No. 1-ranked James Kenan rams G. Central

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on September 28, 2008 12:13 AM

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WARSAW -- Dasmine Smith and Kendric Faison each returned a fumble for a touchdown as No. 1-ranked James Kenan topped Greene Central 23-6 at Bill Taylor Field.

Smith's fumble return, which covered 35 yards, occurred on the Rams' opening possession of the second half. Faison's 11-yard fumble halted a Greene Central drive with three seconds left in the third quarter.

Overall, the Tigers' defense forced five turnovers and recorded four sacks, including two by Dontrill Hyman. Hyman emerged one of four Kenan defenders to post 10 or more tackles. Anthony Kennedy and Kyle Bostic each had 12 stops, while Hyman and Jamar Rogers recorded 10 apiece.

"Our defense and special teams was huge last night," said third-year James Kenan head coach Ken Avent Jr.

German Funez-Bonilla booted a 29-yard, first-quarter field goal. Quarterback Shawon Darden added a 19-yard touchdown run to put James Kenan up 10-0 after one quarter.

The Tigers, winners of 28 consecutive regular-season games, managed just 129 yards of total offense. Darden accounted for 95 yards, including 7 of 11 passing for 56 yards.

"We had some penalties on a drive and we couldn't ever get things clicking," said Avent Jr. "I thought Greene Central's defense was pretty good. We couldn't ever get in a rhythm and they caused a lot of problems."

The Rams (1-4 overall) travel to Charles B. Aycock at 7 p.m. on Thursday. James Kenan (6-0) begins defense of its Class 1-A Super Six Conference title Oct. 10 at Salemburg Lakewood.

"With everything we lost from last year we're super happy to be 6-0," said Avent Jr. "I thought we've done real well. Our quarterback has thrown the ball real well. We've got to work on running the ball better and we need to get better on turnovers."