BLADENBORO – The West Bladen Knights finished their season with an overall record of 2-7 and they finished fifth in the conference standings with a 1-4 record. The Knights first season under head coach Preston Worley was a bumpy one with plenty of growing pains along the way. West Bladen’s roster was youthful this season and they had the experience of eight seniors to lead the way. Worley’s philosophy of “smash mouth football” began to reveal itself towards the back half of the season.
The Knights showed a level of intensity against Midway on Friday night in October and despite losing the game 37-12, they pushed the second best team in the Southeastern Conference for two quarters. Senior athlete Hezekiah Adams was a key player for the Knights on both sides of the ball. Adams forced turnovers from the corner position and made plays from under center as the starting quarterback in a wing-T offense.
He showed why he earned an All-State nod for special teams last season with a 90-yard kickoff return to start the Midway game. West Bladen’s defense held the explosive offense by stuffing their run game with the help of their defensive-linemen getting into the backfield. Senior defensive-linemen TyLeak Ballard, junior defensive-linemen Weston Hilburn and junior defensive-linemen Wendell Way had two tackles behind the line-of-scrimmage a piece.
Adams scored on a quarterback keeper and a few minutes later forced a fumble to prevent a Raiders offense from driving down field to close out the half against Midway. This was a common theme of the Knights season as Adams led the team with eight rushing touchdowns and he had five turnovers to lead the defense.
Midway eventually stamped their authority in the game with 22-unanswered to seal the game but it was something the Knights could learn from. Worley’s team were able to enjoy victory the following week with a 40-20 thrashing over Fairmont; this was the Knights largest win of the season.
Junior running-backs Ahmarie White emerged as important figures in the offense with the most carries in the team at 105. Adams and White combined for 912 yards on the ground during the season. The 2A postseason preliminary brackets were released on Sunday and St. Pauls(8-2, 5-0) has been projected as the number-eight seed in the 2A East Region after claiming the SAC 6 title.They have been projected to play the 25th-seeded East Duplin Panthers(5-5, 3-3) in next Friday’s first round.
Midway(8-2, 4-1) is projected to be the 16th-seed in the 2A East Region and they are slated to host 17th-seeded Greene Central(6-4, 3-3).The number-one team in the 2A region is projected to be Northeastern-Elizabeth City(10-0, 7-0).
West Bladen Schedule:
South Columbus 48, West Bladen 6
East Bladen 42, West Bladen 8
West Columbus 42, West Bladen 8
West Bladen 26, East Columbus 19
American Leadership(Canceled)
St. Pauls 41, West Bladen 0
Clinton 40, West Bladen 12
Midway 37, West Bladen 12
West Bladen 40, Fairmont 20
Red Springs 29, West Bladen 20