Smithfield-Selma High School Logo
Sep 5, 2008
Smithfield
Last week, Smithfield-Selma came out hard against Nash Central, but the Spartans completely shut down in the second half, resulting in a 28-20 loss. This week, Coach Anthony Barbour made sure that his team did not repeat its past mistakes.
“We wanted to finish this week, and we prepared to finish,” said Barbour, who cited the week’s tough practices as the key reason for the Spartans’ tough play throughout Thursday’s 22-12 victory over Chapel Hill.
Running back D.J. Bunn had gained just 27 yards coming into the game, but the senior asserted himself as a key role-player on the Spartans’ offense.
“I’ve felt like I’ve been letting my teammates down,” said Bunn, “and I knew I had to play big this game.”
The senior did not disappoint. He amassed 119 rushing yards and 48 receiving yards, while accounting for all three of the Spartans’ touchdowns.
Defensively, the Spartans (2-1) completely shut down the Tigers’ running game, allowing just 23 yards on as many carries. They had a bit more trouble with the potent passing offense of the Tigers (1-1), but made big plays when they needed to, including two sacks and a fumble recovery by linebacker Justin Dixon and a key interception from defensive back Deantonio Dublin.
While the Spartans achieved their goal of playing a complete game, finishing proved to be a struggle for the Tigers.
“We did some positive things,” said Chapel Hill coach Isaac Marsh. “We moved the ball well … but we made too many mistakes in the red zone.”
The Tigers did, in fact, have many moments of brilliance. Quarterback John Haus threw for 226 yards and wide receiver Kyle Duffy caught 10 passes for 121 yards.
However, it seemed that nearly every promising drive fell just short because of Chapel Hill’s mistakes. The Tigers dropped a pass in the end zone on a crucial third down play, and a fumble on the 1-yard line, which was recovered by Smithfield-Selma, caused the Tigers to come up empty-handed on two solid drives.
On the other side of the ball, the Chapel Hill defense played well, holding the Spartans to just 189 total yards; however, a few brief lapses resulted in big plays for the Spartans, which the Tigers’ offense could not answer.
Overall, Marsh was positive about what he saw from is team, commenting that his players’ mistakes would be easy ones to correct.
Barbour was very pleased with the win, but he stressed that his team’s continued success would be dependant on their intensity level at practice and their ability to finish in games.
Both Smithfield-Selma and Chapel Hill return to action next week. The Spartans will travel to South Johnston, and the Tigers will take on Broughton in Chapel Hill.
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