Arendell Parrott squanders multiple opportunities in 50-28 loss to St. David’s
By Junious Smith III / Sports Editor Kinston Free Press
Posted Sep. 5, 2015 at 12:14 AM
Updated at 12:17 AM
The road to a state championship isn’t going to be a freshly paved one for Arendell Parrott.
The Patriots hosted a well-rested and dangerous St. David’s team Friday, losing 50-28. The Warriors (2-0) came out to play, racking up 486 yards offensively and making timely plays on both sides of the ball when it seemed the home team would put together a comeback after falling behind 20-0 early.
St. David’s quarterback Garrett Lewis and running back Melvin Briggs did most of the damage. Lewis went 12 of 17 for 279 yards and two touchdowns while Briggs had 30 carries for 191 yards and four scores.
“Going in, we heard (Arendell Parrott) was the team to beat, so we came out with that mindset to work hard in practice,” Briggs said. “They beat Rocky Mount Academy, so we came out here and said we’ve got to go for the gold. We got the gold.”
Patriots’ coach Matt Beaman said the opening-season win over two-time defending state champion Rocky Mount Academy and last week’s victory over Northeast Academy may have boosted the heads of the players and it cost them.
“We knew we had weaknesses and we would run into a team how knew how to exploit them,” Beaman said. “We had been trying to shore up our pass coverage and we’ve got to keep getting better.
“A lot of guys have been drinking the Kool-Aid and listening to everyone say we’re pretty much going to walk to the state championship. It doesn’t work that way.”
The Patriots (2-1) couldn’t do anything in their first three drives, as the Warriors forced two punts and a fumble while building their 20-point advantage. Arendell Parrott appeared to have the momentum midway through the second quarter when Davis Basden scored on a 31-yard run and St. David’s’ Blake Sanders dropped a pass in the end zone right before halftime, keeping the score at 20-8.
St. David’s came back with an onside kick recovery to start the third and Briggs ran from five yards out on the ensuing drive to give the Warriors a 28-8 advantage. Arendell Parrott countered with a 58-yard touchdown connection from Connor Bright to Matthew Chappell to close the gap to 12 and tried to get closer on the next drive before Bright’s pass was intercepted by Trey Walker.
One play later, Briggs broke at least six tackles on a punishing 21-yard touchdown run to give the Warriors a 34-16 lead late in the third.
“I don’t know how that run happened,” Briggs said. “Something just clicked inside of me — I broke one tackle, then another, then another and I was in the end zone. It was just Beast Mode.”
The Patriots’ last chance came in the fourth quarter. After Basden scored his third touchdown to pull APA within 42-28, the Patriots recovered an onside kick with 7:36 to go. The Patriots failed to register a first down due to a one-yard loss by Bright, a personal foul and three consecutive incomplete passes —two attributed to dropped passes — to turn the ball over on downs.
On the next drive, Joel Al-Habash scored on a five yard run with 3:53 remaining to close the scoring.
Lewis contributed the win to an off week and strong practices.
“We played a really physical team (Friday night),” Lewis said. “We had a bye week, so we worked on our conditioning, tackling and execution.”
Beaman said there is a cause for optimism in defeat.
“We’re not as good as everyone thought we were and maybe this will help us understand that,” Beaman said. “This could be the game where we get ourselves back on track.”
Basden ran for 163 yards on 22 carries and caught four passes for 43 yards.
St. David’s 50, Arendell Parrott 28
St. David’s 12 8 14 16—50
Arendell Parrott 0 8 14 6—28
First Quarter
SD — Melvin Briggs 29 run (run failed), 10:06
SD — Braxton Montague 78 pass from Garrett Lewis (pass failed), 1:34
Second Quarter
SD — Briggs 9 run (Trey Walker run), 7:53
APA — Davis Basden 31 run (Connor Bright run), 6:48
Third Quarter
SD — Briggs 5 run (Montague from Lewis), 9:55
APA — Matthew Chappell 58 pass from Bright (Basden run), 7:07
SD — Briggs 21 run (pass failed), 2:09
APA — Basden 20 run (run failed), 1:17
Fourth Quarter
SD — Montague 41 pass from Lewis (Blake Sanders from Lewis), 9:13
APA — Basden 5 run (run failed), 7:36
SD — Joel Al-Habash 5 run (Montague from Lewis), 3:53
By Junious Smith III / Sports Editor Kinston Free Press
Posted Sep. 5, 2015 at 12:14 AM
Updated at 12:17 AM
The road to a state championship isn’t going to be a freshly paved one for Arendell Parrott.
