West Bladen’s Isaiah Robinson (23) fights off the tackle by West Columbus’ Demond Williams.
Sonny Jones / Bladen Journal
West Bladen’s Sincere McKinley (7) turns the corner against West Columbus.
Sonny Jones / Bladen Journal
West Bladen’s Omarion Brown (53) goes for the tackle against West Columbus.
Sonny Jones / Bladen Journal
Needing a touchdown in the closing minutes to seal the win, it seemed fitting that Ahmarie White was the player to do it.
The senior running back capped off a remarkable game Friday night with a 52-yard dash to the end zone, clinching West Bladen’s 38-28 win against visiting West Columbus.
White finished with four touchdowns and 249 yards as the Knights (1-2) won their first game this season.
“It was amazing,” White said. “I gave 110% on every play. Had to just play through injuries.”
It was a dominating offensive performance by a West Bladen offense that had been shut out 26-0 a week ago at East Bladen and scored only two touchdowns in a season-opening 36-12 loss to Pender.
“The offensive line did amazing,” White said. “I saw the hole every time.”
The offensive line of Deshaun Leach, Omarion Brown, Jamius Owens, Riley Kline, Jude Culbreth and Gregory O’Neal opened holes that allowed West Bladen to amass 527 yards rushing on 50 attempts.
Sincere McKinley had 172 yards on only nine carries. Isaiah Robinson added 65 yards and ran for a pair of scores.
“We came out in the first half and hit them in the mouth,” West Bladen coach Preston Worley said. “They hit us back in the mouth. We didn’t end the first half like we hoped, but we came out in the second half and really turned it on, especially offensively.”
For West Columbus, Ayden Scott completed 14 of 23 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown. Jahan Lesane-Powell ran for 58 yards and a pair of scores.
The Knights scored on their first two possessions for a 12-0 lead. West Bladen used eight plays to cover 65 yards on its first possession following a West Columbus with White barrelling in from the 1. After another Vikings punt, Robinson went around the left side from the 11 to cap an eight-play, 76-yard drive.
West Columbus tied it at 12-all with a pair of touchdowns in the closing two minutes. Demond Williams returned an interception 75 yards for a score. After West Bladen couldn’t move the ball, Vikings quarterback Ayden Scott connected on a pair of passes with the final one a 22-yard slant to Santonio Vereen for the tying touchdown.
The teams exchanged touchdowns and 2-point conversions in the third quarter and headed to the final quarter knotted at 20-all.
West Bladen got a 2-yard TD run by Robinson and a 5-yard scoring run by White to open a 32-20 lead with 4:50 remaining.
West Columbus countered with a 4-yard run by Jahan Lesane-Powell, who then passed to Williams for the 2-point conversion that brought the Vikings within 32-28 with 3:52 remaining.
That’s when White sealed West Bladen’s first win with his long run that accounted for the final score.
“Hats off to (White),” Worley said. “Our running backs blocked well. Our offensive line blocked very well. We had sophomore (Gregory O’Neal) making his first varsity start and he really showed up for us.”
Tashawn Carter led the West Bladen defense with 11 tackles and a quarterback sack. Robinson had nine tackles and a sack. McKinley had six tackles and a late game interception.
West Bladen is scheduled to play at Heide Trask (1-2) next Friday.
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
WB – Ahmarie White 1 run (run failed), 7:02
WB – Isaiah Robinson 11 run (run failed), 2:06
2nd Quarter
WC – Demond Williams 75 interception return (run failed), 1:34
WC – Santonio Vereen 23 pass from Ayden Scott (run failed), 0:46
3rd Quarter
WB – White 6 run (Sincere McKinley run), 10:53
WC – Jahan Lesane-Powell 6 run (Scott run), 9:30
4th Quarter
WB – Robinson 2 run (run failed), 9:15
WB – White 5 run (run failed), 4:50
WC – Lesane-Powell 4 run (Lesane-Powell pass to Williams), 3:52
WB – White 52 run (run failed), 3:00
Sonny Jones can be reached at [email protected].