Arendell Parrott falls 66-60 in OT in state final
By Scott Cole / Kinston Free Press Correspondent
The Patriots were in the title game for the fourth straight season
KINSTON — Arendell Parrott’s quest for a third consecutive state title came up short Saturday night against a team the Patriots previously lost to earlier this season.
In what was a back-and-forth NCISAA 2A championship game at Hodges Field, the second-seeded Patriots suffered a heartbreaking 66-60 overtime loss to top-seeded Rocky Mount Academy.
Arendell Parrott (9-2) lost 39-36 to the Eagles (12-0) in the regular season. The Patriots stood toe-to-toe with Rocky Mount Academy again, but fell short again.
Trailing 66-60 in overtime, the game ended when Parrott lost a fumble.
“I feel bad for my seniors to have gone out like this. They deserved better,” said APA coach Matt Beamon. “We missed a lot of runs up the middle. Nobody played defense well tonight. I just hated that
it had to end in a turnover.”
Rocky Mount Academy coach Terrell Hudgins called it a “great, crazy game,” although he certainly was happy with the result.
“I’ve never seen one like this. It’s the kind of game where you wish both teams could end up in a tie,” Hudgins said. “There are no losers on that side of the field. Neither team had much defense, but both played their hearts out.”
Beaman said his team left a “legacy” for other teams to follow.
“They have changed the culture here and set a high standard that our school will have for years to come,” he said. “It’s been an incredible run. This has been a great senior class and to have been here four times in-a-row with them has been an honor. They’ve played great and won two state titles during their time here. What they will leave for the next group of Parrott players is a hunger and drive to keep it going.”
The Eagles got the ball first in overtime. They handed the ball off to Jacob Braddy, who scored on the first play, but the Eagles failed on the two-point-conversion.
“We played hard tonight and never gave up, even when we were down by 16 points,” said Braddy, who finished the game with 315 yards rushing on 31 carries, 160 yards receiving on five receptions, and seven total touchdowns. “My O-line was great tonight. They opened up a lot of great holes for me and did a great job blocking.”
Parrott then fumbled on its first play of its overtime possession, resulting in the end of the game.
Perhaps it was fitting this game went into overtime.
With 2:46 left in regulation and APA trailing 60-54, the Patriots faced fourth-and 9 on the Eagles’ 23. Connor Bright ran for 13 yards for a first down, and a late hit penalty was called, giving APA the ball at the 1. Bright then scored with 41 seconds left, but the Patriots failed on the two-point conversion. Rocky Mount Academy failed to score on its next possession.
The Eagles rallied from an early 16-0 deficit.
Christian Jones stormed down the sideline for a 56-yard touchdown and ran in the PAT to give APA an 8-0 lead. Jones rushed for 161 yards.
On the next Parrott drive, Bright connected with Zach Sylvia for a 12-yard pass before handing off to Shy Thompson for a 67-yard touchdown run. Bright ran in the two-point-conversion to make it 16-0.
Thompson ended with 98 yards rushing.
Rocky Mount Academy got on the board to open up the second quarter. Braddy took a handoff, ran up the middle, found a hole, and took off for a 24-yard touchdown run. Isaiah Thomas, the quarterback, took the ball into the end zone for the two-point-conversion. The Patriots responded with a kick return by Matthew Hundley to the 35, followed by a 30-yard run by Jones for the score.
Trey Smelcer made a leaping catch into the end zone and fell down collecting the second touchdown of the game for the Eagles.
The Patriots opened the second half with their fourth touchdown. AJ Banker took a pass, shrugged off a defender, and then ran 51 yards for the touchdown to put APA up 32-16. The Eagles replied with a 71 yard run by Braddy. After the Patriots couldn’t convert on fourth down inside the red zone, the Eagles scored again when Braddy took a reception and ran 82 yards. The Eagles had tied the game up with 7:48 to play in the third quarter.
APA went three-and-out on its next possession. On fourth-and-two on RMA 45, Braddy took a handoff, ran to the side, cut around the defender, and stormed down the field for a 55-yard run to give the Eagles their first lead.
