BLADENBORO – The Midway Raiders defeat the West Bladen Knights for a 37-12 victory last Friday in a SAC 6 match-up. Midway capitalized on big plays from the run game to overcome their opponent’s homecoming night and they continued their chase of the conference title alongside St. Pauls. Junior running-back Gehemiah Blue broke free across midfield for a 50-yard touchdown run to give the visitors a positive start in the first quarter. The host came back with an immediate response on a 90-yard kickoff return from Hezikiah Adams but the Knights failed to convert on the 2-point conversion to keep their opponents in front 7-6.

The Raiders tried to conclude a drive that halted shy of the end-zone with a 28-yard field goal but the host blocked their attempt to keep the game within one. West Bladen couldn’t get the wheels turning on the next possession and their drive resorted to them punting on 4th-and-4. Midway’s offense started their next drive from the 43 and were able to quickly move into the red-zone with the help of a penalty from their opponents.

Junior running-back Jayden Stox ran the ball to the goal line for first-and-goal as the last remaining seconds of the first quarter ticked away to zero. The Raiders tried to penetrate through the interior of the Knights defense on their first attempt across the goal line but the runner was met at the 2-yard line by junior defensive-lineman Weston Hillburn. Sophomore quarterback Tanner Williams was able to extend the visitors lead on the keeper and the Raiders converted the 2-point play with 11:29 left in the first half.

The Knights coaching staff turned to Adams to make plays on their first offensive possession of the second quarter as he started the drive straddling the sideline for a first down carry. Junior running-back Ahmarie White took the next two carries across midfield but the Raider defense was able to eventually force them to convert on 3rd-and-three. Adams kept the drive alive by getting the short yardage on a carry to the 31 and white followed it up with a five-yard gain on the first down call.

The Raiders defense rallied together to bring up 4th-and-three to put the pressure back on the host to convert on a crucial down. Fortunately for the Knights, White did just that with a pile-pushing run to earn the first and gained a little more yards due to a facemask penalty that added 15 yards at the end of the run. West Bladen started their 1st-and-goal trip by going backward after Raider defenders wrangled White for a loss.

Adams kept the ball with the quarterback keeper as he ran the ball into the end-zone for a 2-yard touchdown run to make the score 15-12 with 6:13 remaining in the half. The Raiders started their next drive at the 46 after an explosive kickoff return from sophomore Nathue Myles. Midway’s coaching staff kept the ball in his hands for the first play of the possession but after shaking passed defenders, he was caught from behind by Adams and fumbled the ball at the 5-yard line for the night’s first turnover.

West Bladen failed to capitalize on the extra possession as the drive ended with Adams being pulled down in the backfield to bring up fourth-and-long. The Raiders would get the last offensive possession of the half but the final drive started with a quick first down run on a carry from Blue and a facemask penalty committed by their opponents moved the ball to around the 20. The drive began to stall however as a holding penalty sent the visitors backward and a sack from West Bladen’s Ty’leak Ballard brought up 4th-and-20.

Williams rolled out to his left for the Hail Mary with seconds remaining in the first half but his last second heave was caught short of the goal line to usher in the break. The Knights started with the ball to begin the next quarter and got an 11-yard gain with Adams using his legs on the quarterback keeper. Midway dug their heels into the ground to prevent the host from driving any closer to their end-zone to force a turnover on downs at the 26. Senior running-back Ke’mari McNeil thought he broke free for a huge touchdown run but a block-in-the-back penalty wiped his score off the board and sent the Raiders backward 15 yards.

The penalty only slowed them down toward their push for the end-zone and Williams eventually ran the ball across the goal line on a 22-yard run. After a lengthy injury delay, the Knights next drive would conclude with a quick three-and-out at the restart. Midway blocked the ensuing punt to start their next possession in favorable field possession from the 40. Unfortunately for the Raider, their next offensive possession was littered with flags and the visitors would eventually punt the ball away on 4th-and-13.

West Bladen offense went to work deep in their own end and they found it difficult to push through their opponent’s front-line as they punted to conclude the third quarter. The Knight’s defense was able to hold their opponents to 4th-and-five after Malachi Townsend got the tackle-for-loss. The Midway coaching staff kept their offense on the field for a chance to convert on fourth down but encroachment on the defense gave them the yards needed for the first down.

The Knights defense shook off the mistake and held their opponents once more to force an eventual turnover on downs. West Bladen had a chance to drive down the field and cut their opponents lead but a fumble near midfield would ruin that opportunity. Blue would run through the heart of the defense for a 39-yard touchdown run to help extend the visitors lead to 30-12 with 5:39 remaining in the game.

West Bladens next drive concluded with an interception and McNeil stamped the game with a 54-yard touchdown run to seal the victory for the visitors. McNeil finished the game with 126 rushing yards and Blue finished with 125 rushing yards in the Raiders seventh victory of the season. Adams led the Knights in rushing with 51 yards on the ground to lead the host rushing attack.

West Bladen’s overall record moves to 1-6 and they fall to 0-3 in conference play with two games remaining in the regular-season. They travel to Fairmont (0-8, 0-3) for their next game for a SAC 6 matchup. Fairmont was defeated by the St. Pauls’ Bulldogs (6-2, 3-0) in a 43-0 thrashing in their last game.

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

at Fairmont (Oct. 25)

Red Springs (Nov.1st-Senior Night)

AROUND THE SAC 6:

St. Pauls (6-2, 3-0) 43, Fairmont (0-8, 0-3) 0

Red Springs (2-6, 2-1) 36, Clinton (1-7, 1-2) 34