A Knightdale offensive player breaks through Southeast Raleigh's defense and makes a touchdown late in the game.
Sep 27, 2008
Last week’s win against Smithfield-Selma put the Knights on the doorstep, and Friday’s win over the Bulldogs - the preseason favorite to win the league, the Knights have made it clear they are in the race for the Greater Neuse title.
Knightdale came out swinging early in the first quarter, using big plays from their defense to set up their scoring drives.
Sophomore linebacker John Scott showed his athleticism when he made a diving interception. Two plays later, Knightdale quarterback Ben Bolling hit a wide-open Greg Jackson for the Knights’ first touchdown of the evening.
On the next Bulldogs’ drive, Knightdale recovered a fumble to set up a field goal, giving the Knights a 10-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Both teams were hit by the turnover bug in the second quarter. Knightdale lost the ball three times and Southeast Raleigh gave it away twice. Despite their sloppy play, the Bulldogs were able to steal the momentum. Quarterback Gabe Henderson served up touchdown passes to Kendall Moore and Garrett Farringer, giving the Bulldogs a 14-10 lead at the half.
Knightdale fought back in the third quarter, capping off their first drive with a 14-yard touchdown run from Marcus Hinnant. The Knights took a 23-14 lead when Josh Gorham scored from 40 yards out with less than 11 minutes to play.
The Bulldogs answered back when Henderson hit Keith Tucker in the end zone, but they were never able to regain the lead. The Bulldogs had their chances, but the relentless Knightdale defense kept the Bulldogs from finding their rhythm on offense.
Terrence Davis sealed the victory for the Knights, scoring on of a 50-yard run in the game’s final minute.
At the beginning of the season, first-year head coach Kamelio Johnson said there are often growing pains when teams have to adapt to leadership changes. But the Knights, a team that many people picked to finish at the bottom of the Greater Neuse, aren’t letting anything get in the way of their meteoric rise.
“I wish I could take credit for it,” Johnson said. “But it’s the kids. They bought in and believe.”
The Knights are blessed with outstanding athleticism, but Johnson noted it’s the team’s attitude that has allowed it to shine this season.
“The kids are really excited about playing ... they trust each other and believe in each other,” Johnson said.
For Southeast Raleigh coach Daniel Finn, attitude is one of the areas that he feels his team needs to improve in order to give it a shot at the conference title.
“It goes back to the way we practice,” Finn said. “We go through the motions too much.”
This definitely appeared to be a problem for the Bulldogs on Friday. Despite a few moments of brilliance, the Bulldogs seemed to be flat for much of the game, especially when having to respond after penalties or mistakes on both sides of the ball.
Finn knows he has the talent to win the remainder of the conference games, but he also knows that his team will need to come together in order to rebound from this loss.
“We need to pick up the tempo in practice, and find ways to make ourselves tougher when things aren’t going our way,” Finn said.
With the win, Knightdale moves to 3-3 overall (2-0 conference), while Southeast Raleigh is 4-2 (1-1 conference).
The Knights will try to keep their conference win streak going next Friday when they play host to Garner, and the Bulldogs will try to get themselves back on track when they travel to Smithfield-Selma.
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