PATRICK MASON
Sports Writer ROCKY MOUNT TELEGRAM
Saturday, September 30, 2017
Terrell Hudgins felt like he had to put on a show. Forgive the Rocky Mount Academy coach if his Eagles haven’t played in front of a crowd like the one that was on hand at Faith Christian School on Friday night.
RMA dug deep into its playbook to retrieve a flea flicker. Another play saw quarterback Isaiah Thomas pretend to go to the sideline to receive a play call, only to run a route.
The trickery didn’t fool the upstart Patriots, however, as the first-year program had an answer for just about everything. But RMA, the top-ranked eight-man team in Class 2-A, was able to wear down the Patriots for a 30-6 win.
“Faith made plays on most of those,” Hudgins said. “They have a lot of athletes over there, the coaching staff got those kids prepared. It was tough tonight.”
Garrett Pannell, a defensive back for the Patriots, was strong in coverage throughout the game and was in prime position to defend the flea flicker where the four players had the ball before being launched into the air.
The junior also broke up another pass in the end zone. Pannell had the task of shadowing RMA’s Trey Smelcer, a 6-foot-6, 250-pound tight end. Smelcer was able to beat the defense just three times, but the big pass-catcher still went for 104 yards and a touchdown.
“We put our best defender on him,” FCS coach Russell Weinstein said. “Garrett played as well as you could’ve wanted. He gave up almost a foot, and sometimes size like that is going to win.”
FCS (4-1, 2-1 Colonial Carolina) thrived early after forcing an RMA punt on its first possession. The Patriots then took a 6-0 lead on its second offensive play as freshman running back Shaikey Hardy high-stepped out of a potential tackler’s arms and ran 84 yards for a touchdown.
“On that play the offensive line opened a hole, I saw it and tried to run through it,” said Hardy, who collected a game-high 171 yards on the ground. “I try not to pay attention to my own stats. I just want to work hard and play hard.”
The Patriots’ lead lasted for almost five minutes before the Eagles answered with an 80-yard drive that ended with Thomas finding Smelcer in the end zone. That 10-yard play kick-started the offense, which scored 30 unanswered points.
Thomas ran for a pair of touchdowns before teammate Caleb Lambert added two more scores on the ground to cap the scoring. Lambert finished with 51 yards, while teammate Jacob Braddy added a team-high 106 on the ground.
By halftime, however, the Eagles led 12-6 as they couldn’t get out of their own way. RMA (6-0, 2-0) was flagged for 192 penalty yards throughout the game, including 127 in the first half.
“We had a bad first half,” Hudgins said. “Lots of penalties. That kills us. I told the guys that we don’t have any plays for third and 22 or fourth and 17. Luckily, our defense stepped up.”
The Eagles forced a fumble on the Patriots’ first drive of the second half, setting up a short field for a score. A punt that went fewer than 10 yards on the following drive had the Eagles needing only 23 yards for another touchdown.
Another FCS fumble set up the Eagles’ final touchdown, a 1-yard dive from Lambert. In all, the Patriots had four turnovers on their five second-have possessions.
The Eagles were the toughest team FCS has played, and Weinstein said he is excited to get into the film room with his team.
“I am not down on any one kid,” the coach said. “I’m proud of them, the way they continued to fight even in the final minutes. They knocked the red off our candy tonight, and I think it’s important to know what it feels like to lose.
“This will be a great learning experience. And if I know anything about these kids, from the way we looked in January to now, I know they will learn a lot and bounce back.”
Rocky Mount Academy 30
Faith Christian 6
RMA 6 6 18 0 - 30
FCS 6 0 0 0 - 6
First quarter
FCS - Shaikey Hardy 84 run (run failed), 5:20
RMA - Trey Smelcer 10 pass from Isaiah Thomas (run failed), 37.4
Second quarter
RMA - Thomas 5 run (run failed), 1:33
Third quarter
RMA - Thomas 1 run (run failed), 10:08
RMA - Caleb Lambert 5 run (run failed), 5:06
RMA - Lambert 1 run (run failed), 29.3
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: RMA - Jacob Braddy 14-106, Oliver Bissett 3-17, Isaiah Thomas 9-66, Caleb Lambert 9-51, Jordan Crandell 1-2. Totals: 36-242. FCS - Shaikey Hardy 17-171, Jon Stallings 2-3, Christian Fate 11-40, Hobart Brantley 1-1, Sam Mills 2-4. Totals: 33-219.
PASSING: RMA - Thomas 4-6-0, 106 yards. Lambert 0-2-0. FCS - Mills 2-3-2, 44 yards.
RECEIVING: RMA - Trey Smelcer 3-104, Lambert 1-2. FCS - Garrett Pannell 2-44.
