Rosewood survives at North Duplin

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on October 19, 2013 11:10 PM

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CALYPSO -- Rosewood made the last play in a Carolina 1-A Conference football game that had a lot of offense and very little defense Friday evening.

The Eagles watched as North Duplin's last-second hail mary fell incomplete and the clock ran out in a 40-33 win at H.E. Grubbs Field.

"We had confidence that we could move the football coming in," Rosewood head coach Robert Britt said. "Obviously, (North Duplin) had confidence that they would be able to score points, too. This was a win that we just had to grind out."

North Duplin got on the board on the second play of the game when Emiliano Mora broke an 80-yard touchdown run. Rosewood evened the contest when Mike Woodard raced 27 yards into the end zone to open the second quarter.

Woodard added a second touchdown before the intermission that put the Eagles ahead 14-12. Mora answered on the final possession of the half with a 21-yard touchdown run. Daron Goodman added the two-point conversion and pushed the Rebels ahead 20-14.

Rosewood (4-5 overall, 2-2 CC) began the second half with a six-minute drive that culminated with a three-yard Brett Jones touchdown run. After a failed drive by the Rebels, Woodard scored his third touchdown of the game and put the Eagles up 27-20.

Jamari McGown scored on the first play of the fourth quarter and appeared to put the game on ice for the Eagles.

The Rebels had other ideas and cranked up the offensive pace. James Britt connected with Mora for a 21-yard touchdown pass.

"Our ground game got it going in the second half and we were able to control the line of scrimmage," coach Britt said. "We knew we had to keep scoring, because North Duplin was going to keep scoring."

Woodard capped Rosewood's total with his fourth touchdown of the night.

J.P. Payton cut the Eagles' lead to 40-33 with three minutes to play with an 11-yard run. The Eagles could not run the clock out and gave the ball back to the Rebels with six seconds remaining.

James Britt launched a pass down the left sideline that was too high for receiver Boone McNeil.

North Duplin (2-6, 0-3) finished with 360 yards rushing and 408 yards of total offense in a losing effort. Mora paced the Rebels with 145 yards rushing on five carries. Payton added 121 yards on five rushes. Britt completed four of five passes for 48 yards.

Rosewood tallied 272 yards rushing and 335 total yards. Woodard led the Eagles with 100 yards and four touchdowns on eight carries. Felipe Ornelas toted the ball 18 times for 91 yards.

North Duplin visits Princeton next Friday, while Rosewood plays host to Spring Creek.