Arendell Parrott claims first football state title since 1990 with win over St. David's
By Junious Smith III / Sports Editor KINSTON FREE PRES
Posted Nov. 14, 2015 at 9:15 PM
Updated at 11:23 PM
Ever since Arendell Parrott lost to St. David’s on Sept. 4, the team dedicated at least once a week to preparing for a possible rematch in the playoffs.
On Saturday, the hard work paid off and the Patriots are champions because of it.
Davis Basden had 227 offensive yards, including 131 on the ground, as Arendell Parrott defeated St. David’s 28-14 in the NCISAA 2A state championship. The Patriots (11-1) lost to the Warriors 50-28 earlier in the year, but used a tough rushing attack and strong defense to get revenge on the biggest stage.
“The first time we played them, we were getting four or five yards a carry up the middle, so that was our plan,” Basden said. “We knew we were a more physical team and we worked hard all year, including the summer. I’ve never prepared this hard for a team and we were ready for them. This is the best feeling in the world.”
Cole Daniels, who wasn’t available for the first game, ran for 118 yards on 21 carries. He said he was ecstatic to be a part of the second state title in school history and first since 1990.
“It feels amazing,” Daniels said. “We had one goal, and that was to get a state championship. We knew we were underdogs, but we wanted to make it known that Parrott has the best team.”
Arendell Parrott started off strong, forcing a stop of Melvin Briggs on a fourth-and-1 on St. David’s opening possession. The Patriots went on a 5-play, 80-yard drive, highlighted by a 36-yard run by Cole Daniels and a 22-yard touchdown connection from Connor Bright to Davis Basden on the swing pass.
Arendell Parrott had the momentum after another stop, but four plays after Blake Sanders recovered a Bright fumble, Garrett Lewis found Braxton Montague for a 25-yard touchdown to pull within 8-6 late in the first. St. David’s would then take the lead 14-8 after Lewis and Montague hooked up for a 15-yard connection with 6:55 to go in the second.
The Patriots fought back on the ensuing possession with Connor Bright capping off a 7-play, 60-yard drive with a 2-yard quarterback sneak to tie the score at 14, with the teams going into halftime under the same margin.
Starting the third quarter with possession, Arendell Parrott took the lead on a 10-play, 62-yard drive with six punishing runs by Daniels. The drive ended with Bright finding Basden for a 34-yard touchdown to give the Patriots the 20-14 advantage early in the third.
After forcing a St. Davis point with 5:51 to go in the third, Arendell Parrott held the ball for 15:37 of a possible 17:51 with two long drives. The first drive was a 17-play, 75-yard drive ending on a 3-yard run by Basden with 11:08 to go in the contest for the 28-14 lead.
The Warriors quickly drove the ball to the Patriots 3, but on third down the defense wrapped Briggs up for a 2-yard loss and Zach Vendemia deflected a pass in the end zone intended for Montague with 8:51 to go, giving Parrott possession.
St. David’s never held possession again, with the Patriots running out the clock and setting off a wild celebration for the hometown faithful.
St. David’s, who had 486 yards of offense in the first meeting, was held to 186, including just 51 in the second half.
“Cole Williams was a huge difference-maker for them on both sides of the ball,” Warriors coach Daniel Evans said. “They’ve really improved over the season and I thought we did too. I also felt like we were outcoached in this game. They’re a really good football team.”
The NCISAA All-State team was announced and six Arendell Parrott players were on the team — Basden, Bright, Daniels, Josh Jackson, Matthew Chappell and Riley Cregan. Basden was also the co-Offensive Player of the Year with Melvin Briggs.
Briggs had 59 yards on 18 carries for St. David’s.
Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JuniousSmithIII.
Arendell Parrott 28, St. David’s 14
St. David’s 6 8 0 0—14
Arendell Parrott 8 6 6 8—28
First Quarter
APA—Davis Basden 22 pass from Connor Bright (Cole Daniels run), 7:38
SD—Braxton Montague 25 pass from Garrett Lewis (pass failed), :46
Second Quarter
SD—Montague 15 pass from Lewis (Melvin Briggs run), 6:55
APA—Bright 2 run (pass failed), 4:47
Third Quarter
APA—Basden 34 pass from Bright (pass failed), 8:29
Fourth Quarter
APA—Basden 3 run (Colby McLawhorn run), 11:08
SD APA
First Downs 11 21
Rushes-yards 26-60 61-253
Passing 9-17-0 4-9-0
Passing yards 126 96
Total yards 186 349
Punts-avg. 3-17.3 2-30.5
Fumbles-lost 0-0 3-1
Penalties 4-25 1-15
Individual Statistics
RUSHING— St. David’s: Melvin Briggs 18-59, Braxton Montague 2-13, Joel Al-Habash 4-2, Garrett Lewis 2-minus 14. Parrott: Davis Basden 29-131, Cole Daniels 21-118, Colby McLawhorn 3-10, A.J. Banker 1-8, Connor Bright 6-6, TEAM 1-minus 20.
PASSING—St. David’s: Lewis 9-17-0, 126. Parrott: Bright 4-9-0, 96.
RECEIVING—St. David’s: Montague 4-77, Blake Sanders 2-25, Trey Walker 2-21, Briggs 1-3. Parrott: Basden 4-96.
