Wake Forest-Rolesville quarterback Tim Hartman (9) is brought down by the Jack Britt defense after a long gain during an NCHSAA regional final in Fayetteville, N.C., on December 5, 2008. Jack Britt won 27-16. (Photo by Grant Halverson)
Dec 6, 2008
FAYETTEVILLE — As the crestfallen Wake Forest-Rolesville football team made its way off the field Friday night, coach Earl Smith offered his players one final instruction.
“Do it right, you understand?”
Having done most everything right all season, the Cougars exited just as they'd played — admirably.
But if there was one thing they might have done differently in the 4-AA East Regional final against Jack Britt, it surely would have been do a better job on Bucs quarterback Everett Proctor.
Proctor gashed the WF-R defense for 223 rushing yards and two touchdowns and he threw for one more to lead the Buccaneers to a 27-16 win over the Cougars.
“Gosh, we were right there in it,” Smith said
While the images of Proctor running wild will be tough for WF-R (12-3) to shake, the Cougars will be more haunted by their own missteps. They recovered two Britt fumbles in Britt territory but turned them into just three points. Trailing by four in the fourth quarter, WF-R got the ball back twice and was unable to put any more points on the board.
WF-R’s punishing ground game wasn’t nearly as productive as it had been for much of the season. Against the best defense they’d faced all year, WF-R ran 55 times for 216 yards — more than 100 yards less than they’d averaged per game all season
“Our defense did a lot better in the second half and came through and held them with some stops,” said Britt coach Richard Bailey. “Defense has carried us this far in the playoffs.”
While defense has carried the Bucs (14-1) throughout the playoffs, their offense and Proctor did most of the heavy lifting on Friday. Proctor picked apart the Cougars with the zone read. And when he kept it, he was gone.
On the game’s fourth play from scrimmage, Proctor read the coverage, kept the ball and took off 56 yards to the end zone. WF-R’s Terrell Hartsfield blocked the extra point, and Britt led 6-0 1:37 into the game.
Though jolted, WF-R responded with a grinding 11-play, 66-yard drive. Quarterback Tim Hartman was 4-for-4 for 27 yards, including a four-yard touchdown pass to Torrey White, and he ran for 26 more on the drive. But Hartman’s extra point hit the upright, leaving the game tied 6-6 with 5:19 remaining in the first quarter.
“We wanted to let them know we were still here, and we were not going to give up,” said WF-R running back Brexton Young, who finished the night with 56 rushing yards and 23 receiving yards.
Britt fumbled the ensuing kickoff and WF-R’s Logan Welsh recovered the loose ball at the Britt 39-yard line. But the Cougars were unable to capitalize and went three and out.
On the next Britt possession, WF-R nearly got off the field without any damage. But on third and 4, Proctor broke another long touchdown run, this one from 63 yards out, to give the Buccaneers a 13-6 lead.
On their next possession, Proctor delivered another third-down blow. On third and 11, he scrambled out of the pocket before throwing a dart to Anthony Riggin for a 36-yard touchdown pass for a 20-6 lead.
“Proctor was the real deal,” Smith said. “We knew it. There were two, three times we missed tackles, and two or three missed assignments.”
WF-R got a touchdown back just before the half. Trea Jones (18 carries, 93 yards) scored on a two-yard run with 59 seconds on the clock to cap an 11-play, 58-yard drive. And the Cougars went into halftime down 20-13.
WF-R got the ball to start the second half, but its drive toward the tying score died at midfield. But the Cougars got the ball back two plays after punting it away when Darren Kirby recovered a fumble. Starting from the Britt 47, WF-R ran the ball 11 straight times before the drive stalled at the 6 and the Cougars settled for Hartman’s 22-yard field goal, cutting their deficit to 20-16 with 3:11 remaining in the third quarter.
The Bucs could have given themselves some breathing room on their next possession. They drove inside the WF-R 10 but came away empty handed. Proctor’s 24-yard field goal attempt went wide with 11:54 to play.
But Britt soon put the game out of reach.
Taking over at their own 20 with 3:50 to play, the Bucs covered 80 yards in eight plays. Eric Johnson had a 37-yard run and Proctor followed with a 20-yard run before Johnson effectively ended the game with a 16-yard TD run with 1:23 to play.
Though the Cougars fell short of their ultimate goal, this season was still the finest in school history. In addition to 12 wins and a conference title for the second straight year, their regional runner-up finish is WF-R’s best in the postseason.
“I can’t say enough about the way we came back,” Smith said. “We haven’t been there all year, maybe one [touchdown] at the most. There’s just so many things to reflect on.”
Contact Tim Candon at 821-8697 or tcandon@wral.com.
| page 1 | 2 | |
| <prev | next> |
| page 1 | 2 | |
| <prev | next> |
This story is closed for comments.
