Rocky Mount Academy's second-half rally runs out of time at Southampton
Josh Walfish ROCKY MOUNT TELEGRAM
COURTLAND, Va. – Rocky Mount Academy could not get off the field fast enough.
The Eagles scored a quick touchdown to begin the second half, but Southampton Academy took the final eight minutes off the clock in the third-quarter, converting once on third down and once on fourth to chew up the time. By the time the Eagles forced a fourth-down incompletion, it was too little too late.
The Raiders (6-0) held on with a strong defensive effort in the fourth quarter to shut down Rocky Mount Academy, 40-20, on Monday night.
“(They have) a ton of big boys and they love to just run right behind them,” coach Terrell Hudgins said. “We took a pounding. We’d get it to 3rd and 3 and 3rd and 4, and we needed to be more aggressive against them and we didn’t do that the entire game.”
The Eagles’ (5-2) defense never found a true answer to Andrew Lowe’s power-run game. The Southampton Academy quarterback ran for 125 yards, picking up yards with ease on crucial plays. For the most part, Lowe simply took the snap and sprinted to the outside and found space to run. He converted all five of the Raiders’ two-point conversions in similar fashion.
It was another issue Hudgins said was influenced by the Raiders’ size advantage.
“He had four guys up front that were more than 250 pounds, our heaviest guy is 225 or 230,” Hudgins said. “Being able to run behind them is pretty good for them.”
When Lowe wasn’t hurting the Eagles with his legs, he did it with his arm. He threw for 142 yards on nine attempts, none more devastating than his 66-yard connection with Jalen Myrick on 3rd and 11 that restored Southampton Academy’s two-score lead.
Jared McCall fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Lowe kept it himself from two-yards out to put the pressure on Rocky Mount Academy.
“That was rough,” Hudgins said. “We did respond well ... but you have to limit turnovers and mistakes against them.”
Rocky Mount Academy struggled to run the ball and was held to 69 yards on 21 carries. Senior Kyle Holland threw for 190 yards and two scores while completing 11 of his 22 attempts.
But it was Isaiah Thomas who made the big splash, throwing a 12-yard touchdown pass with 20 seconds left in the first half on a risky fourth-down double pass call from Hudgins. Holland threw the ideal lateral to Thomas who had no issues finding Christopher Rabil open in the end zone to cut the lead to 32-14 at halftime.
“You still need to block hard, and you still need to go hard, and overall we didn’t do that,” Hudgins said. “We came out and said they’re big so we’re not going to be able to run it, that’s what it looked like our guys thought.
“Then you get stuck throwing the ball when they know you’re throwing it and the chances there are pretty slim.”
Southampton Academy 40
Rocky Mount Academy 20
RM 0 14 6 0 – 20
SH 16 16 0 8 – 40
First Quarter
SH – Brooks Holland 27 pass from Andrew Lowe (Roy Hill run), 8:50
SH – Lowe 2 run (Hill run), 2:2
Second Quarter
RM – Isaiah Thomas 30 pass from Kyle Holland (Holland run),
SH – Jalen Myrick 66 pass from Lowe (Lowe run), 6:45
SH – Lowe 2 run (Lowe run), 4:38
RM – Christopher Rabil 12 pass from Thomas (run failed), 0:20
Third Quarter
RM – Trey Smelcer 9 pass from Holland (run failed), 8:12
Fourth Quarter
SA – Lowe 9 run (Lowe run), 10:25
RM SA
9 First downs...............13
21–69 Rushes-yards....45–239
202 Passing yards..........142
11–24–3 Passes...............6–9–0
271 Total offense...........381
1–1 Fumbles-Lost..........2–0
8–91 Penalties-Yards.....6–50
Individual Statistics
Rushing – RM: Holland 6–43; Jacob Braddy 5–13. SA: Lowe 23–125; Hill 12–51.
Passing – RM: Holland 11–22–1, 190; Thomas 1–2–0, 12. SA: Lowe 6–9–0, 142.
Receiving – RM: Thomas 3–63; Braddy 2–80. SA: Holland 4–67; Myrick 2–75.
