Britt: Rosewood offense must strike quickly -- and often

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on September 19, 2014 1:48 PM

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DEEP RUN -- Hello, North Duplin.

Well, not exactly ... but almost.

When Rosewood steps onto the field tonight at South Lenoir, it might think it's looking directly at a North Duplin offense. The Blue Devils, like the Rebels, prefer a smash-mouth style that eats time off the clock.

They'll pound the ball on every down.

They'll search for a tiny crease to just maybe break a five-yard run.

And they'll wear a defense down -- mentally and physically.

"They don't try to bounce it outside, but look for a point of attack and find that crease they can slip through," RHS head coach Robert Britt said. "Their goal on every play is to try to get five yards. When you get your players in that type of mindset and you have linemen are coming off hard, low with a flat back, you've got to match that intensity level.

"We have to close the gaps."

Senior running back Noah Stroud (5-foot-8, 140 pounds) has shouldered the bulk of the load in the Blue Devils' rushing attack. He's cranked out more than 400 yards in four outings in an offense that's tallied 36 total points over the last eight quarters.

South Lenoir (2-2 overall) is seeking its first three-game win streak since 2006 when it participated in the East Central 2-A Conference.

Britt expects an "ugly" game.

"Ground and pound," he said. "Their goal is to keep the ball in their possession and use the clock up. We know going in there it's going to be a dogfight. We're going to have to play our best game of the year to have a chance to win."

Rosewood developed some consistency against Midway and Lejeune. The Eagles limited their turnovers and costly penalties, which proved disastrous during the first two weeks.

First-year quarterback Cameron Helt directs a Rosewood offense that has to strike quickly -- and often -- to offset South Lenoir's deliberate tempo. Helt threw for 106 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown strike to Marquail Almontaser in the Eagles' 41-6 romp over Lejeune.

Mike Woodard rambled for a career-high 213 yards and three touchdowns. Rosewood had 356 yards of total offense.

"We knew what we had in Mike because he got a lot of play on the varsity last year," Britt said. "Quan (Joyner), his ability to be able to run by people and catch the ball, and with Marquail there at split end ... those two scoring threats have been pleasant surprises.

"We've been really happy with Cameron and his progression. The thing now we're looking for in this offense is some bigger plays with Cameron running the ball."

Rosewood holds a 5-4 edge in the series that started in 1989, but went dormant for 16 years after the 1996 season. The Eagles won last year's meeting at Branch Pope Field.

South Lenoir is 20-17-2 all-time against teams from Wayne County since 1964.