Just before the end of the third quarter, Banker scored on a 73-yard touchdown reception. Bright scored on the two-point-conversion run to tie the game at 40.
The Eagles had first crack at scoring in the fourth. After Braddy took some defenders dragging behind him to the 3 on a 22-yard carry, Thomas scored on a 3-yard quarterback keeper.
Braddy, however, failed to score on the PAT run.
Banker then fielded the kickoff at the 5 and took it to the 1. Bright then scored from 1-yard out, but the Patriots didnt convert on the PAT.
Braddy responded with a 70-yard kickoff return to put the Eagles on the 16. On the next play, he scored on a 22-yard touchdown run. Again, the two point attempt failed. Parrott answered with a 36-yard reception by Banker. On the two point conversion, a scrambling Bright found Banker in the back of the end zone to give the Patriots a 54-52 lead with seven minutes left. Banker finished 184 yards on six receptions.
“AJ is a warrior. He gave everything he had tonight,” Beman said. “I feel that he is the best receiver in the state. He and Connor have been great players for us. It is not going to be easy to replace them.”
With 4:32 to go, Braddy scored his sixth touchdown of the game on a 27-yard run. Thomas scored the two-point-conversion to give RMA a 60-54 lead.
Rocky Mount Academy 0 16 24 20 6 66
APA 16 8 16 22 0 60
RMA APA
First Downs 21 9
Rushes-Yards 50-459 33-340
Passing-
Attempts 8-14 12-20
Passing Yards 184 240
Total Yards 639 580
Fumbles-Lost 1-3 2-2
Penalties 8-65 3-25
Punt-Avg 2-73 1-47
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: RMA: Braddy 31-315, Lambert 13-136, Thomas 8-19. APA: Jones 14-161, Thompson 6-98, Bright 8-54, McLawhorn 5-25, Banker 1-7.
PASSING: RMA: Thomas 8-14 184. APA: Bright 12-20 240.
RECEIVING: RMA: Braddy 5-160, Lambert 2-13, Smelcer 1-11. APA: Banker 6-184, McLawhorn 4-43, Sylvia 2-15.
By Scott Cole / Kinston Free Press Correspondent
The Patriots were in the title game for the fourth straight season
KINSTON — Arendell Parrott’s quest for a third consecutive state title came up short Saturday night against a team the Patriots previously lost to earlier this season.
In what was a back-and-forth NCISAA 2A championship game at Hodges Field, the second-seeded Patriots suffered a heartbreaking 66-60 overtime loss to top-seeded Rocky Mount Academy.
Arendell Parrott (9-2) lost 39-36 to the Eagles (12-0) in the regular season. The Patriots stood toe-to-toe with Rocky Mount Academy again, but fell short again.
Trailing 66-60 in overtime, the game ended when Parrott lost a fumble.
“I feel bad for my seniors to have gone out like this. They deserved better,” said APA coach Matt Beamon. “We missed a lot of runs up the middle. Nobody played defense well tonight. I just hated that
it had to end in a turnover.”
Rocky Mount Academy coach Terrell Hudgins called it a “great, crazy game,” although he certainly was happy with the result.
“I’ve never seen one like this. It’s the kind of game where you wish both teams could end up in a tie,” Hudgins said. “There are no losers on that side of the field. Neither team had much defense, but both played their hearts out.”
Beaman said his team left a “legacy” for other teams to follow.
“They have changed the culture here and set a high standard that our school will have for years to come,” he said. “It’s been an incredible run. This has been a great senior class and to have been here four times in-a-row with them has been an honor. They’ve played great and won two state titles during their time here. What they will leave for the next group of Parrott players is a hunger and drive to keep it going.”
The Eagles got the ball first in overtime. They handed the ball off to Jacob Braddy, who scored on the first play, but the Eagles failed on the two-point-conversion.
“We played hard tonight and never gave up, even when we were down by 16 points,” said Braddy, who finished the game with 315 yards rushing on 31 carries, 160 yards receiving on five receptions, and seven total touchdowns. “My O-line was great tonight. They opened up a lot of great holes for me and did a great job blocking.”
