Aug 30, 2008
RALEIGH
Lightning forced a delay early in the first half, but the Southeast Raleigh Bulldogs were responsible for electrifying the crowd Friday night, using a balanced offense and a stifling defense to beat Northern Vance, 29-7.
Last week, the Bulldogs needed a big second-half rally to come away with a win at New Hanover, but this week was a different story as the Bulldogs avoided another slow start by maintaining possession of the football.
"Last week we had six turnovers in the first half," said Southeast Raleigh coach Daniel Finn.
This week, the Bulldogs would cause the turnovers, recovering a fumble by Northern Vance quarterback, Americus Williams, to set up their first drive.
After taking the ball to the Vikings' 14-yard line, lightning stopped the Bulldog drive with just over two minutes left in the first quarter. Game delays can often change the momentum in a game, but the Bulldogs wasted no time after retaking the field, scoring on their first play when quarterback Gabe Henderson connected with receiver Heath Mallette.
"We stayed together and tried to keep our focus during the delay," said Henderson, and this focus seemed to stay with the Bulldogs on both sides of the ball.
Northern Vance could not seem to find an answer to the Bulldog defense, which held the Viking offense to just 31 total yards in the first half and only 116 yards overall. Linebacker Chisom Anen attributed the team's defensive success to intense play and preparation.
"We studied game film and keyed in on stopping the quarterback," said Anen, "and we also worked a lot on our pass coverage."
The Vikings were able to crack through the Southeast Raleigh defense in the third quarter after a fumbled snap by Bulldog punter, Korey Merritt, gave Northern Vance the ball deep in Bulldog territory. A 25-yard drive, capped off by a pass to Zuri Sneed, gave the Vikings a much-needed touchdown, but a quick response from the Bulldogs, coming in the form of a 47-yard touchdown pass, dashed all hope of a comeback.
"They're just a good football team," said Northern Vance head coach, Cedric Crudup. "We knew it would be a tough game, and we just didn't execute well."
Finn was pleased with the overall effort of his players who, in addition to their stellar play on defense, wracked up 145 yards on the ground to accompany 225 passing yards. But Finn also commented that his team has a lot to work on to get ready for next week. "We need to work on our running game, and the defense is still missing a few assignments," said Finn.
Considering the dominant performance from his team tonight, it's scary to think of how good Southeast Raleigh will be when everything comes together.
With the win, the Bulldogs move to 2-0 overall, while the Vikings fall to 0-2. Southeast Raleigh will look to continue its win streak when they take on Enloe next week.
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