The Patriots hosted a well-rested and dangerous St. David’s team Friday, losing 50-28. The Warriors (2-0) came out to play, racking up 486 yards offensively and making timely plays on both sides of the ball when it seemed the home team would put together a comeback after falling behind 20-0 early.
St. David’s quarterback Garrett Lewis and running back Melvin Briggs did most of the damage. Lewis went 12 of 17 for 279 yards and two touchdowns while Briggs had 30 carries for 191 yards and four scores.
“Going in, we heard (Arendell Parrott) was the team to beat, so we came out with that mindset to work hard in practice,” Briggs said. “They beat Rocky Mount Academy, so we came out here and said we’ve got to go for the gold. We got the gold.”
Patriots’ coach Matt Beaman said the opening-season win over two-time defending state champion Rocky Mount Academy and last week’s victory over Northeast Academy may have boosted the heads of the players and it cost them.
“We knew we had weaknesses and we would run into a team how knew how to exploit them,” Beaman said. “We had been trying to shore up our pass coverage and we’ve got to keep getting better.
“A lot of guys have been drinking the Kool-Aid and listening to everyone say we’re pretty much going to walk to the state championship. It doesn’t work that way.”
The Patriots (2-1) couldn’t do anything in their first three drives, as the Warriors forced two punts and a fumble while building their 20-point advantage. Arendell Parrott appeared to have the momentum midway through the second quarter when Davis Basden scored on a 31-yard run and St. David’s’ Blake Sanders dropped a pass in the end zone right before halftime, keeping the score at 20-8.
St. David’s came back with an onside kick recovery to start the third and Briggs ran from five yards out on the ensuing drive to give the Warriors a 28-8 advantage. Arendell Parrott countered with a 58-yard touchdown connection from Connor Bright to Matthew Chappell to close the gap to 12 and tried to get closer on the next drive before Bright’s pass was intercepted by Trey Walker.
One play later, Briggs broke at least six tackles on a punishing 21-yard touchdown run to give the Warriors a 34-16 lead late in the third.
“I don’t know how that run happened,” Briggs said. “Something just clicked inside of me — I broke one tackle, then another, then another and I was in the end zone. It was just Beast Mode.”
The Patriots’ last chance came in the fourth quarter. After Basden scored his third touchdown to pull APA within 42-28, the Patriots recovered an onside kick with 7:36 to go. The Patriots failed to register a first down due to a one-yard loss by Bright, a personal foul and three consecutive incomplete passes —two attributed to dropped passes — to turn the ball over on downs.
On the next drive, Joel Al-Habash scored on a five yard run with 3:53 remaining to close the scoring.
Lewis contributed the win to an off week and strong practices.
“We played a really physical team (Friday night),” Lewis said. “We had a bye week, so we worked on our conditioning, tackling and execution.”
Beaman said there is a cause for optimism in defeat.
“We’re not as good as everyone thought we were and maybe this will help us understand that,” Beaman said. “This could be the game where we get ourselves back on track.”
Basden ran for 163 yards on 22 carries and caught four passes for 43 yards.
St. David’s 50, Arendell Parrott 28
St. David’s 12 8 14 16—50
Arendell Parrott 0 8 14 6—28
First Quarter
SD — Melvin Briggs 29 run (run failed), 10:06
SD — Braxton Montague 78 pass from Garrett Lewis (pass failed), 1:34
Second Quarter
SD — Briggs 9 run (Trey Walker run), 7:53
APA — Davis Basden 31 run (Connor Bright run), 6:48
Third Quarter
SD — Briggs 5 run (Montague from Lewis), 9:55
APA — Matthew Chappell 58 pass from Bright (Basden run), 7:07
SD — Briggs 21 run (pass failed), 2:09
APA — Basden 20 run (run failed), 1:17
Fourth Quarter
SD — Montague 41 pass from Lewis (Blake Sanders from Lewis), 9:13
APA — Basden 5 run (run failed), 7:36
SD — Joel Al-Habash 5 run (Montague from Lewis), 3:53
