesday night, the Community Christian School eight-player football team offered little resistance.
The Cyclones allowed scores on seven of nine possessions, and a running clock was in effect by the end of the third quarter in a thorough 48-8 CCS defeat.
After the game originally scheduled for Friday, CCS fell to 0-3 overall, all against 2-A opposition from the Colonial Carolina Conference. Rocky Mount Academy remained unbeaten in three games by running and throwing nearly at will against the Cyclones, a 1-A member of the split league. The CCC is the only league in the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association that sponsors eight-player football.
“We didn’t compete as well as I’d liked to, I can say that — nowhere on the field,” CCS head coach Andy Jackson lamented. “I take all the blame for that. We need to be more motivated to play a game. I guess we just weren’t prepared well enough.”
CCS snuffed out the Eagles’ first offensive series, with junior defensive end Austin Conway pouncing on a fumble. The Cyclones moved their opening possession to midfield, but an interception from senior quarterback Grant Webb thwarted the drive.
Seven consecutive RMA drives which ended in points followed. Of particular issue for CCS was an inability to cover receivers in the secondary, with RMA wideouts running wide open at times. Two touchdown passes were dropped.
“I think it’s just we’ve got to get faster and we’ve got to start jamming,” Conway said of the secondary. “We’re not jamming at the line, so they’re just going by.”
RMA wide receiver Christopher Rabil was the chief instigator of the Cyclones’ woes in the defensive backfield. He accounted for three total TDs, opening the scoring on a 27-yard strike from quarterback Isaiah Thomas. Rabil tacked on a 42-yard scamper off a jet sweep to make it 15-0 and burned the CCS secondary for a 43-yard TD reception on a fourth-and-22 to extend the deficit to 31-0. He finished with three receptions for 80 yards, all in the first half.
The CCS defense yielded 300 yards of total offense by halftime and surrendered 224 yards on the ground in losing the battle on both lines of scrimmage.
“I think at this point, our team is mature enough not to get pushed around like we got pushed around tonight,” Jackson said. “They pretty much did whatever they wanted to. I think our kids have got to get tired of being pushed around and push back some. We talk about and talk about it, but until they get the fire in their belly to do it, we’re not going to be very good.”
RMA junior kicker Trey Smelcer also hurt the Cyclones with his hands and feet. He pulled in an 8-yard scoring toss from Thomas to help push the Eagles’ lead to 39-0 and induced the running clock with a massive 49-yard field goal that cleared the crossbar by a good 3 to 4 yards. It was easily a career long and Smelcer’s first field goal of the year.
“These guys on the sideline got pretty hyped about it,” RMA head coach Terrell Hudgins said. “The kicking coach got very excited and I got a few goose bumps after he knocked it down.”
CCS averted the shutout with 10:21 left on Webb’s 1-yard pass to Conway. The duo reconnected on the two-point conversion to make it 42-8, but Caleb Lambert soon darted 51 yards to cap the scoring.
It doesn’t get much easier for CCS, as it begins a four-game road trip at another 2-A team in Cary Christian on Friday.
“We weren’t giving 100 percent,” Conway said. “There were only a few players giving 100 percent. The offensive line was terrible, if you ask me. We weren’t giving effort.”