By Junious Smith III / Sports Editor KINSTON FREE PRES
Posted Nov. 14, 2015 at 9:15 PM
Updated at 11:23 PM
Ever since Arendell Parrott lost to St. David’s on Sept. 4, the team dedicated at least once a week to preparing for a possible rematch in the playoffs.
On Saturday, the hard work paid off and the Patriots are champions because of it.
Davis Basden had 227 offensive yards, including 131 on the ground, as Arendell Parrott defeated St. David’s 28-14 in the NCISAA 2A state championship. The Patriots (11-1) lost to the Warriors 50-28 earlier in the year, but used a tough rushing attack and strong defense to get revenge on the biggest stage.
“The first time we played them, we were getting four or five yards a carry up the middle, so that was our plan,” Basden said. “We knew we were a more physical team and we worked hard all year, including the summer. I’ve never prepared this hard for a team and we were ready for them. This is the best feeling in the world.”
Cole Daniels, who wasn’t available for the first game, ran for 118 yards on 21 carries. He said he was ecstatic to be a part of the second state title in school history and first since 1990.
“It feels amazing,” Daniels said. “We had one goal, and that was to get a state championship. We knew we were underdogs, but we wanted to make it known that Parrott has the best team.”
Arendell Parrott started off strong, forcing a stop of Melvin Briggs on a fourth-and-1 on St. David’s opening possession. The Patriots went on a 5-play, 80-yard drive, highlighted by a 36-yard run by Cole Daniels and a 22-yard touchdown connection from Connor Bright to Davis Basden on the swing pass.
Arendell Parrott had the momentum after another stop, but four plays after Blake Sanders recovered a Bright fumble, Garrett Lewis found Braxton Montague for a 25-yard touchdown to pull within 8-6 late in the first. St. David’s would then take the lead 14-8 after Lewis and Montague hooked up for a 15-yard connection with 6:55 to go in the second.
The Patriots fought back on the ensuing possession with Connor Bright capping off a 7-play, 60-yard drive with a 2-yard quarterback sneak to tie the score at 14, with the teams going into halftime under the same margin.
Starting the third quarter with possession, Arendell Parrott took the lead on a 10-play, 62-yard drive with six punishing runs by Daniels. The drive ended with Bright finding Basden for a 34-yard touchdown to give the Patriots the 20-14 advantage early in the third.
After forcing a St. Davis point with 5:51 to go in the third, Arendell Parrott held the ball for 15:37 of a possible 17:51 with two long drives. The first drive was a 17-play, 75-yard drive ending on a 3-yard run by Basden with 11:08 to go in the contest for the 28-14 lead.
- Arendell Parrott coach Matt Beaman said he planned on punting the ball on fourth-and-2 from the Patriots’ 33, but the players convinced him otherwise, leading to a 3-yard run by Daniels for the first. Daniels also converted another fourth down on the drive.
The Warriors quickly drove the ball to the Patriots 3, but on third down the defense wrapped Briggs up for a 2-yard loss and Zach Vendemia deflected a pass in the end zone intended for Montague with 8:51 to go, giving Parrott possession.
St. David’s never held possession again, with the Patriots running out the clock and setting off a wild celebration for the hometown faithful.
St. David’s, who had 486 yards of offense in the first meeting, was held to 186, including just 51 in the second half.
“Cole Williams was a huge difference-maker for them on both sides of the ball,” Warriors coach Daniel Evans said. “They’ve really improved over the season and I thought we did too. I also felt like we were outcoached in this game. They’re a really good football team.”
The NCISAA All-State team was announced and six Arendell Parrott players were on the team — Basden, Bright, Daniels, Josh Jackson, Matthew Chappell and Riley Cregan. Basden was also the co-Offensive Player of the Year with Melvin Briggs.
Briggs had 59 yards on 18 carries for St. David’s.
Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JuniousSmithIII.
Arendell Parrott 28, St. David’s 14
St. David’s 6 8 0 0—14
Arendell Parrott 8 6 6 8—28
First Quarter
APA—Davis Basden 22 pass from Connor Bright (Cole Daniels run), 7:38
SD—Braxton Montague 25 pass from Garrett Lewis (pass failed), :46
Second Quarter
SD—Montague 15 pass from Lewis (Melvin Briggs run), 6:55
APA—Bright 2 run (pass failed), 4:47
Third Quarter
APA—Basden 34 pass from Bright (pass failed), 8:29
Fourth Quarter
APA—Basden 3 run (Colby McLawhorn run), 11:08
SD APA
First Downs 11 21
Rushes-yards 26-60 61-253
Passing 9-17-0 4-9-0
Passing yards 126 96
Total yards 186 349
Punts-avg. 3-17.3 2-30.5
Fumbles-lost 0-0 3-1
Penalties 4-25 1-15
Individual Statistics
RUSHING— St. David’s: Melvin Briggs 18-59, Braxton Montague 2-13, Joel Al-Habash 4-2, Garrett Lewis 2-minus 14. Parrott: Davis Basden 29-131, Cole Daniels 21-118, Colby McLawhorn 3-10, A.J. Banker 1-8, Connor Bright 6-6, TEAM 1-minus 20.
PASSING—St. David’s: Lewis 9-17-0, 126. Parrott: Bright 4-9-0, 96.
RECEIVING—St. David’s: Montague 4-77, Blake Sanders 2-25, Trey Walker 2-21, Briggs 1-3. Parrott: Basden 4-96.