Schilling has career night after Lloyd injury

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on December 2, 2007 2:21 AM

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CALYPSO -- Head coach Hugh Martin stood at midfield and hoisted the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Class 1-A (small school) western regional championship trophy high in the air on Friday night to a boisterous applause.

With one more win Martin and his Rebels will get their hands on much more sought after trophy -- a state championship. The Rebels will be returning to the state title game for the first time since 1975, and seeking the third championship in the program's history.

North Duplin (14-0 overall) jumped on top of visiting Lakewood 14-0 less than five minutes in, and cruised to a 33-0 win, punching its ticket to the state finals to face Plymouth at 11 a.m. next Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

After Rebels' quarterback Doug Lloyd was injured on the first play of the game, sophomore backup signal caller Alan Schilling found the end zone four plays later from 14 yards out.

Following a Leopards three-and-out series, North Duplin needed just five plays to get tailback Akeem Cox in the end zone.

"It was just a nightmare start for us," Lakewood head coach James Lewis said.

North Duplin's' defense was ferocious all night, as the Leopards (10-5) were held to just 110 yards of offense and coughed the ball up four times.

Lakewood's first two possessions resulted in a total of two yards, and a 1-for-4 effort on fourth-down conversions. Fullback Jermel McWhorter managed just 28 yards, and Schilling and Chase Deaver each picked off quarterback Eric Williams.

"We played great defense throughout," Martin said. "We just try to prepare every week and teach them what the other team is doing and get them to recognize plays. It's a testament to how hard they work."

Schilling and Cox both added touchdown runs before the half, as the Rebels took a 27-0 lead into the break. Cox tacked on a late score, and came up huge with Lloyd forced to watch from the sidelines. He finished with 182 yards on the ground to go with his three scores.

"We felt like we had to step it up and our backup quarterback, he did what he had to do," Cox said. "The line was giving me good holes, they were blocking good, and my blocks allowed me to cut back. This feels real good, we haven't been to state in a long time.

"We're going to bring it home."

Schilling finished with 92 yards and a pair of scores in a performance that gave Rebels' fans a glimpse of what should be a bright future with him at the reins of the offense in years to come.

"Coach always told us that you never know when you're time is going to come when you have to step us," Schilling said. "I guess my time came. When Doug went down, I knew I had to step up and do what I needed to do."

Martin described Lloyd's injury as a high ankle injury, and said his quarterback's status would be "day-to-day." Lloyd was on crutches following the game.

As Martin clutched the trophy after another dominating Rebels' performance on Friday night, he admitted to be a bit in awe of the moment.

"It's tremendous, a great feeling," Martin said. "I'm kind of numb right now. I look forward to getting ready and seeing what we can do next week."

Lakewood -- 0 0 0 0 -- 0

North Duplin -- 14 13 0 6 -- 33

First quarter

ND -- Schilling 14 run (Guzman kick), 10:26

ND -- Cox 2 run (Guzman kick), 7:14

Second quarter

ND --Schilling 22 run (Guzman kick), 7:57

ND -- Cox 2 run (pass failed), 5:27

Fourth quarter

ND -- Cox 14 run (Guzman kick failed), 5:52

LW ND

First downs 5 12

Rushes-yds 24-62 44-288

Passing yds 48 32

Total yards 110 320

C-A-I 3-17-2 3-7-2

Fumbles-lost 4-2 1-0

Penalties-yds 5-45 10-95

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Lakewood -- Jermel McWhorter 11-28; Eric Williams 6-22; Josh Peques 5-14, Lamar Cromartie 2-(-2). North Duplin -- Akeem Cox 23-182, 3 TDs, Alan Schilling 9-92, 2 TDs; Billy Mello 6-23, James Stevens 4-5, Doug Lloyd 1-4, team 1-(-1).

PASSING: Lakewood -- Eric Williams 3-17-2 48. North Duplin -- Alan Schilling 3-7-2 32.

RECEIVING: Lakewood-- Josh Peques 1-25, Jermel McWhorter 1-14; Dennis Owens 1-9. North Duplin -- Chris Graham 3-32.