Sports Writer ROCKY MOUNT TELEGRAM
Saturday, September 30, 2017
Terrell Hudgins felt like he had to put on a show. Forgive the Rocky Mount Academy coach if his Eagles haven’t played in front of a crowd like the one that was on hand at Faith Christian School on Friday night.
RMA dug deep into its playbook to retrieve a flea flicker. Another play saw quarterback Isaiah Thomas pretend to go to the sideline to receive a play call, only to run a route.
The trickery didn’t fool the upstart Patriots, however, as the first-year program had an answer for just about everything. But RMA, the top-ranked eight-man team in Class 2-A, was able to wear down the Patriots for a 30-6 win.
“Faith made plays on most of those,” Hudgins said. “They have a lot of athletes over there, the coaching staff got those kids prepared. It was tough tonight.”
Garrett Pannell, a defensive back for the Patriots, was strong in coverage throughout the game and was in prime position to defend the flea flicker where the four players had the ball before being launched into the air.
The junior also broke up another pass in the end zone. Pannell had the task of shadowing RMA’s Trey Smelcer, a 6-foot-6, 250-pound tight end. Smelcer was able to beat the defense just three times, but the big pass-catcher still went for 104 yards and a touchdown.
“We put our best defender on him,” FCS coach Russell Weinstein said. “Garrett played as well as you could’ve wanted. He gave up almost a foot, and sometimes size like that is going to win.”
FCS (4-1, 2-1 Colonial Carolina) thrived early after forcing an RMA punt on its first possession. The Patriots then took a 6-0 lead on its second offensive play as freshman running back Shaikey Hardy high-stepped out of a potential tackler’s arms and ran 84 yards for a touchdown.
“On that play the offensive line opened a hole, I saw it and tried to run through it,” said Hardy, who collected a game-high 171 yards on the ground. “I try not to pay attention to my own stats. I just want to work hard and play hard.”
The Patriots’ lead lasted for almost five minutes before the Eagles answered with an 80-yard drive that ended with Thomas finding Smelcer in the end zone. That 10-yard play kick-started the offense, which scored 30 unanswered points.
Thomas ran for a pair of touchdowns before teammate Caleb Lambert added two more scores on the ground to cap the scoring. Lambert finished with 51 yards, while teammate Jacob Braddy added a team-high 106 on the ground.
By halftime, however, the Eagles led 12-6 as they couldn’t get out of their own way. RMA (6-0, 2-0) was flagged for 192 penalty yards throughout the game, including 127 in the first half.
“We had a bad first half,” Hudgins said. “Lots of penalties. That kills us. I told the guys that we don’t have any plays for third and 22 or fourth and 17. Luckily, our defense stepped up.”
The Eagles forced a fumble on the Patriots’ first drive of the second half, setting up a short field for a score. A punt that went fewer than 10 yards on the following drive had the Eagles needing only 23 yards for another touchdown.
Another FCS fumble set up the Eagles’ final touchdown, a 1-yard dive from Lambert. In all, the Patriots had four turnovers on their five second-have possessions.
The Eagles were the toughest team FCS has played, and Weinstein said he is excited to get into the film room with his team.
“I am not down on any one kid,” the coach said. “I’m proud of them, the way they continued to fight even in the final minutes. They knocked the red off our candy tonight, and I think it’s important to know what it feels like to lose.
“This will be a great learning experience. And if I know anything about these kids, from the way we looked in January to now, I know they will learn a lot and bounce back.”
Rocky Mount Academy 30
Faith Christian 6
RMA 6 6 18 0 - 30
FCS 6 0 0 0 - 6
First quarter
FCS - Shaikey Hardy 84 run (run failed), 5:20
RMA - Trey Smelcer 10 pass from Isaiah Thomas (run failed), 37.4
Second quarter
RMA - Thomas 5 run (run failed), 1:33
Third quarter
RMA - Thomas 1 run (run failed), 10:08
RMA - Caleb Lambert 5 run (run failed), 5:06
RMA - Lambert 1 run (run failed), 29.3
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: RMA - Jacob Braddy 14-106, Oliver Bissett 3-17, Isaiah Thomas 9-66, Caleb Lambert 9-51, Jordan Crandell 1-2. Totals: 36-242. FCS - Shaikey Hardy 17-171, Jon Stallings 2-3, Christian Fate 11-40, Hobart Brantley 1-1, Sam Mills 2-4. Totals: 33-219.
PASSING: RMA - Thomas 4-6-0, 106 yards. Lambert 0-2-0. FCS - Mills 2-3-2, 44 yards.
RECEIVING: RMA - Trey Smelcer 3-104, Lambert 1-2. FCS - Garrett Pannell 2-44.