Josh Walfish ROCKY MOUNT TELEGRAM
COURTLAND, Va. – Rocky Mount Academy could not get off the field fast enough.
The Eagles scored a quick touchdown to begin the second half, but Southampton Academy took the final eight minutes off the clock in the third-quarter, converting once on third down and once on fourth to chew up the time. By the time the Eagles forced a fourth-down incompletion, it was too little too late.
The Raiders (6-0) held on with a strong defensive effort in the fourth quarter to shut down Rocky Mount Academy, 40-20, on Monday night.
“(They have) a ton of big boys and they love to just run right behind them,” coach Terrell Hudgins said. “We took a pounding. We’d get it to 3rd and 3 and 3rd and 4, and we needed to be more aggressive against them and we didn’t do that the entire game.”
The Eagles’ (5-2) defense never found a true answer to Andrew Lowe’s power-run game. The Southampton Academy quarterback ran for 125 yards, picking up yards with ease on crucial plays. For the most part, Lowe simply took the snap and sprinted to the outside and found space to run. He converted all five of the Raiders’ two-point conversions in similar fashion.
It was another issue Hudgins said was influenced by the Raiders’ size advantage.
“He had four guys up front that were more than 250 pounds, our heaviest guy is 225 or 230,” Hudgins said. “Being able to run behind them is pretty good for them.”
When Lowe wasn’t hurting the Eagles with his legs, he did it with his arm. He threw for 142 yards on nine attempts, none more devastating than his 66-yard connection with Jalen Myrick on 3rd and 11 that restored Southampton Academy’s two-score lead.
Jared McCall fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Lowe kept it himself from two-yards out to put the pressure on Rocky Mount Academy.
“That was rough,” Hudgins said. “We did respond well ... but you have to limit turnovers and mistakes against them.”
Rocky Mount Academy struggled to run the ball and was held to 69 yards on 21 carries. Senior Kyle Holland threw for 190 yards and two scores while completing 11 of his 22 attempts.
But it was Isaiah Thomas who made the big splash, throwing a 12-yard touchdown pass with 20 seconds left in the first half on a risky fourth-down double pass call from Hudgins. Holland threw the ideal lateral to Thomas who had no issues finding Christopher Rabil open in the end zone to cut the lead to 32-14 at halftime.
“You still need to block hard, and you still need to go hard, and overall we didn’t do that,” Hudgins said. “We came out and said they’re big so we’re not going to be able to run it, that’s what it looked like our guys thought.
“Then you get stuck throwing the ball when they know you’re throwing it and the chances there are pretty slim.”
Southampton Academy 40
Rocky Mount Academy 20
RM 0 14 6 0 – 20
SH 16 16 0 8 – 40
First Quarter
SH – Brooks Holland 27 pass from Andrew Lowe (Roy Hill run), 8:50
SH – Lowe 2 run (Hill run), 2:2
Second Quarter
RM – Isaiah Thomas 30 pass from Kyle Holland (Holland run),
SH – Jalen Myrick 66 pass from Lowe (Lowe run), 6:45
SH – Lowe 2 run (Lowe run), 4:38
RM – Christopher Rabil 12 pass from Thomas (run failed), 0:20
Third Quarter
RM – Trey Smelcer 9 pass from Holland (run failed), 8:12
Fourth Quarter
SA – Lowe 9 run (Lowe run), 10:25
RM SA
9 First downs...............13
21–69 Rushes-yards....45–239
202 Passing yards..........142
11–24–3 Passes...............6–9–0
271 Total offense...........381
1–1 Fumbles-Lost..........2–0
8–91 Penalties-Yards.....6–50
Individual Statistics
Rushing – RM: Holland 6–43; Jacob Braddy 5–13. SA: Lowe 23–125; Hill 12–51.
Passing – RM: Holland 11–22–1, 190; Thomas 1–2–0, 12. SA: Lowe 6–9–0, 142.
Receiving – RM: Thomas 3–63; Braddy 2–80. SA: Holland 4–67; Myrick 2–75.
