Eagles clipped by Raiders in title match
The Northeast Academy football team made history Saturday playing in its first ever state title game appearance, but the Eagles had to settle for runner-up.
The Eagles fell to the Southampton Raiders, 56-14.
“I’m just proud of this team. I don’t know what else you can say about them,” NEA head coach Stevie Flythe said. “They had a great season. They made history and they have nothing to be ashamed of.”
Early injuries to key players deflated NEA in the opening half and the clipped Eagles couldn’t recover against a dominant Southampton squad.
“When Nathan Rowe went down that was really big,” Flythe said of the receiver. “He’s one of our biggest weapons as far as throwing the ball. And then his backup went down and that put us in a bind.”
The Eagles were down 22-0 before Northeast Academy could get its offense to warm up in the opening period.
NEA started with a long field on its next possession. Drawing Southampton offsides gave the Eagles a first-and-5 on their own 27-yard line.
Another illegal procedure by Southampton gave NEA a free first down. A face mask penalty gave NEA 15 yards before a pass interference call on the Raiders led to yet another first down handout. The Eagles had a first-and-10 on Southampton’s 39.
Matt Little ran it 17 yards, setting up Curtis Faulkner for a 24-yard touchdown with 52 ticks left in the opening period. Peyton Galloway’s two-point conversion led the Eagles to chip away at Southampton’s lead with the score 22-8.
Northeast Academy had momentum swinging its way after the score when Josh Byrd picked off the Raiders at their own 28-yard line, but the Eagles couldn’t take advantage of the turnover. Instead, another intercepted pass, courtesy of Sam Rose, set up a 62-yard scoring touchdown by Andrew Lowe with 3:08 remaining in the half. The Eagles were behind 28-8 at the break.
“We had some momentum going. We drove down the field but we just couldn’t score,” Flythe said. “Not scoring there on that drive was really big. It took a little bit of life out of us. We were still it in then. That was a big swing.”
Southampton scored twice more in the third period before NEA could strike back.
Roy Hill’s 1-yard touchdown and a Lowe-to-Harrison Pope reception lifted the Raiders ahead 42-8 with 4:41 left to play in the third.
But Galloway kept NEA’s fire going after he took it to the house on a 73-yard running touchdown. That left the Eagles behind 42-14.
“He ran hard and hit the holes. Peyton has been doing that for us all year,” Flythe said. “But we just didn’t get enough of that. Mostly because they were keying a lot on Matt and he just couldn’t find the alley.”
NEA just couldn’t find its way out of the lengthy deficit as Southampton continued to pile on the numbers.
Lowe connected with Ian Mizelle on a 10-yard run with seven ticks left in the third period. And a Lowe-Rose 6-yard hookup with 8:21 left in regulation gave the Raiders their 56-14 lead.
Despite not winning the championship, several Eagles were recognized.
Northeast’s Little, Galloway and Cody Wells all earned all-state honors. Little also earned Co-Offensive Player of the Year with Southampton’s Lowe.
Flythe said he will miss the senior class.
“It doesn’t take much to get attached to these kids really quick,” Flythe said.
The NEA program has been playing football for more than 40 years and Flythe said this only paves the way for the school’s future.
“It gives our program a little bit of a boost,” he said. “We got some big shoes to fill with losing seniors but we have some guys to step up and do that. It gives them the drive and determination.”
The Northeast Academy football team made history Saturday playing in its first ever state title game appearance, but the Eagles had to settle for runner-up.
The Eagles fell to the Southampton Raiders, 56-14.
“I’m just proud of this team. I don’t know what else you can say about them,” NEA head coach Stevie Flythe said. “They had a great season. They made history and they have nothing to be ashamed of.”
Early injuries to key players deflated NEA in the opening half and the clipped Eagles couldn’t recover against a dominant Southampton squad.
“When Nathan Rowe went down that was really big,” Flythe said of the receiver. “He’s one of our biggest weapons as far as throwing the ball. And then his backup went down and that put us in a bind.”
The Eagles were down 22-0 before Northeast Academy could get its offense to warm up in the opening period.
NEA started with a long field on its next possession. Drawing Southampton offsides gave the Eagles a first-and-5 on their own 27-yard line.
Another illegal procedure by Southampton gave NEA a free first down. A face mask penalty gave NEA 15 yards before a pass interference call on the Raiders led to yet another first down handout. The Eagles had a first-and-10 on Southampton’s 39.
Matt Little ran it 17 yards, setting up Curtis Faulkner for a 24-yard touchdown with 52 ticks left in the opening period. Peyton Galloway’s two-point conversion led the Eagles to chip away at Southampton’s lead with the score 22-8.
Northeast Academy had momentum swinging its way after the score when Josh Byrd picked off the Raiders at their own 28-yard line, but the Eagles couldn’t take advantage of the turnover. Instead, another intercepted pass, courtesy of Sam Rose, set up a 62-yard scoring touchdown by Andrew Lowe with 3:08 remaining in the half. The Eagles were behind 28-8 at the break.
“We had some momentum going. We drove down the field but we just couldn’t score,” Flythe said. “Not scoring there on that drive was really big. It took a little bit of life out of us. We were still it in then. That was a big swing.”
Southampton scored twice more in the third period before NEA could strike back.
Roy Hill’s 1-yard touchdown and a Lowe-to-Harrison Pope reception lifted the Raiders ahead 42-8 with 4:41 left to play in the third.
But Galloway kept NEA’s fire going after he took it to the house on a 73-yard running touchdown. That left the Eagles behind 42-14.
“He ran hard and hit the holes. Peyton has been doing that for us all year,” Flythe said. “But we just didn’t get enough of that. Mostly because they were keying a lot on Matt and he just couldn’t find the alley.”
NEA just couldn’t find its way out of the lengthy deficit as Southampton continued to pile on the numbers.
Lowe connected with Ian Mizelle on a 10-yard run with seven ticks left in the third period. And a Lowe-Rose 6-yard hookup with 8:21 left in regulation gave the Raiders their 56-14 lead.
Despite not winning the championship, several Eagles were recognized.
Northeast’s Little, Galloway and Cody Wells all earned all-state honors. Little also earned Co-Offensive Player of the Year with Southampton’s Lowe.
Flythe said he will miss the senior class.
“It doesn’t take much to get attached to these kids really quick,” Flythe said.
The NEA program has been playing football for more than 40 years and Flythe said this only paves the way for the school’s future.
“It gives our program a little bit of a boost,” he said. “We got some big shoes to fill with losing seniors but we have some guys to step up and do that. It gives them the drive and determination.”