Parrott then fumbled on its first play of its overtime possession, resulting in the end of the game.
Perhaps it was fitting this game went into overtime.
With 2:46 left in regulation and APA trailing 60-54, the Patriots faced fourth-and 9 on the Eagles’ 23. Connor Bright ran for 13 yards for a first down, and a late hit penalty was called, giving APA the ball at the 1. Bright then scored with 41 seconds left, but the Patriots failed on the two-point conversion. Rocky Mount Academy failed to score on its next possession.
The Eagles rallied from an early 16-0 deficit.
Christian Jones stormed down the sideline for a 56-yard touchdown and ran in the PAT to give APA an 8-0 lead. Jones rushed for 161 yards.
On the next Parrott drive, Bright connected with Zach Sylvia for a 12-yard pass before handing off to Shy Thompson for a 67-yard touchdown run. Bright ran in the two-point-conversion to make it 16-0.
Thompson ended with 98 yards rushing.
Rocky Mount Academy got on the board to open up the second quarter. Braddy took a handoff, ran up the middle, found a hole, and took off for a 24-yard touchdown run. Isaiah Thomas, the quarterback, took the ball into the end zone for the two-point-conversion. The Patriots responded with a kick return by Matthew Hundley to the 35, followed by a 30-yard run by Jones for the score.
Trey Smelcer made a leaping catch into the end zone and fell down collecting the second touchdown of the game for the Eagles.
The Patriots opened the second half with their fourth touchdown. AJ Banker took a pass, shrugged off a defender, and then ran 51 yards for the touchdown to put APA up 32-16. The Eagles replied with a 71 yard run by Braddy. After the Patriots couldn’t convert on fourth down inside the red zone, the Eagles scored again when Braddy took a reception and ran 82 yards. The Eagles had tied the game up with 7:48 to play in the third quarter.
APA went three-and-out on its next possession. On fourth-and-two on RMA 45, Braddy took a handoff, ran to the side, cut around the defender, and stormed down the field for a 55-yard run to give the Eagles their first lead.
Just before the end of the third quarter, Banker scored on a 73-yard touchdown reception. Bright scored on the two-point-conversion run to tie the game at 40.
The Eagles had first crack at scoring in the fourth. After Braddy took some defenders dragging behind him to the 3 on a 22-yard carry, Thomas scored on a 3-yard quarterback keeper.
Braddy, however, failed to score on the PAT run.
Banker then fielded the kickoff at the 5 and took it to the 1. Bright then scored from 1-yard out, but the Patriots didnt convert on the PAT.
Braddy responded with a 70-yard kickoff return to put the Eagles on the 16. On the next play, he scored on a 22-yard touchdown run. Again, the two point attempt failed. Parrott answered with a 36-yard reception by Banker. On the two point conversion, a scrambling Bright found Banker in the back of the end zone to give the Patriots a 54-52 lead with seven minutes left. Banker finished 184 yards on six receptions.
“AJ is a warrior. He gave everything he had tonight,” Beman said. “I feel that he is the best receiver in the state. He and Connor have been great players for us. It is not going to be easy to replace them.”
With 4:32 to go, Braddy scored his sixth touchdown of the game on a 27-yard run. Thomas scored the two-point-conversion to give RMA a 60-54 lead.
Rocky Mount Academy 0 16 24 20 6 66
APA 16 8 16 22 0 60
RMA APA
First Downs 21 9
Rushes-Yards 50-459 33-340
Passing-
Attempts 8-14 12-20
Passing Yards 184 240
Total Yards 639 580
Fumbles-Lost 1-3 2-2
Penalties 8-65 3-25
Punt-Avg 2-73 1-47
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: RMA: Braddy 31-315, Lambert 13-136, Thomas 8-19. APA: Jones 14-161, Thompson 6-98, Bright 8-54, McLawhorn 5-25, Banker 1-7.
PASSING: RMA: Thomas 8-14 184. APA: Bright 12-20 240.
RECEIVING: RMA: Braddy 5-160, Lambert 2-13, Smelcer 1-11. APA: Banker 6-184, McLawhorn 4-43, Sylvia 2-15.
